Further boosts to emergency funding a welcome relief for students

Students are applauding an additional $4 million investment, announced today by the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training, that will help provide more emergency support for students in BC. This investment comes almost exactly a year after the last infusion of emergency aid for students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Students and their families are continuing to face financial insecurity a year into the pandemic,” said Tanysha Klassen, Chairperson of the BC Federation of Students.

Students are highly represented in industries that have laid off many workers due to pandemic responses, especially those in the service industry who are facing more closures in recent weeks. With pandemic relief money all but dried up, and with little from the federal government existing to begin with, many students and their families have been crushed by the weight of financial insecurity for months and are barely getting by.

“This re-investment in emergency funds will help to ensure rent can be paid and food can be put on the table as we all still try to get through and recover from this pandemic,” said Klassen.

According to the government’s announcement, the $4 million in funding can be used for a broad range of expenses that students find themselves under pressure to pay, such as food, rent, and equipment necessary for the new reality of online and remote learning. The funding will be administered through financial aid offices at BC’s 25 public post-secondary institutions.

Included in this $4 million announcement is $1 million of further funding for the Indigenous Emergency Assistance Fund. This investment will be used specifically to support the success of indigenous learners throughout B.C.