The end of a student aid program sows consternation

On Thursday, the Premier of New Brunswick, Blaine Higgsimplied that the federal government had asked to withdraw this program.

The news shakes many students

Thousands of New Brunswick students were surprised when they learned that the EI Connect program would no longer be offered, effective immediately.

7,000 students in the province are directly affected by the government’s decision Higgs.

Martin Brideau, a second-year law student at the Université de Moncton, can’t believe it.

I was amazed, amazed that it was canceled overnight. No notice was given. We didn’t say a year in advance, we’re canceling the programhe explains.

” We all started to work, the students, to accumulate our hours, to accumulate our weeks to benefit from this program. »

For nursing student Véronic Thériault, the AE Connection program was essential to finance her studies. Employment insurance was like the cushion for all that. It allowed me to be much less stressed in my school year, to know that in two weeks, I will have $200, I will be able to finish my month.

Emily mucklera history student, finds it illogical not to have found other financing options.

With the financial assistance from the province already, all the loans, we are already topped of loans. The majority of students I know already have lines of credit with many financial institutions. At some point, you just have more options, and your only option is unemployment.

Emily muckler would like to see this money invested elsewhere in student assistance, or for the payment of internships, for example.

The government acted on the sly

The Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labor announced the end of the program very quietly on Thursday.

Although this decision directly affected thousands of New Brunswickers, the department did not see fit to issue a press release. Instead, he passed the information on to a few organizations, using a memo.

This note explains that the program did not meet the eligibility criteria set out by the federal government.

Yesterday the Prime Minister Higgs said that the elimination of the program would perhaps push many people to turn to one of the many jobs available in the province, where a shortage of labor is felt in almost all sectors of activity .

The opposition pleads for better funding for studies

The Liberal MP for Victoria-La Vallée, chuck Chiasson, asks the government to provide better funding for post-secondary education at the provincial level.

He criticizes the Prime Minister for having asserted that the abandonment of the program will force more students to work part-time.

There is a shortage of skilled labor, and to qualify for these jobs, it takes an education, and it takes a post-secondary educationsupports chuck Chiasson.

An online petition calling for the program’s return has already garnered more than 13,000 signatures.

With information from Océane Doucet