from OTTAWA Rapport d’Ottawa

by/par Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

The inflationary problems that have plagued Canadians throughout the past year are slowly starting to ease. February's year-over-year inflation rate cooled to 5.2 percent, still above target for a healthy economy and higher than the Bank of Canada's target inflation rate of two percent,butmodestlybetterthanwherewe'vebeen throughoutthepastyear.OnecohortofCanadians who are feeling the belt-tightening a bit more significantlythanmostarecurrentandprospective students,thepeoplewhowillserveasthebackbone of our economy of the future. With tuition costs morethandoublingsince1990,andessentialssuch as food and housing taking a bigger chunk out of studentbudgets,it'sgettingmoreandmoredifficult for young people to be able enter the workforce with the skills they need without a mountain of debt.

Budget 2023 invests $800 million to expand loans and grants for the 2023-24 school year, increasing the maximum grants available to $4,200, up from $3,000, for low-income students. This represents a 40 percent increase to student grants for those students who qualify…in normal