Liberals promise help for grads who work for non-profit

The Ontario Liberal party is promising help for Ontario graduates who take their first job in the not-for-profit sector by extending the grace period on paying back a student loan to one year.

The current grace period for student loans in Ontario is six months.

Speaking to youth participating in the Ontario Young Liberal Party (OYL) Conference Aug. 13 in Greater Sudbury, Premier Dalton McGuinty said the idea to extend the grace period for workers in the not-for-profit sector came from youth in the OYL.

“We're doing this because it's our belief that in life, people want to do more than just do well for themselves. They want to do good for others,” he said.

“What we're saying is that there are some 46,000 non-profit organizations in Ontario today (and) most of them (are) registered charities.”

McGuinty said the non-profit organizations in the province contribute about $50 billion on an annual basis to the gross domestic product and employ about 800,000 Ontarians.

“They do more than just help us build a strong economy,” he said. “They help us build a strong and caring society.”

He acknowledged that students who choose to work for a non-profit organization “generally make a little less” than if they were to work in the public or private sector.

“If you've got a loan, it may be a little tighter for you to make those payments,” he said. “So we're going to give you a full, 12-month grace period in recognition of the work that you're doing which we think is important.”

Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said extending the period will benefit students not only in Greater Sudbury, but all over the province.

“It also provides those students who may be thinking about forming a partnership with a non-profit organization (or) who may want to go work for a non-profit organization but say ... 'I've got this student debt to pay back,'” he said.

“Now, they're going to have that opportunity to ensure that they're able to plan their finances very, very well, so they can pursue their dream to work for a non-profit.”