Work to expand rural student loan forgiveness to more professions

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Teachers, pharmacists, dentists and more could soon be eligible for student loan forgiveness if they come to work in Fort St. John.

In an announcement at Hawkesbury and District General Hospital on March 6th, the government’s minister of employment, workforce development and labour, Steven MacKinnon, announced changes to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program.

Healthcare professionals coming to Fort St John have already been eligible for loan forgiveness since the benefit was introduced in 2013, but MacKinnon said work is underway to permanently expand the program to 10 more professions.

This includes early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, psychologists, personal support workers and physiotherapists.

The expansion was in the government’s Budget 2024 and is expected to be implemented in 2025/26, subject to regulatory approvals.

MacKinnon also announced that the existing healthcare loan forgiveness program is being expanded to more than 200 new communities with populations of 30,000 or fewer.

This is expected to bring over 900 additional doctors and nurses to those communities over the next 10 years and increase the availability of healthcare services for approximately 1.7 million Canadians living in newly eligible areas, he added.

The maximum amount forgiven for eligible doctors and nurses is also increasing by 50 per cent over five years; with family physicians and ‘family medicine residents’ now eligible for up to $60,000 and nurses or nurse practitioners eligible for up to $30,000.

MacKinnon said: “Doctors and nurses have their hands full, helping treat and protect Canadians in emergency rooms and doctors’ offices across the country, they should not have to also worry about student loan debt.

“That is why we are making it easier for students to pursue a career in health without carrying the burden of student debt.”

Comments on the proposal to expand the rural communities’ loan forgiveness program to the new professions are being accepted until March 17th, here.