Open Letter to Hon. Andy Scott, MP, and Hon. Bradley Green, MLA
I am writing to you because I am a recent university graduate who is being forced to leave New Brunswick to look for work. I have lived in New Brunswick my entire life, and I do not wish to leave. However, the lack of employment opportunities for educated young people in this province, and in particular the Fredericton area, is leaving me with no alternative.
In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree, I also have a diploma from a private vocational college. I have had to borrow every cent to pay for my education, which leaves me with well over $50,000 in student debt. I was laid off from a research position at my alma mater more than a month ago, and since then it has become painfully clear that the only opportunities available in New Brunswick are low-paying, service sector jobs. I check various employment websites and newspaper classifieds daily, and have kept in contact with former professors as well as former employers, and there is simply nothing else available.
Were I to accept one of these service positions despite being immensely overqualified, I would barely be able to pay my monthly housing costs and utility bills, let alone make student loan payments. The letters I am receiving from the National Student Loan Service and other similar organizations suggest that when my repayment schedule begins this November, my monthly payments will be more than what I pay in rent each month. With this in mind, how am I supposed to make ends meet working for seven or eight dollars an hour in a call centre?
I am writing to both of you, as my Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly respectively, to enquire as to what you and the Federal and Provincial governments are prepared to do to help me and others in my situation. And there are thousands of us. I am aware of the interest relief programs which are in place, but these are a band-aid solution at best. What am I to do once my thirty month maximum has been reached? Furthermore, until I find full-time employment, I do not qualify for interest relief in the first place.
I have many friends and family members who have all left New Brunswick for greener pastures, all of them well-educated and saddled with huge amounts of student debt. Before I join them, I am looking to you, Mr. Scott and Mr. Green, for a good reason to stay.
Sincerely,
Mary
In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree, I also have a diploma from a private vocational college. I have had to borrow every cent to pay for my education, which leaves me with well over $50,000 in student debt. I was laid off from a research position at my alma mater more than a month ago, and since then it has become painfully clear that the only opportunities available in New Brunswick are low-paying, service sector jobs. I check various employment websites and newspaper classifieds daily, and have kept in contact with former professors as well as former employers, and there is simply nothing else available.
Were I to accept one of these service positions despite being immensely overqualified, I would barely be able to pay my monthly housing costs and utility bills, let alone make student loan payments. The letters I am receiving from the National Student Loan Service and other similar organizations suggest that when my repayment schedule begins this November, my monthly payments will be more than what I pay in rent each month. With this in mind, how am I supposed to make ends meet working for seven or eight dollars an hour in a call centre?
I am writing to both of you, as my Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly respectively, to enquire as to what you and the Federal and Provincial governments are prepared to do to help me and others in my situation. And there are thousands of us. I am aware of the interest relief programs which are in place, but these are a band-aid solution at best. What am I to do once my thirty month maximum has been reached? Furthermore, until I find full-time employment, I do not qualify for interest relief in the first place.
I have many friends and family members who have all left New Brunswick for greener pastures, all of them well-educated and saddled with huge amounts of student debt. Before I join them, I am looking to you, Mr. Scott and Mr. Green, for a good reason to stay.
Sincerely,
Mary
posted by Mary at 3:52 p.m.
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