An Act to amend the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act and the Income Tax Act

Bill C-217 was an NDP Private Member's Bill amending the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. S-23) and the Canada Student Loans Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. S-23) to expand federal student-loan and grant eligibility. The federal Canada Student Loans Program disbursed approximately $4.7 billion in student loans to roughly 600,000 students in 2023-2024 per Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) data. The bill called for expanded part-time student eligibility, increased Canada Student Grants for low-income students (currently up to $4,200 per academic year), and a permanent rather than time-limited extension of the zero-interest framework that came into force April 1, 2023 under Bill C-47 (BIA 2023, S.C. 2023, c. 26).