In essence, student loan debtors will be responsible for repaying three separate student loans: the federal and provincial student loan to be repaid in full (both principle and accrued interest) within the same 114 months and the income contingent loan to be repaid in full (both principle and accrued interest) within 30 years.

Canadian women will begin to question the affordability, and thus accessibility, of post-secondary education. Such increasingly massive student loan debt loads pose a significant psychological and economic barrier to their futures. Due to systemic barriers in employment, women traditionally have lower life-time earnings than men, earning between sixty and seventy percent of what men earn. Women are more commonly employed in lower paid professions, and the unstable labour market, with an increasing trend towards part-time non-standard employment and a high turnover of unemployed university graduates, provides no security for students, especially women. According to the Human Resources Development Branch, female part-time workers tend to be between the ages of 24 and 44 while male part-time workers tend to be 24 and under. And as women continue to bear most responsibility for children and other dependents, their participation within the paid workforce is sporadic. Women consequently pay more than men for the same education due to the accumulated interest over the extended length of time it takes to repay their student loans.

The high cost of post-secondary education and the ever increasing massive student loan debt will mean that Canadian women will continue to be marginalized and will continue to live in poverty whether they are educated or not.

Erica Elison is a Registered Social Worker and is currently employed as a student advocate at the University of Regina Students' Union.