The Green Party of Canada has made an election promise that's bound to be popular with future students at universities and colleges across the country.

Green Leader Elizabeth May, who is seeking reelection in Saanich–Gulf Islands, today (September 16) announced that the party will work to end postsecondary tuition fees.

According to a news release, the party also wants to forgive any federal student debt in excess of $10,000.

“It is a bold idea, but we can and must afford it. We can implement this investment in our youth through common sense measures like eliminating subsidies to fossil fuels and restoring the corporate tax rate to what it was in 2009,” May stated in the release. “We don’t need to continue with the status quo; we can do better.”

The release outlines the party's big plans for youth and education:

• Immediately cut tuition fees for students and their families without adequate financial means, and remove the inadequate 2% cap on tuition for all First Nations and Inuit students;
• Abolish tuition fees for post-secondary education and skills training for Canadians by 2020 through constructing a system of federal grants collaboratively with the universities and colleges;
• Eliminate any existing or future student federal debt above $10,000;
• Abolish interest on new student loans and increase available funding for bursaries;
• Create a national Community and Environment Service Corps, which will provide $1 billion/year to municipalities to hire Canadian youth; and
• Help students and their families through the Guaranteed Liveable Income (GLI), to ensure no person's income falls below what is necessary for health, life, and dignity.

May also said: “We must invest in Canadian youth and the skills, training, and education that is necessary to create jobs. Young people are faced with the challenge of finding a job after they finish school, in a tough economy, while battling student debt. The Green Party is committed to investing in youth and removing barriers, like student debt, so young Canadians can find stable, sustainable jobs.”

The Greens released their election platform on September 9.