Thread by @dontforgetstdns

My name is Maryama Ahmed @m_abd_ahmd.

I'm a DFS organizer and a recent graduate of U of T.

I'm going to be using the #DontForgetStudents account to tell my story.

It's a story that shows how our government has completely failed Fall 2019 grads during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I called my @Liberal MP for support several times in April and May. I left desperate voicemails, but my pleas for help went unanswered.

I live in Toronto Centre.

My MP is @Bill_Morneau.

He may have ignored my phone calls, but I hope he reads this thread.

I don’t come from @BillMorneau’s world.

I am a Black, Muslim woman born to first-generation immigrants who fled civil war in Somalia in the early 90s.

I grew up in a low-income household.

I was the first person in my immediate family to be accepted to university in 2014.

The five years it took to complete my undergraduate degree at U of T were the most difficult in my life.

I had to work my way through school, but I could barely keep up the expensive living costs in Toronto.

There were times where I struggled just to afford to eat.

But I persevered.

I graduated in November 2019.

I was thrilled to finish my studies, but I soon found myself on a tough job market. I struggled to find work for months. My search finally paid off in February.

I found a full-time job in a hotel.

I started on March 2nd.

But then COVID-19 hit.

The hotel industry was devastated.

I was laid off less than two weeks after I started working.

I was one of the first workers in Canada to lose my job because of the pandemic.

When #CERB rolled out, I was relieved that help was on the way.

Even though it would be significantly less money than I would have made at my job, the government's financial support would have been a lifeline.

But then I looked at the requirements...

It dawned on me that I had made just less than $5000 in 2019, so I hadn't made the cut. I wouldn't get #CERB.

I also hadn't worked enough hours to qualify for EI.

And my employer wasn't able to hire me back with the wage subsidy, although I did ask if it was possible.

April was tough, but I was optimistic that help was finally on the way when @JustinTrudeau announced a massive relief package for students and recent graduates.

If I couldn't get #CERB, I assumed I'd at least be able to get the $1250 provided by the #CESB.

But I was wrong.

The #CESB is only for those who were enrolled in December.

This excludes tens of thousands of vulnerable recent grads like me.

But it gets worse.

I've been accepted to grad school in the fall, but I still don't qualify. Only high school students going into first year do.

It’s been six months since the beginning of Canada’s emergency response to COVID-19.

I still haven't received any financial support from the federal government.

I would at least get a one-time $1200 cheque in Trump’s America.

But I get nothing in Trudeau’s Canada.

Tens of thousands of recent graduates across Canada have one question: how long do we have to wait until we get the help we so desperately need?

That's why @dontforgetstdns and @CFSFCEE are demanding that the #CESB be broadened to include all Fall 2019 graduates.

@JustinTrudeau, @Bill_Morneau and @CQualtro could fix the #CESB this week if they wanted to, but we haven't been their priority.

We need action from them, but we also need @AndrewScheer, @yfblanchet, @theJagmeetSingh and @ElizabethMay to demand it.

https://twitter.com/dontforgetstdns/status/1285590369095294976?s=20