The Manitoba government announced plans for a new grant for low-income post-secondary students today. 

Education and Training Minister Ian Wishart announced $10.5 million would be invested in the new Manitoba Bursary in 2017-18, which will benefit around 5,800 students. 

"This new grant will provide advance, non-repayable financial assistance directly to students who need it most during the course of their studies," said Wishart in a statement. "We are ensuring that post-secondary education in Manitoba is made more accessible through enhanced support for lower-income students while they are in school." 

The grants will allow for up to $2,000 per eligible student. The province says low and moderate-income students can also access other provincial financial supports including ACCESS bursaries, university/college institutional bursaries and the Manitoba Student Loan. Federally, the Canada Student Grant will provide up to $3,000 to eligible, low-income students for a total of $5,000 between both governments. 

The Provincial government has come under fire recently after it was announced in their budget they would eliminate the Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate and Advance Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate. 

That comes on the heels of the province introducing Bill 31 last month, which would scrap the cap on tuition increases and allow for tuition hikes of five per cent plus the rate of inflation. 

Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie is the Vice President of Internal Affairs with the University of Winnipeg Student's Association and says these bursaries announced today are a silver lining, but students are still being hurt by the government's efforts to cut into the deficit. 

"Students in general are being targeted with talks of raising tuition and the tax rebate that has been taken away," said Lavoie. "Without that now there is a lot of worry among students after the budget was released." 

Lavoie says students she's spoken to are now wondering what to do, as many of them were relying on the rebate to pay off student loans or support themselves. And they are worried about losing that government support. 

"I understand the provincial government wants to address the deficit but it's coming on the backs of students," she said. "Students are dealing with a lot of financial pressure and these bursaries and scholarships increase competition but it doesn't create accessibility among the general student population."

Wishart says have more access to dollars now than they did before between this and the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative. 

"If you were looking for a good policy instrument to help students, that isn't it," Wishart said about the scrapped tuition tax rebates. "There's very little evidence to indicate it keeps people in Manitoba. Other provinces have tried this as well and they have all discontinued it because it was ineffective."