This website is a testimony to the problems Canadian Student Loan borrowers experienced from approximately 1996 to 2008 and until their loans were paid off.

The privatization of the Student Loans system by the Chretien and Martin Liberal governments broke the system and defaulted thousands of borrowers who were trying to pay their loans. There were even stories of suicide due to the harassment of borrowers.

Read the report that I prepared back in 2007 here. Canada Student Loans-The Need for Change Fortunately the new Conservative government at the time revamped the program and fixed the system for new borrowers, but borrowers under the previous program were left with ruined credit and continued harassment from debt collectors.

I call on the Canadian Government to apologize to the borrowers affected by this fiasco and make amends.

Unfortunately the Liberal government is again clobbering the Education system with their upcoming changes to International Student Visas. Yes, there's a problem, but instead of a well thought out plan, they have pulled the emergency brake on the train causing a derailment. This has introduced unprecedented instability for both private and public education institutions who serve both international and local students.

Universities can't plan. I've heard of courses being cut because the government has no process in place for universities to send the newly required acceptance letters to the government.

This means that students who have been accepted can not attend courses that start in the summer 2024 semester. With cut sections, current Canadian students will have trouble getting courses, and may have to switch to part-time which changes their enrollment status and might trigger repayment of their loans or ineligibility for funding. I've seen this before. It wreaks havoc on the student loan borrowers.

Again, the Liberal government has messed up the education environment. Will the new system needed in a rush for the acceptance letters be the new Arrivecan scandal?

I call on the government to implement a slower phased in approach and delay the requirement of the acceptance letters until a process is in place to submit these letters.


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    Posted: 15/February/2005 at 5:09am

Here's the deal: I now have roughly 40k in student debt, about 8k of which is mere interest added-on over the years.
This stemming from Doctoral studies in the Humanities which fell short in 1998 due to lack of funding, you know how it goes... had to wait for the "excellence bursary" for three more months, with a child to feed and bills to pay.
I have no other debt, like consumer debt since I have no credit. and I never even dealt with any credit companies. 
I also acknowledged my debt every year like a good little boy. Why because I did it, I did spend 40k on Kraft Dinner over a decade. I'm guilty of that much, that and entertaining a lot of naivete.
I made a couple of payments when I worked in 2000, but had to stop. Eventually ended up on welfare and still managed to scramble the odd tax return for them to take. I've been good, as good as can be considering...   
And I haven't been harassed since the loan has left the bank for the government.

Here's the real catch: I got divorced in 2001, following a serious bout with mental illness on the part of my spouse at the time, and ended up with sole custody of my two children. As it turns out, my youngest son is diagnosed as a rather profound autistic child, the non-verbal type.
The special care needed for the child implies that I take him here and there on a daily basis and thus I'm unemployable in the short-term, and considered so by the government itself, until he's a full-timer in school. A single parent of two would need big wages to cover the monthlies on that one. It was over 500 a month.
Things got more difficult than I could ever imagine. I need a fresh start so once the kid is parked in school full-time, I can work and provide a more decent life for my children.  
Sorry, I won't be able to pay back for my high education blunder of yesteryear. Not now, not in two years, and foreseeably never. 

And you'd have guessed that with the years this suspension of life has taken its emotional toll, when added to having to deal with my child's condition. We try to remain sane through it all, keeping hope. Here's a bill (currently C-236 slated for debate sometime next week hopefully) and there's a charter court challenge. And there was a senate word of wisdom in the meantime. We hang on to the idea that our leaders will come to their sense sooner or later.


Five years seems fair to me. It's already been longer than that. And longer than that is well... just too long and needlessly so, right?
I'm speaking as a rational citizen driven by compassion for my fellow man and such ethical ideals, just like you. Isn't that what this country is about, Mister Speaker? What I heard...
ahem
There were times I thought, half-jokingly: Would Amnesty International help in a case like this?
Doesn't this come down to a violation of my basic human rights in any way? Treated as we are, more poorly than some drunken gambler who just lost his shirt at the casino. Because at least HE can go bankrupt.

I'm in jail here, in a way, because of this debt. And because of sorry circumstances I found myself in along the way, it has clipped my wings. I'm a reasonably resourceful, talented citizen who can't fly like he should and contribute what he could contribute to society. And all because of a lapse in judgement as a kid. I thought I could beat the odds and almost got there...  
But like many of you, I have to sit here instead and pray for a second chance in the system (it has come to that) while I witness the girl who bought too many Gap items get off the hook easy with her debt, stuff like that... and accept it all as rational and equitable.

However different in the detail our stories may be, I see I am not alone in this condition, being weighed down by this savage policy in effect.
It is nice to meet my virtual cellmates and read their stories.

Thanks for the opportunity.

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kwelmm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/February/2005 at 7:55am

Pretzel_logic,

I hear ya!!  Virtual cellmates ...that's about it!! 

Well...if it makes you feel any better...hang with us...vent...vent...vent some more

(I like your avatar )

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/February/2005 at 8:42am

Thanks for the welcome, senior person. I dscovered the board just recently and found it inspiring.

Now if I could only draw a mere five bucks out of each registered user here, pretty soon I may not have a debt problem anymore. Then I'll finally move up to the Consumer Digest Forum, where I belong.

Greetings.

 

 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hunter2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/February/2005 at 12:21pm
You are not alone.
The inequity is intolerable but you just learn to live with it.
I am rather hopeful that things will change however its not likely until the next election and a majority win(hopefully not for the Neocons)
Anyway Nice to meet you and glad to have you here!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 1:09am

Bummer.

But I thought that it would be easier to pass reforms with a minority government in place. Didn't the Liberals court the NDP to form a majority alliance? And in the current situation, isn't the government forced to be conciliant? Not that I put too much faith in the NDP's efforts to reform the legislation. But there are other encouraging signs. There are those who decry the lack of purchasing power of new graduates out there. And they are powerful people, from Industry Canada and such. Their argument is that this ten-year policy is actually hurting the economy. Which lead the Senate to endorse the idea of a change.

Correct me if I'm wrong in staying positive.

Now of course, elect them prairies right-wingers next time around and we're back to square one or even worse. But this is not likely to happen. And I believe it'll be down to "five years" before the next elections. Bold statement, I know.

And sorry if I'm wishing for this forum to one day become obsolete. But i find it's a noble goal.

 

 

 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 3:51am

 

 Pretz,

 There is nothing wrong with staying positive.

 However, let's discuss the issue of "change".

 Your wrote:

 "Their argument is that this ten-year policy is actually hurting the economy.".

 The economy is suffering because student loans are not dischargable under bankruptcy for 10 years? Or, is the fact that the cost of education is so high that students are unable to get out of debt sooner?

 The next sentence you wrote:

 "Which lead the Senate to endorse the idea of a change."

 How is the issue going to change? Is the reduction of the bankruptcy limitation period to 5 years from 10 going to solve the problem? Let's say if the limitation period was dropped to 2 years once again, what kind of change would that be other than timing?

Point #1 - If the 10 year limitation period is reduced from 10 to 5, or even 2, that is one thing. The Federal government created bankruptcy. It is a federal program. It is bound by federal law - and is governed by a federal statute. Yet, it is administered by Provincial and private sectors. The Canada Student loans Program is a Crown entity as well.

 Point# 2 - The Crown is doing everything possible to protect themselves from losing out on the student loans program. This is why they changed the bankruptcy rules by exempting themselves from the act for a 10-year limitiation period.

 Point #3 - The Crown is not going to let what happened back in 1994-`1997.

)See http://temagami.carleton.ca/jmc/cnews/28112003/n3.shtml)

 Back in the day, it was easy to go bankrupt. People that were not bankrupt were going bankrupt. The "private" bankruptcy sectors were striking gold by advertising to people "Hey, student debt got you on edge? Come on in and see us, we will make it go away!". I remember seeing two bankruptcy advertisements pinned to the bulletin board at a grocery store with the sales pitch "Looking for debt relief? Credit Card or student loans weigh you down? Call us - we can help ..." The only way a bankruptcy administrator can help anyone is to ring them into the insolvency program. it is what they do. Just like the only way these non-profit debt counseling schemes can can "counsel" you is if you get rung into their debt-pool. This is their profit.

 Point #4 - The CSLP is not going to bend. The timing is one thing, but the actual discharge process is another. So, if or when the limtiation period is reduced to a lesser number, people can apply for discharge. If the Court (and the Crown) is satisfied that the bankrupt has acted in good faith, has not frustrated the system, and demonstrates the inability to repay the debt now - or later, then the chances of discharge are greater.

 If the court and Crown is not satisfied that the bankrupt has acted in good faith,  here will be no discharge.

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

   

  

 

Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 4:04am
Originally posted by Johnny Johnny wrote:

 

 Pretz,

 There is nothing wrong with staying positive.

 However, let's discuss the issue of "change".

 Your wrote:

 "Their argument is that this ten-year policy is actually hurting the economy.".

 The economy is suffering because student loans are not dischargable under bankruptcy for 10 years? Or, is the fact that the cost of education is so high that students are unable to get out of debt sooner?

 The next sentence you wrote:

 "Which lead the Senate to endorse the idea of a change."

 How is the issue going to change? Is the reduction of the bankruptcy limitation period to 5 years from 10 going to solve the problem? Let's say if the limitation period was dropped to 2 years once again, what kind of change would that be other than timing?

Point #1 - If the 10 year limitation period is reduced from 10 to 5, or even 2, that is one thing. The Federal government created bankruptcy. It is a federal program. It is bound by federal law - and is governed by a federal statute. Yet, it is administered by Provincial and private sectors. The Canada Student loans Program is a Crown entity as well.

 Point# 2 - The Crown is doing everything possible to protect themselves from losing out on the student loans program. This is why they changed the bankruptcy rules by exempting themselves from the act for a 10-year limitiation period.

 Point #3 - The Crown is not going to let what happened back in 1994-`1997.

)See http://temagami.carleton.ca/jmc/cnews/28112003/n3.shtml)

 Back in the day, it was easy to go bankrupt. People that were not bankrupt were going bankrupt. The "private" bankruptcy sectors were striking gold by advertising to people "Hey, student debt got you on edge? Come on in and see us, we will make it go away!". I remember seeing two bankruptcy advertisements pinned to the bulletin board at a grocery store with the sales pitch "Looking for debt relief? Credit Card or student loans weigh you down? Call us - we can help ..." The only way a bankruptcy administrator can help anyone is to ring them into the insolvency program. it is what they do. Just like the only way these non-profit debt counseling schemes can can "counsel" you is if you get rung into their debt-pool. This is their profit.

 Point #4 - The CSLP is not going to bend. The timing is one thing, but the actual discharge process is another. So, if or when the limtiation period is reduced to a lesser number, people can apply for discharge. If the Court (and the Crown) is satisfied that the bankrupt has acted in good faith, has not frustrated the system, and demonstrates the inability to repay the debt now - or later, then the chances of discharge are greater.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

   

  

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 4:43am

"If the court and Crown is not satisfied that the bankrupt has acted in good faith,  here will be no discharge."

But with that sort of cruel and unusual punishment (which remains hypothetical until you show me at least a case of discharge refusal, and that's difficult considering it hasn't been ten years yet), they will meet consequences from such actions themselves. You don't just skin people alive in a mature, advanced democratic State without paying some kind of a price, whether political or otherwise. It's all great acting like bullies out there, but we do enjoy basic human rights.    

On special circumstances: if single parenthood of a child with autism, involving "serious constraints to employment" (definition of the situation by the State itself) doesn't fly, then you're all in deep s*** my friends, and especially youse all who want to buy like real estate instead of repaying...    

You're right in saying that it was relatively easy in the nineties to go bankrupt over student loans. I remember a race to the Courts in the spring of 1998, which I let pass by thinking I could make it fine... just to end up having to fold a few weeks later, when the funds dried out. So that too speaks of good will on my part.  I wanted to succeed and repay. But sometimes, in certain circumstances, and those are more often out of our control than the dominant managerial discourse would have it, it just don't work out that way.

And the loan money wasn't used to build an empire here. I could  easily have built a house out of macaroni boxes, it's true. Then, what is the difference between this aid and a minimal guaranteed income, such as welfare (off limits to students as you know), say?  It was not as generous and did not include dental? It was in the form of a loan instead of a simple handout?

And what of the scandals raging over the mismanagement of public funds? And what of decent budget surpluses? I lived like a pauper all these years and we should feel bad, if cleared, for what would amount to a mere fraction of what's involved with those? 

Somehow I don't feel like such a criminal.

  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 4:56am

Sorry for the mess in posting. whoa

I'm new...

And thank you for the article. Interesting number on the losses incurred by the government. That little, eh? With billions in budget surpluses...

Really, that has worth squeezing the life out of poor people for ten years.

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 5:02am

 

 You wrote:

 

"If the court and Crown is not satisfied that the bankrupt has acted in good faith,  here will be no discharge."

But with that sort of cruel and unusual punishment (which remains hypothetical until you show me at least a case of discharge refusal, and that's difficult considering it hasn't been ten years yet), they will meet consequences from such actions themselves. You don't just skin people alive in a mature, advanced democratic State without paying some kind of a price, whether political or otherwise. It's all great acting like bullies out there, but we do enjoy basic human rights."

 Ask around  and you will find a few who have been refused. Also, call a whole bunch of bankruptcy firms and see if they will reveal this truth to you. Call the court where these hearings are heard... and ask them to pony up the statistics. 

 You wrote:

 " On special circumstances: if single parenthood of a child with autism, involving "serious constraints to employment" (definition of the situation by the State itself) doesn't fly, then you're all in deep s*** my friends, and especially youse all who want to buy like real estate instead of repaying... "

 What you are describing here is a clear demonstration of hardship. Please read what I wrote previously.

I know that it is a hard pill to swallow. The system is there to protect itself. The true value is in it's investment, which is the the return of money plus interest. At one time, the government called it's investment the "Canadian student". Now, the investment is called the "Canadian dollar" owed - plus the interest that it accrues. 

 It sort of makes us all look disposable, doesn't it?  

 

Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/February/2005 at 5:07am

And responsability falls to their failed system, yes. And if we're tio talk business, who gives out a loan to a kid studying in a precarious field of study and already in the hole for tens of thousands of dollars? No questions asked?

The banks did.

And sometimes you just gotta pay for your mistakes.

There. We shall all remain accountable for our actions forever.

  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sewsinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/March/2005 at 12:14pm
Is that right? Bankruptcy in Canada is run by the Provinces? That does seem odd.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Observer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/March/2005 at 12:44pm

sewsinger - For bankruptcy info go here  http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inbsf-osb.nsf/vwGene ratedInterE/h_br01221e.html

After reading all the comments all I can say is the one glaring problem is the way we the people have allowed our educational system to falter and how we as a people and society have made education a "commercial product" thus ensuring the boondoggles we see in CSL and other areas continue.

Students are now consumers.......wait one minute ...just getting out my soap box....okay go to this site and get a taste of where the whole system is going......... http://www.bctf.ca/ezine/archive/2002-2003/2003-03/support/0 4WhatsWrong.html

Just had to get that out of my system!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/March/2005 at 6:06pm

 

 Bankruptcy is governed by the Federal Government. It is administered by provincial bodies and the private business sector. Now, Orderly Payment of Debts (OPD) is run by the provincial debtor's assistance programs but it is governed under the BIA (bankruptcy and insolvency act). So, OPD is a "provincially" run program that is governed by the Crown's "BIA". 

 If anyone questions whether or not OPD is bankruptcy, well, it is. OPD is a bankruptcy service that is clearly outlined in the BIA. The OPD administrations tell people it is "not" bankruptcy, rather it is an "alternative" to bankruptcy.

Like I said before a few times... Pepsi is an alternative to Coca Cola. Both are dark, sweet to the taste, but have a harsh effect on you and your health.

 

John LeBlanc
The Canadian Financial Wellness Group
 
Tel: (902) 464-8727
 

  

  

  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/April/2005 at 6:21am

Now if my GST is not seized, it has to mean that somewhere in their database there is some hardship flag attached to my name. I never had to fight for it. My provincial government (Quebec), on the other hand, is not so tender, as they do seize my tax returns, if and when any. Their debt reduction program is conditional and applies only to a few who actually finish their studies within a given time frame. And so I got the worst of both worlds here as there is no debt reduction possiblilities, acccumulating high rate interest but no softening of the federal bankruptcy law. Nova Scotia, here I come.

And if Johnny expresses his sympathies but never offers to help, that has to mean something too. Maybe your best avenue is bankruptcy then. Or is it?

There are two problems I have with your perspective on things: one is the idea that the burden of proof of hardship would be different between consumer debtors and student debtors.

The other is this stressing the perennial quality attached to hardship an ex-student must experience to go through the process of discharge "successfully". 

Like "if only if you never ever will be able to pay and can prove it" (when noone really knows for sure), will you have the privilege of going bankrupt. That's what it sounds like anyway. Now this has to be an informed opinion you express. You did bring up one case of refusal of discharge, one in which hardship was questionable as savings and assets were substantial. But I don't see any hard facts to substantiate the claim that hardship would be harder to prove than for any bankrupt layman out there. 

Given it's an informed opinion, I have to assume your experience tells you it's how it's gonna go. And I have to trust until shown otherwise. But you must understand it is a rather depressing thought to entertain for a struggling student debtor, like a life sentence pending, really.

 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kwelmm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/April/2005 at 7:13am
Originally posted by pretzel_logic pretzel_logic wrote:

Now if my GST is not seized, it has to mean that somewhere in their database there is some hardship flag attached to my name. I never had to fight for it. My provincial government (Quebec), on the other hand, is not so tender, as they do seize my tax returns, if and when any. Their debt reduction program is conditional and applies only to a few who actually finish their studies within a given time frame. And so I got the worst of both worlds here as there is no debt reduction possiblilities, acccumulating high rate interest but no softening of the federal bankruptcy law. Nova Scotia, here I come.

And if Johnny expresses his sympathies but never offers to help, that has to mean something too. Maybe your best avenue is bankruptcy then. Or is it?

your experience tells you it's how it's gonna go. And I have to trust until shown otherwise. But you must understand it is a rather depressing thought to entertain for a struggling student debtor, like a life sentence pending, really.

What are you suggesting here?  Could you explain yourself?  If that was intended to be a low blow.....it worked.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/April/2005 at 7:30am

Low blow? Why not at all. Just a statement of fact, with no harsh feelings involved whatsoever. Just scroll up this topic and you'll find my original testimony and Johnny's responses w/o any direct offer to help, either for free or otherwise, not to my knowledge anyway. And I found that a little odd and no more than that. I was just wondering if this was any indication as to his conclusions regarding my particular case.

I'm wondering about hardship, how it is defined in practice. And that's all.

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mersan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/April/2005 at 7:30am

Pretzel I read your first post. I am really genuinely sorry to hear of your circumstances and in a just society you would be rewarded and recognized for your devotion to your children. 

 

The points you are raising have nothing to do with John though.  He is simply relating that trustees frequently misrepresent the true possible outcomes of applying for discharge and that the deck is stacked in favor of the Crown.  In my case that is the way it worked when I filed a consumer proposal and my loan was over 10 years old. 

 

Your analysis of the system is correct from my view but John is not the system.  He does know how the system works and that is what he is reporting here.  The system will never allow the degree of discharges that occured in the nineties.  That seems to be the position of our government. 

 

Have you tried contacting John by email or phone?  That is the way it is usually done.  He never offered to help me personally but he has helped me enormously after I did. 

 

The criteria on demonstrating hardship is in the Bankruptcy Act. 

 

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/B-3/6896.html

 

178. (1) An order of discharge does not release the bankrupt from

(a) any fine, penalty, restitution order or other order similar in nature to a fine, penalty or restitution order, imposed by a court in respect of an offence, or any debt arising out of a recognizance or bail;

 

(a.1) any award of damages by a court in civil proceedings in respect of

 

(i) bodily harm intentionally inflicted, or sexual assault, or

 

(ii) wrongful death resulting therefrom;

 

(b) any debt or liability for alimony;

 

(c) any debt or liability under a support, maintenance or affiliation order, or under an agreement for maintenance and support of a spouse, former spouse, former common-law partner or child living apart from the bankrupt;

 

(d) any debt or liability arising out of fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity or, in the Province of Quebec, as a trustee or administrator of the property of others;

 

(e) any debt or liability for obtaining property by false pretences or fraudulent misrepresentation;

 

(f) liability for the dividend that a creditor would have been entitled to receive on any provable claim not disclosed to the trustee, unless the creditor had notice or knowledge of the bankruptcy and failed to take reasonable action to prove his claim;

 

(g) any debt or obligation in respect of a loan made under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act or any enactment of a province that provides for loans or guarantees of loans to students where the date of bankruptcy of the bankrupt occurred

 

(i) before the date on which the bankrupt ceased to be a full- or part-time student, as the case may be, under the applicable Act or enactment, or

(ii) within ten years after the date on which the bankrupt ceased to be a full- or part-time student; or

(h) any debt for interest owed in relation to an amount referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (g).
 
Court may order non-application of subsection (1)
 (1.1) At any time after ten years after a bankrupt who has a debt referred to in paragraph (1)(g) ceases to be a full- or part-time student, as the case may be, under the applicable Act or enactment, the court may, on application, order that subsection (1) does not apply to the debt if the court is satisfied that

 

(a) the bankrupt has acted in good faith in connection with the bankrupt's liabilities under the loan; and

 

(b) the bankrupt has and will continue to experience financial difficulty to such an extent that the bankrupt will be unable to pay the liabilities under the loan.
 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pretzel_logic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/April/2005 at 7:42am

Thanks for that, Mersan. So I'm reminded this distinction between debtors is already covered in the text of the law. And that takes care of that.  

"Will continue" is a judgement call though, subjective. And, in practice,  the interpretation is likely to vary according to geographical or other circumstances. Envisioning it will be applied the same way, with the same harshness from one situation to the next, has to be an informed opinion.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mersan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/April/2005 at 7:57am

There are huge problems with that statute.  If one subsists at the poverty line or below for 7 years all the while accumulating interest on the loan and then gets a job with some prospects that shows a bit of a future how would that be evaluated?  Would past hardship be factored in?  Or would the sign that one had a job for 2 months be enough for them to say that this is an indication of future earnings?

 

It is not that there is one standard and there is no room for judicial interpretation.  It is just that Canada has a class system that needs to be preserved and so there is a great deal of collusion between the judicial, political and administrative branches.  There is really very little possibility in Canada to litigate injustices perpetrated by the crown.

 

This might very well change with the sponsorship scandal and Canadians may finally rise from their slumber.   

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