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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Southpa View Drop Down
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    Posted: 27/February/2005 at 10:34am

My brother sent me the article from the "Georgia Strait" and this website was mentioned.  As I'm no stranger to these types of message forums I figured I should be an active participant. 

So..whats MY story?  It goes back quite a few years and has lots of the usual worries, setbacks and letdowns normally associated with Student Loans.  I've seen people have nervous breakdowns over the issue.  These are YOUNG people with no attachments and they should know better than to let it get to them in such a manner, after all, its only money when looking at it in the grand scope of things.  I know, that sounds rather flippant, but its still not worth your health and welfare to get bent outa shape about it.

To begin, I decided to go back to school back in 1988, wow!, so many years ago.  I completed 2 years at BCIT in Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program and then did a 5 year hitch at UVic.  So I have a Degree of Technology and a B.Sc. out of all that.  During that time I was employed on a seasonal basis with a consulting firm that gathered information used for the management of the commercial salmon fishery on west coast BC.  I completed my studies, ie. didn't change my format and graduate with a degree in hair dressing or basket weaving.  As a result my BC Student Loans were forgiven and I only owed a balance of $55 which I paid promptly.  However, I found that the CSL was a totally different animal alltogether.  I was in to the tune of roughly $25,000!  I applied for Interest relief to hold things at bay until I could get the finances organized.  They send you a financial questionnaire every month.  Around the second month I did not receive any correspondence from them.  I found out later that it was sent to a house a few blocks away from me and it was too late to renegotiate interst relief.  I don't know if that was the intended plan or not, suffice it to say, I was no longer elegible for interest relief.

Things were getting better at work and I found myself getting a better wage, in a position of hiring and training people and working about 8 months out of the year.  Just before I was going to negotiate payments everything came crashing down around me.  The federal Gov't cut back the fishery and took all the contracts away from my employer.  I contacted those people who had taken over the work (Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans) about getting hired, after all, I was fully trained for the work and knew pretty much every aspect of dealing with personnel and those involved.  But unfortunately,  they had no room for me, citing budget constraints etc. and even then the fishery wss cut back to such an extent that there wouldn't have been enough work available to feed a cat for a year let alone myself.

So here I am living from paycheck to paycheck (when there is one) like the rest of you good people, doing odd jobs, yardwork for sympathetic friends and relatives, working for sweatshop painting outfits who can't tell you if you are working from one day to the next.  Credit cards are dragging in the mud.  They've been keeping all income tax refunds and GST cheques since 1997.  A couple times I thought I had a good job and sent the collection agency (TCH International) cheques but those jobs fell thru.  Since then I've been in a financial position where I can only take whats available.  You just can't hold out for a high paying full-time job, as its a simple matter of survival.  I'm lucky that I don't have any dependants, and live in a low profile lifestyle, but I'm just eking by.

The collection agency contacted me thru my mother.  She didn't know what it was all about and its not something that is openly discussed, ie. student loan default, to family.  Too many alarm bells go off.  So this woman calls me and asks for payment in full.  I basically said, "C'mon over!  If you can find anything in my place thats worth $25,000 ITS YOURS!"  Then she went on about me asking my parents to take out mortgages on their properties to help pay the debt, etc. etc. the usual impossible and implausible stuff.  They sent me a financial questionnaire to see where my income and expenses were.  At the time I was on EI and lo and behold! my monthly $1200 income was EXACTLY the same as my monthly $1200 expenses, imagine that!  So I wrote them a nice letter, explaining my situation and arranged to send them $20 a month OUTSIDE of what I was capable of paying. 

I have been sending $20 monthly cheques to TCH International for a long time now.  I have not had any more phone calls, mainly because I changed my number and got it on the "unlisted" status.  If they want to contact me they can do so by mail.  I'm trying to justify my financial status and Student Loan situation and find that only way out of this mess is to declare bankruptcy (shhh don't tell anyone yet :)).  The 10 year period will be up this year in May as I graduated in May 1995.  I have not lied to anyone about my financial status throughout this ordeal.  If they want to bring me in front of a judge then I feel my honesty will win.  I can partially blame the Gov't for my loss of a career by killing off the commercial salmon fishery and opening the door for salmon farming.  This was a specialized type of work that could only be done in one venue.  I know the loan people don't care about that, I could go work at MacDonald's for all they care.  But starting over in a company and working into a high paying position over the years is no longer feasible.

I've managed to keep my sense of humor through all this.   I have paid out a total of roughly $9000 through income tax/GST seizures, attempts at repayment and those $20 monthly cheques and my principle is still getting higher.  Thats what I call free money for someone.  I could go on like this for the rest of my life if I choose and I wouldn't be surprized if someone out there wishes I would.  Like someone said, its all business.  My advice?  DON'T LIE!  and be cordial to all those who contact you.  Make photocopies of ALL cheques you send and don't give them any reason to come after you and prosecute. 

Sure, I'm in pretty deep, my nose is juuuust above the surface.  I'm buying weekly lottery tickets and still actively hunting for that "payola" job.  I went into this with every best intention, going to school, beginning a decent career in a field of my interest and paying off my debt.  But it was all taken away from me overnight.  I don't know if that was poor planning, but everything happened so fast that no alarm bells went off and before I knew it I was back where I was 20 years ago.

OK, thats MY story, I'm sure there are lots of areas that you can relate to and hopefully there is some incite for those of you who are just beginning that long road.  take care

SP

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kwelmm View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kwelmm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27/February/2005 at 1:01pm

SP,

Thanks for sharing your story.....stay positive....like you are....it's the only way to beat this beast called student loan debt!!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27/February/2005 at 2:03pm

 

 Should Universities be held accountable to ensure that students are made aware that many of the jobs associated with their degree of study are hard to obtain even with the education?

 For instance, if a student wishes to become a teacher, the University will recommend a degree in the arts or sciences. Should they also "educate" a student that IF they are going to select that career path, it is going to be a really rough journey?

 In fact, teachers in Canada carry very high student debt ratios, and find it VERY difficult to locate gainful employment. Many teachers are in dire straits simply because they can only acquire "subbing" positions with no guarantees.

 This relates to something I had written in another forum regarding accountability. The Universities fail to properly educate students about "reality" and "preventative awareness". If a University wants  to ensure that a student succeeds, they should do more than just collect their money from the student loans sectors in return for an Arts degree. Unfortunately, this is all they are reuqired to do because the school's job is to educate the student. Well, this is exactly what I am getting at here.

 Educate the students! Prepare them for the real world! Educate them, make them aware of the troubles looming and how to prevent them from occuring, and empower them. THat is educating - and EMBRACING them so that their dremas may come to fruition.

 Johnny

 Johnny

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 polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27/February/2005 at 9:01pm

You would think that, with the bottom dropping out of the IT sector a few years back, that universities and the government would realize that NO job sector can guarantee jobs. The 'in-demand' job of 1995 may be totally irrelevant in five years.

Yeah, I know they realize, they just don't care.

But by blaming the student and turning them into deadbeats when all they tried to do was the right thing? According to authorities such as the government?

Thanks for your story, southpa. Keep us in the loop.

Poly

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Southpa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27/February/2005 at 9:46pm

I went back to school when I was 28 yrs old (once again, so long ago) I'm 45 now.  I sort of knew how the world turned at the time.  And I wanted to get involved in something that interested me rather than waste my life at something that only provided income and security (hmmm, looking at that statment makes me think that perhaps I DIDN'T know how the world turned. )   Anyway, I excelled at what I was interested in.  I chose to work in the fisheries management field and found it to be an exciting and very fulfilling means of employment.  But like any form of work it can end with the snap of a finger. 

I don't believe Universities take your needs at heart.  Its a business, plain and simple.  They DO provide some employment entry level situations like work/study programs, practicums etc. where you just might get your foot in a door, or at the very least have something to put on your resume.  I've found that most of my employment finding experiences have boiled down to a "who you know" basis. 

I think that is a major part of the student loan default crisis we are all facing.  Lack of a steady income.  That instability is what keeps me from making a committment to the bank, gov't and collection agencies that I have dealt with.  And even then, that steady job has to be as good as $2000 a month.  I've made that much in the past but only sporadically. And that money would more or less become savings to live on while looking for the next contract or job. 

I worked with a guy who graduated from St Andrew's Univ. in Scotland.  He was working with me on a 1 year work visa and generally seeing our fair country.  He owed money for student loans as well as me so we had much in common in that area.  They seem to have a fairly good system going there and don't waste money, time and effort on chasing so-called "deadbeats" around for ridiculous amounts of money.  He told me that in England you are not liable for paying back your student debts until you have gained full time employment with a minimum salary of $34,000 Cdn equivalent.  I forgot to ask him,"what if you don't find that job?"  debtor's prison?

Full time careers are tough to get into.  When I mentioned its "who you know" I am serious.  I've applied for too many jobs that I was fully qualified to do only to find that some supervisor's idiot nephew got the position.  They only had to advertise the position and conduct interviews for posterity and keep things looking legal.  Nepotism runs rampant in may areas of our governments and businesses.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28/February/2005 at 6:03am

Nepotism...even more of problem when you live in an isolated community of relatives going back generations -- except you!!

My son found the same problem; he's just moved in with my brother in Gatineau to look for some work to help pay for school, and to practise his French (he wants to go to a CEGEP in Montreal).

Funny, southpa, except for what we majored in, our stories are pretty similar in that we are about the same age, went back to school as mature students, majored in what interested us...I really think our timing sucked. I don't see my friends from high school suffering much at all -- but our friends from university who are on average 5-10 years younger than us seem to have trouble finding their bearings...

Poly

 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote momof2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28/February/2005 at 8:40am

i can definately relate...

i went to college after uni, so everyone was younger than i was.  they all have jobs, i was too old or too female etc etc...despite having the highest gpa, all the people skills etc. i never got close to a job in my field since i didnt know anyone where i lived.

makes me think i wasted three years and 30K for nothing.

professionals built the titanic but amateurs built the ark...
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