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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Forum LockedA serious solution to the BIA problems

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Blue_Thunder View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Blue_Thunder Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: A serious solution to the BIA problems
    Posted: 13/April/2005 at 8:18pm

Newsflash everyone!

Listen up ex-students, current students, student unions, and political parties especially.... here's some food for thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know this sounds rather wordy ... but I wanted to make sure that all the angles as much as possible was covered. Let's face it, to have the BIA put back to the pre-1997 days does not solve the problem because abusers of the system would be able to get back into exploiting the BIA without even giving Interest Relief the chance to give them the time needed to gain meaningful employment. Isn't that what Interest Relief is for? Someone who went bankrupt before exercising this rather generous option of Interest Relief has made it bad on the rest of us with good intentions. However, on the flip side of the coin, having this 10 year bankrupcy law in place shuts out not only the abusers, but makes it difficult on the rest of honest and hard working people to avail to bankruptcy as a very last resort to start over again.

Without further delay, here is my solution to the whole BIA problem pertaining to Student Loans:

First: Place up to 45 months of Interest Relief on Canada Student Loans and make it mandatory that Provincial and Territorial governments grant the same amount of Interest Relief time for their student loan programmes as well (See Note #2). This would make the Interest Relief time uniform across the country. That amount of time is 4 years less three months. Those three months come into play in a moment here.

Second: The amount of time that a Canada and Provincial/Territorial Student Loan be non-dischargeable through bankruptcy should be equivalent to the maximum amount of time that a student has Interest Relief available, plus 3 months or 90 days after the maximum amount of Interest Relief runs out. Of course after three months or 90 days after a loan has defaulted, then it almost always goes into third party collections.

In other words, a Student Loan borrower would have to exhaust all 45 months of Interest Relief, plus 90 days, before the loans reach "Dischargeable" eligibility.

This reform measure would make Student Loans non-dischargeable for an even 4 Year period. This would accomplish two things:

  • It would force the "bad apples", who would prior to 1997 exploit the BIA and get the loans erased virtually immediately after ceasing studies, to take the Interest Relief route (assuming they are not making too much money --> See Note #1 below) before they can go bankrupt. This would create the incentive to make an honest effort to gain employment.

(NOTE #1) However, the methods of assessing Interest Relief eligibility should be contingent on two things: the amount of loans owing and the amount of income the borrower is earning. The criteria should be set up such that someone who has a low income and a high student loan debt be granted further Interest Relief (up to the maximum of 45 months) until such an income level is reached to allow for a realistically sound standard of living and the ability simultaneously to make the required payments.

Put it another way, this would keep out the abusers of the BIA. These are the bad apples, combined with the Federal government's bogus programmes that are of no use to loan borrowers, that caused this 10 year be legislated in.

Furthermore, the wasted and mismanaged money that was and still is going into programmes that are complete failures such as the Millenium Scholarship should be put into an effective Interest Relief programme.

  • This system would allow for the honest people like myself, the overwhelming majority of us hard working tax payers, to have Interest Relief available up to 45 months if needed to gain suitable employment. Many socio-economic factors can slow down a graduate's progress to gaining employment and having interest relief like this would be great peace of mind.

Conclusion: Only after Interest Relief is totally exhausted and a loan borrower still either hasn't found meaningful employment and/or does not have the income suitable enough to have both the necessities of life (a roof, transportation, food, clothing, health care, etc.) and to meet the financial obligations of paying Student Loans, then the borrower should be granted bankruptcy protection and therefore have these debts discharged.

(Note #2) If the provinces and territories do not adapt to such mandatory Interest Relief measures exactly the same as with the Canada Student Loans, then ALL Provincial/Territorial Student Loans should be deemed dischargeable through bankruptcy 90 days after a loan has defaulted and then sent to collections. Should that happen before a Canada Student Loan's maximum Interest Relief time is exhausted, then this particular relief should continue until all the time is exhausted AND IF suitable employment is not achieved, then at the discretion of the courts the earlier bankruptcy on the Provincial and Territorial Student Loans be immediately applied to the Canada Student Loans.

This combined Interest Relief measures, seriously reformed for the better mind you, and the BIA amended as such would keep a borrower's credit rating intact and in good standing while searching for meaningful employment. Should a Bankruptcy take place, then a borrower has to worry about 6 years of bad credit before the Bankruptcy is wiped off the record ... and not potentially 16 + years of bad credit as a result of the current 10 year ban.

So folks, that is my solution to the whole mess that would make the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act fair on everyone including us student loan borrowers. All feedback on this idea is greatly appreciated, but please no pessimism. Pessimism is a major step backwards from achieving our goals and does not accomplish anything.

Take care and lets keep up the fight!

Blue_Thunder

The greater access to higher education, as a result of student loans, has flooded the job market. Therefore, supply exceeds demand. Thus our credentials are not as valuable as, say, 30 years ago.
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nago View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nago Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13/April/2005 at 9:39pm
I dont want to claim bankruptcy at all

But i think universities, Business, student loans have to rethink and provide new intitiatives


how bout practicuums for ex student who dont have jobs in all areas. Not just related to our degree==BA LOL

ie each year give us 3 month work experience--nitime,day, all hours in all areas.


More programs to really help us after ir runs out ===just do something for us well below the poverty line

Just give me the capacity to make enough money to pay my loans
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Casey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13/April/2005 at 11:50pm

I agree the system is broken and in some cases this would be a better idea but it does not help all of us. There has to be better ways to handle things without ruining more people's lives!

Bankruptcy is not a solution to this problem. There are many of us who are truly poor and have no money to pay and little prospect for employment that would improve our financial position. I inquired about bankruptcy before the 10 year rule came into play. I was told that I didn't owe enough or have enough assets and did not have the money to pay the fee required to process bankruptcy.

What we need is a simple form of forgiveness and a process to apply for amnesty..  By simple I mean, no dam complicated, bureaucratic processes, only lawyer we can't afford to hire can understand. After a period of time, if you can't pay your loan and have valid reason, you qualify.. No BS and extra crap.. plain and simple!

Our government forgives debts to business and other countries. It gives multi-million dollar grants to big, profitable business and pays itself well.  How about showing some compassion to it's own people. They might be surprised to find that forgiving some student loans will actually save money in other ways like health costs and welfare.. Putting a lot of extra stress on people and wrecking their credit ratings do not make them more employable. It's hard enough to accept being poor in a rich country and next to impossible to understand why our own government carries out a program of oppressing us!

Casey . .

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote momof2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14/April/2005 at 2:44am

i think an income contingent repayment plan would be the way to go here - with a time cap.

changing IR to 45 months is fine, to be honest, if after 45 months you havent found anything than 9 more months probably wont make a huge difference.  i think 36 months is the way to go - follow my rantings below to get my timeline...IR should be processed online, no paperwork misplaced or lost in transit that way.  EI can be done electronically, you don't see that system in shambles.  One app for provincial and federal IR - so they are dont at the same time and not staggered so you lose track of them.  biggest thing - interest payable on student loans changed to 1% flat, not prime plus anything, 1%, period.  this will make repayment much easier for many lower income families since the interest won't kill us.  no reporting student loans to credit bureaus either.  follow along, you'll see why.

the income contingent plan - you have to make over the superintendent of bankruptcy's income standards before you begin repayment on your loans.  if after 2 years you are still unable to meet repayment obligations, your loan is reviewed and automatic debt reduction of 10K is applied.  again 12 months later, and again 12 months following that.  the catch ?  when and if you do get a decent paying job there is a payroll deduction for education offset of no more than 100 bucks per check - and tax deductible.  when your loan is forgiven, community service of some description should be offered - ie volunteering at the library or hospital, food bank, whatever is doable.  the loan is not considered in default or reported to a credit bureau, rather you volunteer however you can and are credited an hourly rate against your loan owing - this could potentially save the government thousands of dollars getting skilled labour volunteering for basically nothing in various sectors, its a win win situation.

my way, there is no need for bankruptcy or collections activity.  a little idealistic or overly simplistic perhaps, but think about it.  by reducing IR to 3 years, thats 2 years less twiddling our thumbs and shuffling paperwork.  since its income contingent, no one has to worry about starving their kids.  also, i think if it were an automatic deduction then no worrying about forgetting a payment.  having automatic debt reduction to reduce your loans based on your income and the banko tables themselves as opposed to the current tables would make a huge difference for most of us ( gross vs net income - big difference).

also, there would be a need for an appeals board for hardship cases, a simple five person panel.  big city folks and those in rural and remote areas have different obstacles than those in your typical urban area as well.

like i said, pie in the sky, but effective.  no baknkruptcies, no collections, no defaults.  if theres no money to pay, community service offered to compensate the government in some manner.  payroll deductions when work of a meaningful wage is attained.  no lost paperwork or payments, nice and neat.

professionals built the titanic but amateurs built the ark...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silence2long Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14/April/2005 at 12:37pm

Love it Mom.......it would be neat an' tidy... wouldn't it ???

silence is a form of fear...fear of the unknown...has kept me silent too long
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Baggins Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19/April/2005 at 4:34am
this is interesting but one problem is that is is fast becoming the case that no income is adequate to the cost of attaining middle class professional status- ie- it is now the case that a high school teacher earning 50,000 per annum might owe 50,000 to 60,000 in loans- the system is so warped that even when it 'works' it is a failure-thus, the problem is no longer just that people can't find work, its that many middle class careers can no longer pay for themselves...yet we need teachers etc. don't we?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Casey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19/April/2005 at 11:04pm

Sounds excellent to me, well thought out!

You have an action plan, the government has nothing. The current "Pay No Mater What" only shows their do nothing policy! It makes money for their CA and lawyer buddies but does nothing to help the people who really need help! This issue is not causing enough of a political problem or effecting them personally, they take the easy way out, burying their heads in the sand. We need a solution now!

My vote is for Mom the next Prime Minister! 

We need someone running the country who has common sense!

Casey . .


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silence2long Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20/April/2005 at 12:10pm

Nomination on the plate Mom !!!

I will second that...........now how do we get you on the ballot ??

silence is a form of fear...fear of the unknown...has kept me silent too long
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