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.


  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Grounded before I even took off
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Register Register  Login Login


Forum LockedGrounded before I even took off

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Aliss View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 08/February/2012
Location: London
Points: 5
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aliss Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Grounded before I even took off
    Posted: 08/February/2012 at 11:21am
 

 At one point my student loan was 60,000 the price of a small house; only the difference is, you can't sell a student loan. My loan is now down to 49,000 because I kept applying for repayment assistance and I was given grants back in 2009 for some reason.

 

All through high school: teachers, parents, fellow students, the media was all pushing high school students directly into post secondary education. We were told that without an education we would go not be successful. This is what's known as a distraction fallacy that uses a false dilemma. It uses an either/or choice when there are other alternatives. But I don't recall any guidance staff advising students of any other choice than go into massive debt when there are no jobs.

 

I feel the most for those students who were suckered into the bachelor of education program at a time when most of the supply lists in Ontario are currently closed to new teachers. How can universities and the national student loan service center continue to flood the market with too many graduates and take their money and their lives away from them without any accountability? I luckily didn’t get my BED because out of some 20 fellow classmates who went on to become teachers not one has managed to get a permanent full time position. The lucky ones get a maternity contract or supply teaching.

 

In my opinion, the student loan crisis can be compared to the current mortgage crisis of the United States. Those who should not have qualified for loans were given easy loans so everyone got one. And with tuition increasing so did student loans. This allowed the Universities to raise their tuition, build new athletic facilities that are not needed and line their pockets, instead of aiming for affordable tuition and helping students.

 

It was a scam and the youth of this generation are expected to forfeit their lives for 15 years before we can have a shot.  My parents never paid for me to go to school and how can I be expected to help my children through school when I’ll still be paying my loan!  

The most stressful thing is dealing with the NSLC administration process; especially when applying for repayment assistance. They constantly loose documents, require more and more documents that they never initially asked for. This is just their way of stalling until you run out of time on your application, and they send your stuff into default. I have on film one conversation with OSAP when the representative refused to give me her employee number so I could reference the conversation. I always ask for the employee number and write down the date and time of all my calls in case there’s a discrepancy which happens often but they just deny it anyway. They have many tricks like that which I’ve encountered since I began repayment in 2007.

For anyone else dealing with the NSLC, I feel your pain. It hurts to be taken advantage of by your own country. They took away my life from me. I can’t own property or start a business. A poor credit rating can even prevent you from getting a job these days. I don’t think anyone ever wants to go bankrupt, but for some people with student debt, the 7 years is something that they are eagerly awaiting so they can finally start their lives in their 40’s.

We are victims and shouldn’t need to feel bad. They preyed on the impressionable youth who only wanted an education and had no other options. It’s not our fault we can’t afford to pay our student loans; why were they allowed to give out huge loans to young people with no jobs to begin with? I’ve just learned to accept my situation because I’ve been dealing with this for many years. It used to get me down too but after I realized what was really going on, I felt better because I knew it wasn’t my fault.  

 
 
Back to Top
Sponsored Links


Back to Top
administrator View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25/January/2003
Points: 1798
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/February/2012 at 1:23pm
Very, very well written.  
Administrator
Mark OMeara
Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain
https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.07
Copyright ©2001-2024 Web Wiz Ltd.