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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shugbot View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11/May/2004 at 2:46pm

I've got about $16,000 owed to the sask/fed gov't, which doesn't worry me. It's the other $45,000 I owe to the national bank of Canada and ITI financial services. (ITI, being Information Technology Institute) I went to this extremely expensive private technology school lured by the promises of jobs that paid in excess of $60,000 USD, which was true until about 30days after my graduation in November of 2000. I managed to get a job paying $38,000 cdn here in Vancouver, but alas, I've just been laid off. The loans I received for ITI (tuition was about $24,000, yes I know, I'm an idiot) were at prime+6% and they have refused to lower that interest rate. I realize in hindsight that this was a foolish gamble, but I didn't see the IT bubble popping until it was too late. Now i don't know how I will survive on EI while trying to make my monthly $835 private/public student loan payments... and finding another job so far has been a lost cause. I guess I'll do it as long as I can then attempt to file bankruptcy, even tho I understand my gov't loans will still follow me to the grave.  

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kevmetric View Drop Down
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Joined: 31/December/2003
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kevmetric Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/May/2004 at 8:17pm
That's a good question.

Myself, 4 years ago, I went to a job fair
just to see what the atmosphere was like
in terms of what was hot and what wasn't.

I had sent for an info package from ITI,
considering that I was curious. It was $24,000
in tuition....very humongous. And they said
you were obligated to get a laptop. I already
had a Thinkpad, why should I have to pay for
another one, and take out a loan on one? I didn't
wait for the answer. It looked like a scam ..
but then again, Nortel shares were at $120 per
share (post-split, or $220 pre-split in April 1999
or 2000).

So, I visited their booth, a year later...talked
to their rep...which I had already corresponded
with by mail. And by phone. And I had got a photocopy
of TIME magazine's brain drain front cover story,
with hyped stories of 100,000's of I.T. jobs paying
amazingly well in the USA, every Tom Dick and Harry
was going to Silicon Valley to pitch a fairy tale
Cinderella story to venture capital funds, becoming
multi-millionaires overnight, etc.

I listened to what the sales rep was telling me...
needless to say, his sales pitch had more holes
than a Swiss cheese.

I declined.

I decided to go another route...and I have no debts
at this point, luckily, and have been cash flow positive
since the beginning of learning what ITI meant. There
was one in Ottawa, another in Toronto ...my thinkpad
cost me $1,200 not $4,000 as ITI wanted ...and Java
programming, wasn't a necessity. Their IIS v4
and Frontpage courses, I can study myself.

Nice try, but no cigar. Nortel went to 80 cents per
share, ITI went broke, the founder went broke or
close with similar projects, and the whole house
of cards tumbled.

As we speak, perhaps half a million jobs in I.T.
are preparing to get moved overseas, to Bangalore,
China, Russia, Romania, Hungary, Phillipines to
people making $1 per hour (if not, 50 cents/hr)
though taxpayer funded R&D, for something called
Voice-Over-IP.

i.e. taxpayers funding technologies that make Canadians
lose their jobs...their own, and those of their kids.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pmwattshui Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03/June/2004 at 9:49am
I have a similar theme.  I was in college doing teacher training and just before I graduated I was falsely accused of sexual harrasment.   The college was prepared to back my accusers in court. I did not have the money to fight it out in court so I had to leave.  I went to a treacher training program at another place.  I had to start all over again on student loan .  When I was coming to graduation again the new place called the old college to see why I left and get references etc. so I was told.  When they found out what happened I was all of a sudden not suitable to teach.  Having 7 years of school no money no degree and large debt I decided to finish a BA in history so I could have something.  Since student loans will give out money for anything to anybody. I was able to borrow money for another two years.  I am now $80,000 in debt plus interest. I have a low salary as I am only a clerk.   I am told that I must pay aprox 1100/month for 14.5 years. This is far beyond my ability to pay.   There is no negotiation!!    Since there was no negotiation and I was told to simply find the money or else they would just take it and put a lien on my bank account.  I really got scared so I went into bankruptcy in hopes that the 10 year rule will change to 5 years soon.  And get a break from collection calls.  I would be happy to pay for one degree but to pay for three degrees is to much since the problems why my debt got so high were not my fault. 
Big Cat
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BigFatherA View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BigFatherA Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03/June/2004 at 3:29pm
If you owe money directly to ITI it may simply be consumer debt and not a student loan under the Student Loan Act.  Look into it. 

If it is in fact "only" consumer debt, it can be eliminated by a bankruptcy, even if your other loans survive.  Even IF the court challenge goes through (and you file after 5 years), your student loans are not necessarily forgiven by the bankruptcy court:  it depends on your individual circumstances.
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non carborundum illegitemi est
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SolveStudentDebt View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03/June/2004 at 8:15pm

 

 Big Father,

 I had lost your email address some time ago. I was hoping to hook up with you sometime soon and go over some curriculum development issues. Give me a jingle when you can - or write to me.

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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