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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polyhymnia61 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/February/2004 at 6:24pm

*innocent face*

Who...me? Nudge?

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Trixie B View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trixie B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/February/2004 at 9:33pm
been there,

I feel for you. Who wouldn't feel mentally exhausted after all you've been through!

I had my own chain of events occur last year. Relationship broke up, father died, did net worth statement saw I was negative $70,000, found out i owed on my taxes, cried so hard right in that H&R Block, i had snot running down my face, then got notice that I owed money on a student loan I didn't even know I had and had to pay in full in ten days or else!

Some people i work with encouraged me to go on antidepressants and they still do. I think they are uncomfortable with my grief. The antidepressant are for them, not for me.I am by nature an "emotional" person, I get touched easily, and am affected by other peoples pain. Since my father died those emotions are right as the surface so it doesn't take much.

I've noticed that certain emotions like anger and rage are ok to express in my work environment, but god forbid you get water in your eyes then you are mentally unstable.

When it comes to taking an antidepressant, ask yourself who it is for, and if it is the best road to take.

Feeling hopeless, fearful,and depressed are normal reactions to the crap that most of us have been through. Life is hard enough with it's inevitable losses and traumas a long the way without all the student loan stuff.

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polyhymnia61 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22/February/2004 at 4:52am

Trixie B: So true...everything you say. I hope things have stabilized for you somewhat -- and that you stay true to yourself!

I have one question...Who told you to pay your student loan in 10 days "or else?" Nobody can tell you that!! Johnny can vouch for that.

 

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Trixie B View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trixie B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22/February/2004 at 7:25pm
Poly: yes things have stabilized somewhat. The biggest thing is that due to some retrospective money I got from work I was able to get out of the city I was living and move back to the city where i was previously happy.
The money would have made only the smallest dent in my student loan debt, but is making a huge difference in terms of financing my move and having a little paint to put on the walls.

Johnny's advice to "live first" although it took months to sink in helped a lot. So that's what I am trying to do.

The loan in question was a BC Student Direct Loan since i had moved several times and did not know the existence of this loan it took them two years to track me down. I received one letter in which it informed me of the amount and how long I had to pay. The second letter contained a bunch of legalese I hardly understood. They put a garhishee on my taxes. I had a reassessment done and they took it before I was notified. When I phoned and spoke to them they told me they would garnishee my bank account (amount of loan $3,300) and I told them go ahead, they wouldn't get all of it in one go and then my payments would bounce, I wouldn't have money to pay my rent, my car would be repossed, etc. etc. I wouldn't be able to work and then they'd get nothing. Then the lady agreed to accept a monthly payment.

This website has made a huge difference it teaching us the rules of the game when it comes to collection of student loans.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spacemonkeyham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13/March/2004 at 2:23pm

yes i believe i have gone crazy...over the six years it took me to complete my BA, i developed several forms of anxiety disorder, major depression, gained 80 lbs, and have completely withdrawn from everything i've enjoyed. i have had to take several stress leaves from work over the last couple of years which have just increased the debt i'm already in, which is $80,000.00 by the way (2/3 of it is student loans). the irony is that i work in Community Mental Health! i am trying to help others with their problems, and i can't even manage my own. i am taking medications for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and panic attacks. what the hell am i doing with my life! i feel like i'm slowly drowning and going under is beginning to look pretty good these days. i am so unhappy and no matter how hard i've tried, i can't seem to find a way out of this...i have screwed up my life beyond repair i think. I wanted to go to grad school (counselling psycholgy) so that i at least will have an opportunity to make enough money to pay back the thousands of dollars i owe (and stave off the wolves for a few more years). but now i can't really see the point in that either- it will just get me further and further into debt, and i won't be able to live off student loans.  why bother.

 

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diana View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote diana Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/March/2004 at 3:50pm

The stress on mental health is so unnecessary. It does not have to be this way. Every time the phone rings or I see mail in the mailbox. It is so life consuming. And it is so wrong.

One thing is clear. If you have student loans, you graduate, you get a great job and you pay them back you are in a different class. If you have the same student loans and experience hardship in life, you are catapulted into a nightmare that you can't wake up from. This is what HRDC needs to look at. Individual cases, one by one. Our government needs to realize these loans were not for fun as someone said earlier. They were an investment in education and through no ones fault, the investment did not work out as planned. That is not to say that tomorrow things will change. If I get through today, I am ready for tomorrow.

diana
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Casey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Casey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/March/2004 at 1:17am

We just have to live "one day at a time"

This is a big boat with lots of us on the same trip!

So sad that the government takes such great pleasure at making our sad lives much more difficult. How can you respect anyone who  sends their dog (collectors) after a sick person..

We must not give in, there is still hope! Websites like this are getting the message out. The Canadian government can not go on behaving the way they do without being accountable for their actions. The truth will getting out, they will have to deal with the situation some day!

Casey . . .

 

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diana View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote diana Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/March/2004 at 9:00am
I believe that bad things happen to good people. Dirtydebt and debtfree have just been lucky so far.
diana
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kristian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/March/2004 at 9:12am
I wonder if good people can happen to bad things...

Would the result be any different?


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