Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Canada Student Loans Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) In this Act,

  appropriate authority

  appropriate authority for a province means such person, body or authority as may be designated by the lieutenant governor in council of that province as the appropriate authority for that province for the purposes of this Act; (autorité compétente)

  borrower

  borrower means a person to whom a loan is made by a lender under this Act; (emprunteur)

  certificate of eligibility

  certificate of eligibility means a certificate in prescribed form issued or caused to be issued by an appropriate authority pursuant to section 14; (certificat d’admissibilité)

  guaranteed student loan

  guaranteed student loan means a loan made in accordance with the requirements of section 7; (prêt garanti)

  lender

  lender means

  • (a) a bank or an authorized foreign bank within the meaning of section 2 of the Bank Act,

  • (b) a credit union, caisse populaire or other cooperative credit society that is designated by the Minister on the application of that society as a lender for the purposes of this Act, or

  • (c) a company within the meaning of the Trust and Loan Companies Act, or a company, society or provincial company within the meaning of the Insurance Companies Act, that is designated by the Minister on the application of that company, society or provincial company as a lender for the purposes of this Act; (prêteur)

  loan year

  loan year means the period commencing on August 1 in any year and ending on July 31 in the following year; (année de prêt)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Employment and Social Development; (ministre)

  period of studies

  period of studies means a period of studies at a specified educational institution in a course that is recognized by that educational institution and the appropriate authority for the province to be equivalent to a course that may be taken by a full-time student at that institution as part of a program of studies of at least twelve consecutive weeks duration; (période d’études)

  prescribed

  prescribed, in the case of a form or the information to be given on a form, means prescribed by the Minister and, in any other case, means prescribed by the regulations; (Version anglaise seulement)

  qualifying student

  qualifying student means a person

  • (a) who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,

  • (b) who is qualified for enrolment or is enrolled at a specified educational institution as a full-time or part-time student for a period of studies at a post-secondary school level, and

  • (c) who intends to attend at a specified educational institution as a full-time or part-time student for a period of studies described in paragraph (b) if it is financially possible for that person to do so; (étudiant admissible)

  specified educational institution

  specified educational institution means an institution of learning, whether within or outside a province, that offers courses at a post-secondary school level and that is designated by the lieutenant governor in council of that province, either particularly or as a member of a class, as a specified educational institution within the meaning of this Act. (établissement d’enseignement agréé)

• Marginal note:Territories

  (2) In its application to Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the expression lieutenant governor in council in this Act means the Commissioner of Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, acting after consultation with the Legislative Assembly of Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, as the case may be.

Application

Marginal note:Certificates of eligibility

• 2.1 (1) No certificate of eligibility may be issued under this Act after the day on which section 12 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act comes into force.

• Marginal note:Alternative payments

  (2) No payment may be made under section 16 of this Act for the loan year in which section 14 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act comes into force, or for any following loan year.

Guaranteed Student Loans

Marginal note:Maximum amount of loan

• 3 (1) Subject to this Act and the regulations, a guaranteed student loan may be made by a lender to a qualifying student for a period of studies in an amount not exceeding

  • (a) in the case of a full-time student, one hundred dollars per week; or

  • (b) in the case of a part-time student, an amount that results in the aggregate of outstanding principal of guaranteed student loans made to that borrower as a part-time student being equal to two thousand five hundred dollars.

• Marginal note:Adjustment of maximum

  (2) For any loan year, the Minister may adjust the amount of one hundred dollars per week referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or the amount of two thousand five hundred dollars referred to in paragraph (1)(b), or both of those amounts, by multipliers equal to or smaller than the multipliers calculated in accordance with formulas prescribed to reflect annual changes in the average cost to students of pursuing in Canada studies at a post-secondary school level.

• Marginal note:Publication of maximum

  (3) The Minister shall cause to be published in the Canada Gazette, before the commencement of each loan year, the amounts referred to in subsection (2) as adjusted pursuant to that subsection for that loan year.

Interest and Periods Free of Repayment

Marginal note:No accrual of interest

• 4 (1) Beginning on April 1, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a guaranteed student loan.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (2) For greater certainty, nothing in this section relieves a borrower from liability for interest that accrued before April 1, 2023 on a guaranteed student loan.

Marginal note:Payment deferred for full-time students

5 Subject to the regulations, no amount on account of principal or interest in respect of a guaranteed student loan made to a full-time student is required to be paid by the borrower until the last day of the seventh month after the month in which the borrower ceases to be a full-time student.

Marginal note:Agreement to pay interest

• 5.1 (1) The Minister may enter into an agreement with a lender respecting the payment of interest — or a province respecting the payment of interest on provincial student loans — by borrowers who are referred to in a regulation that is made under paragraph 17(s.1) or (s.2).

• Marginal note:Payment on behalf of reservist

  (2) If there is no agreement, the Minister may pay the interest on behalf of those borrowers.

Marginal note:Personal information

5.2 Personal information as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act — that is under the control of a government institution as defined in that section — shall, on request, be made available to the Minister for the purposes of a regulation that is made under paragraph 17(s.1), (s.2) or (s.3).

Liability of the Minister

Marginal note:Interest payable by Minister

• 6 (1) The Minister shall pay to a lender, in respect of each guaranteed student loan made by that lender to a full-time student, interest at the prescribed rate in respect of any period or periods before April 1, 2023 described in section 4, as it read from time to time before April 1, 2023, in respect of which no interest was payable by the borrower on the loan.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) No interest is payable by the Minister to a lender pursuant to subsection (1) in respect of a guaranteed student loan, in respect of any period before the obligation of the borrower to that lender in respect of the loan has commenced or after that obligation has ceased.

Marginal note:Guarantee by Minister

7 Subject to this Act and the regulations, the Minister is liable to pay to a lender the amount of any loss sustained by it as a result of a loan made to a qualifying student if

• (a) the loan was made pursuant to an application to a lender, signed by the borrower, stating that the borrower has not received any other loan pursuant to the certificate of eligibility referred to in paragraph (b), or pursuant to any other certificate of eligibility relating to the period of studies specified in the certificate of eligibility referred to in paragraph (b), except any such loan the amount of which, when added to the amount of the loan applied for, did not exceed the applicable loan limit set out in section 3 for that period of studies;

• (b) the loan was made to a borrower who filed with the lender making the loan a document that purported to be and was accepted by a responsible officer of that lender, in good faith, as a certificate of eligibility issued or caused to be issued by an appropriate authority relating to that borrower for the period of studies specified in that certificate;

• (c) the amount of the loan did not exceed the lesser of the amount set out in the certificate of eligibility and the applicable loan limit set out in section 3 for the relevant period of studies;

• (d) no fee, service charge or charge of any kind, other than interest calculated in the prescribed manner and on the prescribed amount and not exceeding the prescribed rate, was by the terms of the loan payable in respect of the loan, except as provided in the regulations in any case where the borrower is in default;

• (e) the loan was repayable in full by the terms thereof

  • (i) in the case of a loan made to a full-time student, subject to the regulations, in accordance with practices of the lender in respect of repayment, subject to the right of the borrower to repay at any time all or any part of the principal amount of the loan outstanding at that time and any interest then accrued, and

  • (ii) in the case of a loan made to a part-time student, within a period of not more than two years after the loan was made, subject to the right of the borrower to repay at any time all or any part of the principal amount of the loan outstanding at that time and any interest then accrued; and

• (f) the loan was made in accordance with an agreement in prescribed form between the borrower and the lender making the loan, containing

  • (i) in the case of a loan made to a full-time student, provisions respecting payment of the principal amount of the loan and interest on the loan by the borrower as described in section 4, as it read at the time that the agreement was entered into, section 5 and any other provisions that may be prescribed, or

  • (ii) in the case of a loan made to a part-time student, such provisions as may be prescribed.

Marginal note:Payments in respect of errors

7.1 Subject to the regulations, the Minister may pay to a lender the amount of the loss sustained by it as a result of a loan made to a qualifying student if an error concerning the rate of interest or the amount to be repaid was made by the lender in drawing up the agreement for the loan and the Minister considers that the error was inadvertent and that the loss was not affected by the error.

Marginal note:Payment to lenders for collection

8 The Minister may pay to a lender a prescribed amount in respect of any sum collected by the lender on behalf of Her Majesty from a borrower after any payment is made by the Minister to the lender pursuant to section 7, in respect of a guaranteed student loan made to that borrower.

Special Interest-free Periods

9 [Repealed, 1994, c. 28, s. 23]

Marginal note:Special interest-free periods

10 Where a special interest-free period is granted under any regulations made pursuant to section 11,

• (a) the borrower may, during that period, be required to pay only a portion of the interest in respect of that period; and

• (b) the Minister shall pay to a lender, in respect of that period, interest at the rate prescribed or determined pursuant to paragraph 17(e).

• (c) [Repealed, 1998, c. 21, s. 101]

Marginal note:Regulations

11 The Governor in Council may make regulations providing for the establishment and operation of a program to provide special interest-free or interest-reduced periods to borrowers or classes of borrowers, including the terms and conditions of the granting or termination of the periods, the making, continuation or alteration of agreements between borrowers and lenders when the periods are granted or terminated and the authorization of lenders to grant or terminate the periods and otherwise administer the program.

Family Physicians, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners in Under-Served Rural or Remote Communities

Marginal note:Portion of loan forgiven

• 11.1 (1) The Minister may forgive an amount in respect of a guaranteed student loan to a borrower who begins to work in an under-served rural or remote community as a family physician, nurse or nurse practitioner, if the borrower meets the prescribed conditions.

• Marginal note:Effective date of forgiveness

  (2) The forgiveness takes effect on the prescribed day.

• Marginal note:Agreement

  (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister may enter into an agreement with a lender for the purchase of a guaranteed student loan made by the lender.

Period — March 30, 2020 to September 30, 2020

Marginal note:Suspension of interest and payments

11.2 During the period that begins on March 30, 2020 and ends on September 30, 2020,

• (a) no interest is payable by a borrower on a guaranteed student loan; and

• (b) no amount on account of principal and interest in respect of a guaranteed student loan is required to be paid by the borrower.

Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

Marginal note:Suspension of interest

11.3 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a guaranteed student loan.

Death or Disability of Borrower

Marginal note:Death of borrower

• 12 (1) All obligations of a borrower in respect of a guaranteed student loan terminate if the borrower dies, and the Minister shall pay to any lender whose rights against the borrower are terminated under this section the amount of principal and interest determined in the prescribed manner to have been payable by the borrower on the day of the borrower’s death.

• Marginal note:Undisclosed death of borrower

  (2) If the borrower dies and notice of the borrower’s death is not received by the lender within 30 days after the day of death, then, despite subsection (1), the day on which the amount is determined in the prescribed manner to have been payable is a day that is fixed by the Minister in accordance with the regulations.

• Marginal note:Disappearance of borrower

  (3) If a borrower disappears under circumstances that, in the opinion of the Minister, raise a presumption that the borrower is dead, then all the borrower’s obligations in respect of a guaranteed student loan terminate on the day on which the Minister forms that opinion, and the Minister shall pay to any lender whose rights against the borrower are terminated under this subsection the amount of principal and interest determined in the prescribed manner to have been payable by the borrower on a day that is fixed by the Minister in accordance with the regulations.

• Marginal note:Death of borrower before this subsection comes into force

  (4) If, before the day on which this subsection comes into force, a borrower dies or the Minister forms an opinion under paragraph (2)(b) as it read immediately before that day, then all the borrower’s obligations in respect of a guaranteed student loan terminate on that day.

• Marginal note:Date fixed is after this subsection comes into force

  (5) However, if the Minister fixes a day under subsection (2) — as it read immediately before this subsection comes into force — that is later than the day on which this subsection comes into force, then the day that is fixed is the day on which the amount of principal and interest is determined in the prescribed manner to be payable under subsection (2) or (3).

Marginal note:Severe permanent disability

• 13 (1) If the Minister is satisfied, on the basis of prescribed information provided by or on behalf of a borrower, that the borrower, by reason of severe permanent disability, is unable to repay a guaranteed student loan and will never be able to repay it, all rights of any lender against the borrower in respect of that guaranteed student loan terminate, and the Minister shall pay to any lender whose rights against a borrower are terminated under this section the amount of principal and interest determined in the prescribed manner to have been payable by the borrower at the time the borrower provided the Minister with the information required under this section.

• Meaning of severe permanent disability

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations defining the expression severe permanent disability for the purposes of subsection (1).

Certificates of Eligibility

Marginal note:Issue of certificates

• 14 (1) Subject to section 15, the appropriate authority for a province may issue or cause to be issued a certificate of eligibility for a period of studies to a qualifying student whom that authority considers

  • (a) to have attained a satisfactory scholastic standard; and

  • (b) to be in need of a loan for that period of studies.

• Marginal note:Required amount to be specified

  (2) A certificate of eligibility shall contain a statement of the amount of the loan, not exceeding the applicable limit under section 3 for the relevant period of studies, that, in the opinion of the appropriate authority issuing the certificate or causing it to be issued, is needed to enable the qualifying full-time or part-time student to pursue, for that period, a program of studies, or part thereof, at a post-secondary school level at the educational institution specified in the certificate.

Marginal note:Limitation on aggregate amount

• 15 (1) The appropriate authority for a province shall not issue or cause to be issued any certificate of eligibility in a loan year if, as a result thereof, the aggregate of the amounts set out in the certificates of eligibility issued or caused to be issued by that authority in that loan year would exceed the aggregate of

  • (a) the provincial allocation for that province for that loan year, and

  • (b) the supplementary allocation, if any, for that province for that loan year, determined by the Minister pursuant to subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Calculation of provincial allocation

  (2) The provincial allocation for a province for a loan year is an amount, as determined by the Minister after consultation with the Chief Statistician of Canada, equal to the aggregate of

  • (a) the product obtained by multiplying ninety-five per cent of the basic loan provision for that loan year by a fraction of which

    • (i) the numerator is the estimated number of persons in that province that, on the first day of that loan year, have attained eighteen years of age and have not attained twenty-five years of age, and

    • (ii) the denominator is the estimated number of persons in Canada, on the first day of that loan year, of the same age group, and

  • (b) the product obtained by multiplying five per cent of the basic loan provision for that loan year by a fraction of which

    • (i) the numerator is the estimated number of persons who were enrolled as part-time students for a period of studies in that province in the previous loan year, and

    • (ii) the denominator is the estimated number of persons who were enrolled as part-time students for a period of studies in Canada in the previous loan year.

• Marginal note:Calculation of loan provision

  (3) The basic loan provision for any loan year is an amount, as determined by the Minister after consultation with the Chief Statistician of Canada, equal to the product obtained by multiplying

  • (a) five hundred and thirty million dollars

    by

  • (b) the quotient obtained by dividing the estimated number of persons in Canada that will be enrolled as full-time students in programs of studies at a post-secondary school level in that loan year by the number of persons in Canada that were enrolled as full-time students in programs of studies at a post-secondary school level in the loan year commencing in 1983

    by

  • (c) the multiplier, if any, by which the amount set out in paragraph 3(1)(a) is adjusted for that loan year in accordance with subsection 3(2).

• Marginal note:Calculation of supplementary allocation

  (4) The Minister may, on application therefor by the government of a province, determine a supplementary allocation for that province for any loan year in an amount not exceeding

  • (a) thirty per cent of the basic loan provision for that loan year, as determined pursuant to subsection (3),

  minus

  • (b) the aggregate of all other supplementary allocations for provinces for that loan year, determined by the Minister pursuant to this subsection.

Alternative Payments

Marginal note:Alternative payment

• 16 (1) Where the government of a province has, at least twelve months before the commencement of a loan year, informed the Minister in writing that a provincial student loan plan will be in operation in that province in that loan year and that no appropriate authority for that province will be designated for that loan year for the purposes of this Act, the Minister shall pay to the province, not later than six months after the end of that loan year, an alternative amount calculated as provided in this section.

• Marginal note:Calculation of payment

  (2) An alternative amount for a province for a loan year beginning before August 1, 1991 is the amount, as determined by the Minister after consultation with the Chief Statistician of Canada, obtained by

  • (a) multiplying

    • (i) subject to subsection (3), the aggregate of all amounts paid by the Minister in that loan year to lenders pursuant to sections 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 and paragraph 10(b) and to collection agencies in respect of guaranteed student loans made pursuant to certificates of eligibility issued or caused to be issued by the appropriate authorities for participating provinces that issued or caused to be issued such certificates in that loan year, minus all amounts collected by or on behalf of Her Majesty in that loan year in respect of those loans,

    by

    • (ii) the quotient obtained by dividing

      • (A) the estimated number of persons in that province that, on the first day of that loan year, have attained eighteen years of age and have not attained twenty-five years of age,

      by

      • (B) the estimated number of persons, in provinces the appropriate authorities for which issued or caused to be issued certificates of eligibility in that loan year, that, on the first day of that loan year, have attained eighteen years of age and have not attained twenty-five years of age; and

  • (b) subtracting from the product obtained under paragraph (a) the result obtained when that product is multiplied by the quotient obtained by dividing

    • (i) the total amount of guaranteed student loans authorized by that province in the preceding three years

    by

    • (ii) the total amount of guaranteed student loans authorized by all participating provinces in the same period.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) The amounts described in subparagraph (2)(a)(i) that were paid or collected in respect of a loan made to a part-time student or that were paid under paragraph 10(b) shall be included in the calculation set out in subparagraph (2)(a)(i) only if the government of the province satisfies the Minister that the provincial student loan plan includes provisions having substantially the same effect as the provisions of this Act relating to loans to part-time students or to the granting of special interest-free periods to borrowers respectively.

• Marginal note:Calculation of payment

  (4) An alternative amount for a province for a loan year beginning on or after August 1, 1991 (in this subsection referred to as the “current loan year”) is the amount, as determined by the Minister after consultation with the Chief Statistician of Canada, obtained by

  • (a) multiplying

    • (i) the net per capita costs for participating provinces for the loan year beginning on August 1, 1990

    by

    • (ii) the product obtained by multiplying the estimated number of persons in that province who, on the first day of the current loan year, have attained eighteen years of age and have not attained twenty-five years of age by the escalator determined under subsection (5) for each loan year in the period beginning on August 1, 1991 and ending on July 31 of the current loan year; and

  • (b) subtracting from the product obtained under paragraph (a), the net costs for that province for the current loan year.

• Marginal note:Escalator

  (5) For the purposes of subparagraph (4)(a)(ii),

  • (a) subject to paragraph (b), the escalator for a loan year is a fraction of which

    • (i) the numerator is the net per capita costs for participating provinces for that loan year, and

    • (ii) the denominator is the net per capita costs for participating provinces for the previous loan year; and

  • (b) the escalator for the first loan year in which a provincial student loan plan will be in operation in the province and no appropriate authority for the province will be designated for the purposes of this Act is a fraction of which

    • (i) the numerator is the net per capita costs for participating provinces for that first loan year, and

    • (ii) the denominator is the net per capita costs for the previous loan year for provinces that are participating provinces in that first loan year.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (6) In this section,

  net costs

  net costs, for a province for a loan year, means, subject to subsection (7), the amount by which

  • (a) the estimated aggregate of all amounts paid by the Minister in that loan year to lenders pursuant to sections 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 and paragraph 10(b), and to collection agencies, in respect of guaranteed student loans made pursuant to certificates of eligibility issued or caused to be issued in any loan year by the appropriate authority for that province

  exceeds

  • (b) the estimated aggregate of all amounts received by or on behalf of Her Majesty in that loan year, including any amount received pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, in respect of the loans referred to in paragraph (a); (coûts nets)

  net per capita costs

  net per capita costs, for participating provinces for a loan year, means the fraction of which

  • (a) the numerator is the amount by which the total program net costs for that loan year exceeds the aggregate of the net costs for that loan year for all provinces that are not participating provinces in that loan year, and

  • (b) the denominator is the estimated number of persons in the participating provinces who, on the first day of the loan year, have attained eighteen years of age and have not attained twenty-five years of age; (coûts nets par tête)

  total program net costs

  total program net costs, for a loan year, means the amount by which

  • (a) the aggregate of all amounts paid by the Minister in that loan year to lenders pursuant to sections 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 and paragraph 10(b), and to collection agencies, in respect of guaranteed student loans made pursuant to certificates of eligibility issued or caused to be issued in any loan year by the appropriate authorities for participating provinces

  exceeds

  • (b) the aggregate of all amounts received by or on behalf of Her Majesty in that loan year, including any amount received pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, in respect of the loans referred to in paragraph (a). (coûts nets totaux du programme)

• Marginal note:Exception

  (7) The amounts described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition net costs in subsection (6) that were paid or received in respect of a loan made to a part-time student or that were paid under paragraph 10(b) shall be included in the calculation described in that definition only if the government of the province satisfies the Minister that the provincial student loan plan includes provisions having substantially the same effect as the provisions of this Act relating to loans to part-time students or to the granting of special interest-free periods to borrowers respectively.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

17 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) [Repealed, 1993, c. 12, s. 9]

• (b) prescribing in accordance with paragraph 7(f) the provisions to be included in agreements between borrowers and lenders relating to guaranteed student loans;

• (c) providing for the alteration of agreements between borrowers and lenders and prescribing the conditions and consequences of those alterations;

• (d) providing for the assignment or transfer by lenders of agreements between borrowers and lenders and prescribing the conditions and consequences of such assignments or transfers;

• (e) prescribing, for the purposes of section 6, the rate of interest, or the manner of determining the rate of interest, payable by the Minister on a guaranteed student loan or a class of guaranteed student loans;

• (f) prescribing, for the purposes of paragraph 7(d),

  • (i) the manner of calculating the interest and the amount on which it is to be calculated, and

  • (ii) the rate of interest or the manner of determining the rate of interest;

• (g) prescribing, in the event of default in the repayment of a guaranteed student loan, the measures to be taken by the lender and the procedures to be followed for the collection of the amount of the loan outstanding and accrued interest;

• (h) prescribing, for the purpose of section 7 or 7.1, the method of determining the amount of any loss sustained by a lender;

• (i) prescribing the procedure to be followed by a lender in making a claim against the Minister;

• (j) respecting the subrogation of Her Majesty to the rights of a lender with respect to a guaranteed student loan;

• (k) prescribing the maximum number of periods of studies that may elapse after which, notwithstanding anything in this Act, the principal amount of a guaranteed student loan made to a full-time student and interest thereon shall commence to be payable by the borrower;

• (k.1) respecting the circumstances in which an amount on account of principal or interest is not required to be paid in respect of guaranteed student loans;

• (l) respecting, for the purposes of subparagraph 7(e)(i), criteria, parameters, or the incorporation by reference of such established lender practices as are specified, in respect of the repayment of guaranteed student loans made to full-time students;

• (m) prescribing circumstances, related to the conduct of a student in obtaining or repaying a guaranteed student loan, under which a new loan may be denied to a student or a borrower’s right to an interest-free period under section 4 or to a special interest-free period under section 10 may be revoked by the Minister;

• (n) prescribing the period within which a lender shall make a claim against the Minister in respect of the amount of any loss sustained as a result of a guaranteed student loan and prescribing the amount or proportion by which any amount to be paid by the Minister to a lender pursuant to section 7 shall be reduced where the lender fails to make a claim within the prescribed period;

• (o) prescribing the formulas referred to in subsection 3(2);

• (p) providing for reports to be made to the Minister for the purposes of this Act and prescribing the kind of information to be included in those reports;

• (q) providing for the repayment of guaranteed student loans by borrowers or classes of borrowers on an income-contingent basis;

• (q.1) providing, in respect of student loans made to full-time and part-time students, for the gratuitous payment, including the method of calculating it, whether conditionally or unconditionally, by the Minister to lenders of amounts in respect of those loans, and for the discharge of those loans to the extent of those amounts;

• (q.2) prescribing the amount that may be forgiven in respect of a year under section 11.1 in respect of a guaranteed student loan;

• (q.3) prescribing the maximum number of years in respect of which amounts may be forgiven under section 11.1 in respect of a guaranteed student loan;

• (r) defining the expressions family physician, full-time student, nurse, nurse practitioner, part-time student, responsible officer of a lender and under-served rural or remote community for the purposes of this Act;

• (r.1) prescribing the circumstances in which a borrower ceases to be a full-time student;

• (s) providing, notwithstanding section 15, for the adjustment of the amount of the provincial allocation for a province for any loan year, in any case where the aggregate of the amounts set out in certificates of eligibility issued or caused to be issued by the appropriate authority for the province for a previous year exceeded the aggregate of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 15(1)(a) and (b) applicable to that province for that previous year;

• (s.1) respecting the circumstances in which no interest is payable by members of the reserve force in respect of their guaranteed student loans;

• (s.2) respecting the circumstances in which no amount on account of principal or interest is required to be paid by members of the reserve force in respect of their guaranteed student loans;

• (s.3) respecting the payment of interest under subsection 5.1(2);

• (t) prescribing any other matter or thing that under this Act is to be prescribed by the regulations; and

• (u) generally, for carrying into effect the purposes and provisions of this Act.

Forms

Marginal note:Forms

17.1 The Minister may prescribe

• (a) any form or other document that is by this Act or the regulations to be prescribed by the Minister; and

• (b) the information to be included in any document referred to in paragraph (a), in addition to the information otherwise required by this Act or the regulations to be included therein.

Offence and Punishment

Marginal note:False statement or information

• 18 (1) Every person who, in respect of a guaranteed student loan, knowingly makes any false statement or misrepresentation, including by omission, in an application or other document or knowingly provides any false or misleading information, including by omission, is guilty of an offence under this Act and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) A prosecution for an offence under this Act may not be instituted later than six years after the time when the subject matter of the complaint arose.

Administrative Measures

Marginal note:Administrative measures

• 18.1 (1) If a person, in respect of a guaranteed student loan, knowingly makes any false statement or misrepresentation, including by omission, in an application or other document or knowingly provides any false or misleading information, including by omission, the Minister may

  • (a) [Repealed, 2022, c. 19, s. 153]

  • (b) deny the person the deferral of payments of principal or interest under section 5 for a prescribed period, or terminate the deferral;

  • (c) deny the person payments of interest under subsection 5.1(2) for a prescribed period, or terminate the payments;

  • (d) deny the person repayment of a guaranteed student loan on an income-contingent basis referred to in paragraph 17(q) for a prescribed period, or terminate repayment on an income-contingent basis;

  • (e) deny the person a gratuitous payment referred to in paragraph 17(q.1); or

  • (f) require the person to immediately repay any outstanding amount of a guaranteed student loan that they obtained by reason of the false statement or misrepresentation or the false or misleading information.

• Marginal note:Outstanding student loans

  (2) If, before the day on which this section comes into force, a person knowingly made any false statement or misrepresentation, including by omission, in an application or other document or knowingly provided any false or misleading information, including by omission, in respect of a guaranteed student loan that is outstanding on that day, the Minister may take any measure set out in paragraphs (1)(b) to (f).

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) The Minister may not take any measure under subsection (1) or (2) without having given the person 60 days’ notice of the Minister’s intention to take the measure.

• Marginal note:Submissions

  (4) The person may make submissions to the Minister in respect of the measure at any time.

• Marginal note:Rescission or modification of measure

  (5) The Minister may rescind or modify a measure taken under subsection (1) or (2) if new facts are presented or the Minister considers that the measure was taken without knowledge of some material fact or on the basis of a mistake concerning one.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (6) The Minister may not take any measure under subsection (1) or (2) later than five years after the day on which the Minister becomes aware of the false statement or misrepresentation or the false or misleading information.

General

Marginal note:Right of recovery by lender

19 A guaranteed student loan made by a lender to a borrower not of full age, and interest thereon other than interest payable under section 6, is recoverable by the lender from the borrower as though the borrower had been of full age at the time the loan was made.

Marginal note:Waiver

19.01 On application by a qualifying student or a borrower, the Minister may, to avoid undue hardship to the student or borrower, waive

• (a) a requirement of the regulations with respect to the times within which the student or borrower’s confirmation of enrolment or certificate of eligibility is to be submitted; or

• (b) a requirement of the regulations, or a requirement prescribed by the Minister, with respect to the form or manner in which information in respect of the student or borrower is to be provided.

Marginal note:Financial assistance denied due to error

19.02 If the Minister is satisfied that a person was denied financial assistance under this Act to which the person would have been entitled as a result of an error made in the administration of this Act or the regulations, the Minister may take remedial action to place the person in the position that he or she would have been in under this Act had the error not been made.

Marginal note:Limitation period

• 19.1 (1) Subject to this section and section 19.2, no action or proceedings shall be taken to recover money owing under a guaranteed student loan more than six years after the day on which the money becomes due and payable.

• Marginal note:Deduction and set-off

  (2) Money owing under a guaranteed student loan may be recovered at any time by way of deduction from or set-off against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the borrower or the estate or succession of the borrower.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment of liability

  (3) If a borrower’s liability for money owing under a guaranteed student loan is acknowledged in accordance with subsection (4), the time during which the limitation period has run before the acknowledgment does not count in the calculation of that period.

• Marginal note:Types of acknowledgments

  (4) An acknowledgment of liability means

  • (a) a written promise to pay the money owing, signed by the borrower or his or her agent or other representative;

  • (b) a written acknowledgment of the money owing, signed by the borrower or his or her agent or other representative, whether or not a promise to pay can be implied from it and whether or not it contains a refusal to pay;

  • (c) a part payment by the borrower or his or her agent or other representative of any money owing; or

  • (d) any acknowledgment of the money owing made by the borrower, his or her agent or other representative or the trustee or administrator in the course of proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act or any other legislation dealing with the payment of debts.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment after expiry of limitation period

  (5) If a borrower’s liability for money owing under a guaranteed student loan is acknowledged in accordance with subsection (4) after the expiry of the limitation period in respect of the loan, an action or proceedings to recover the money may, subject to subsections (3) and (6), be brought within six years after the date of the acknowledgment.

• Marginal note:Limitation period suspended

  (6) The running of a limitation period in respect of a guaranteed student loan is suspended during any period in which it is prohibited to commence or continue an action or other proceedings against the borrower to recover money owing under the loan.

• Marginal note:Enforcement proceedings

  (7) This section does not apply in respect of an action or proceedings relating to the execution, renewal or enforcement of a judgment.

Marginal note:Application

• 19.2 (1) This section applies only in respect of the recovery of money that became due and payable under a guaranteed student loan before the coming into force of this section.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) Subject to this section, no action or proceedings shall be taken to recover money owing under a guaranteed student loan more than six years after the day on which the limitation period that applied before the coming into force of this section started to run.

• Marginal note:Prior acknowledgments

  (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the day of the most recent acknowledgment of a borrower’s liability in respect of money owing under a guaranteed student loan is deemed to be the day on which the limitation period started to run if

  • (a) the acknowledgment was made before the coming into force of this section; and

  • (b) under the law applicable at the time of the acknowledgment, the time during which the limitation period ran before the acknowledgment did not count in the calculation of that period.

• Marginal note:Deduction and set-off

  (4) Money owing under a guaranteed student loan may be recovered at any time by way of deduction from or set-off against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the borrower or the estate or succession of the borrower.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment of liability

  (5) If, on or after the day on which this section comes into force, a borrower’s liability for money owing under a guaranteed student loan is acknowledged in accordance with subsection (6), the time during which the limitation period has run before the acknowledgment does not count in the calculation of that period.

• Marginal note:Types of acknowledgments

  (6) For the purposes of subsections (5) and (7), an acknowledgment of liability means

  • (a) a written promise to pay the money owing, signed by the borrower or his or her agent or other representative;

  • (b) a written acknowledgment of the money owing, signed by the borrower or his or her agent or other representative, whether or not a promise to pay can be implied from it and whether or not it contains a refusal to pay;

  • (c) a part payment by the borrower or his or her agent or other representative of any money owing; or

  • (d) any acknowledgment of the money owing made by the borrower, his or her agent or other representative or the trustee or administrator in the course of proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act or any other legislation dealing with the payment of debts.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment after expiry of limitation period

  (7) If, after the expiry of the limitation period in respect of a guaranteed student loan — including any limitation period that expired before the coming into force of this section — and on or after the day on which this section comes into force, a borrower’s liability for money owing under the loan is acknowledged in accordance with subsection (6), an action or proceedings to recover the money may, subject to subsections (5) and (8), be brought within six years after the date of the acknowledgment.

• Marginal note:Limitation period suspended

  (8) The running of a limitation period in respect of a guaranteed student loan is, commencing on the day on which this section comes into force, suspended during any period in which it is prohibited to commence or continue an action or other proceedings against the borrower to recover money owing under the loan.

• Marginal note:Statutory bar

  (9) Subject to subsection (7), if the limitation period in respect of a guaranteed student loan expired before the coming into force of this section, no action or proceeding shall be taken to recover money owing under the loan.

• Marginal note:Enforcement proceedings

  (10) This section does not apply in respect of an action or proceedings relating to the execution, renewal or enforcement of a judgment.

Marginal note:Requirement to provide information or documents

• 19.3 (1) For the purpose of verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act, the Minister may, by notice served personally or by confirmed delivery service, require any person who has received a guaranteed student loan to provide to the Minister, within the time and in the manner that are stipulated in the notice, any information or document that is in their possession or to which they could reasonably be expected to have access.

• Marginal note:Copies as evidence

  (2) When a document is provided in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister may make, or cause to be made, one or more certified copies of it and any such copy is evidence of the nature and content of the original document and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

Marginal note:Authority to enter into arrangements

20 The Minister may

• (a) enter into arrangements with any department, board or agency of the Government of Canada or any other public or private organization or agency to assist the Minister in carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act; and

• (b) with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into arrangements with the government of any province to facilitate the administration or enforcement of this Act.

Marginal note:Payment out of C.R.F.

21 Any amount payable by the Minister under this Act may be paid by the Minister out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Marginal note:Report to Parliament

22 The Minister shall each year prepare a report with respect to the administration of this Act during the loan year that ended in the immediately preceding year, and shall cause the report to be laid before Parliament on any of the first fifteen days that either House of Parliament is sitting after the report is completed.

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Interest-free period — loan made on or after August 1, 1993

• 22.1 (1) If a borrower ceased to be a full-time student at any time during the six months before the day on which section 323 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 comes into force, no interest is payable by them on a guaranteed student loan referred to in subsection 4(2), as it read on November 1, 2019, for the period that begins on that day and ends on the last day of the sixth month after the month in which the borrower ceased to be a full-time student.

• Marginal note:Interest-free period — loan consolidated after August 1, 1993

  (2) If a borrower referred to in subsection 4(4), as it read on November 1, 2019, ceased to be a full-time student at any time during the six months before the day on which section 323 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 comes into force, no interest is payable by them on a guaranteed student loan referred to in that subsection for the period that begins on that day and ends on the last day of the sixth month after the month in which the borrower ceased to be a full-time student.

Repeal

Marginal note:Repeal

23 This Act is repealed on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.