Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bassexpander]

Anyone have the link to that article about the Canadian government requiring Canadian universities NOT to grant higher degrees until loans have been paid off?


Ok, I'm spoofing you.

I've got a question about Canadian education, though.

Is it true that if you declare you are bankrupt, then leave Canada for something like 7 years (and teach overseas) you can then return to Canada and owe nothing on your student loans?

I heard that from another American, and found it a little hard to believe.

[yawarakaijin]

I know that years ago declaring bankruptcy got you out of repaying student loans but I'm pretty sure that law was revoked.

I have heard of people not paying for over seven years and then contacting Canada Student loans to begin repayment only to discover that there was no record of them owing money.

For current policy im sure there is a website you could check out.

[livinginkunsan]

If people take out student loans they should PAY THEM... not look for ways to get out of it

[espoir]

It was common many years ago for people who had insane student loans to just skip the country for a decade and by that time the provincially run loan services would basically loose all of their paperwork. Now if it was a bank loan, theres not a place on earth or any amount of time that they would let you off.

Its a bureacracy and there are bound to be flaws. But nowadays the governments have really started to clamp down on any loopholes and its really not in your best interest to avoid paying your student loans. I used to work for a law firm that handled all of TD banks lawsuits and one doctor refused to pay back his medical school loans and ended up loosing his house and car over it. granted the gov't cant do that, but they can impose hefty fines, garnish your wages or hand out prison sentences.

Now you cant really declare bankruptcy from student loans, and if you do anyways your credit rating is shot for life.

[TheChickenLover]

I had a student loan that consisted of over $50k. I studied law in Canada and learned quite a few things about the banks and laws concerning debt.
I'll try to do it in point form.

- if someone owes you money (if you're not the gov't) there really isn't much you can do abou it if they can't/won't pay.

- the laws do have time limits on inactivity.

I was faced with the reality of not being able to pay back my loans. Even if I did, my credit report woudl be ruined if I was laid off or something unexpected happened out of my control. So I did what most businesses do, they just don't pay, and that is what I did.

I filed for non-residency and left the country to explore other things. The time limit on overdue credit or bad credit on your credit report is SEVEN years. The recent SCC judgement has clearly stated that any entity that is owed money MUST try to recoup that money within SIX years or lose the right to claim it (against a BC man who was sued by revenue Canada over overdue tax from the 80's, the SCC threw the claim by RC and imposed a time limit).

If you pay a single dollar on your loans as a 'goodwill' gesture, the timer starts again.

Today my loan balance stands at around $80k but it cannot be recovered anymore since the time limits have passed. I even checked my credit rating in Canada when I was there and had an R1 rating (perfect) since I had not incurred any bad debt over the past 7 years. In short, I'm free and clear and the banks who loaned my my loans can no longer try to force the money out of me since they waited too long to start the process.

Is this ethical? No. Is what I did 100% legal and within the rules of the law? YES! The penalty I suffered was having bad credit for 7 years, though that did not affect me personally since it's only within the borders of Canada, I used the rules against the system itself and walked away wiht an education that taught me how to use the system in the right way and be legal about it.

So in short, yes you can get away with it, but you need time and the knowledge of the laws to back you up. Contrary to what the previous poster said, people do NOT go to jail for overdue loans. They are a civil matter. They CAN take your house/car/garnish your wages if they can, but if they cannot find anything to take then they are pretty much SOL.

If you borrowed from the gov't, then you are screwed.

Chicken

[Paji eh Wong]

Now if Canada only got wise and started restricting access to student loan money. Canada has waaaay too many university students.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_edu_att_ter-education-educational-attainment-tertiary

[espoir]

[Paji eh Wong]

[bassexpander]

I have friends who finished high school and got jobs working in electrical or plumbing.

Now they're making double or triple my pay.

[Paji eh Wong]

Money is the least of it.

[espoir]

agreed the trade professions pay amazing money. My best friends dad is a plumber and you would ahve thought he was some CEO or Bay street lawyer by the size of his house, but nope hes just a plumber.

I do agree a higher education is not for everyone. But I do not think there should ever be a major detriment to those wishing to continue their intellectual career in a formal university environment. Knowledge is its own reward and although the university education isnt as precious as it used to be (cus less people back then had then) I see no problem with this. a better educated populace is never a bad thing, except for those wishing to hold power over other people by keeping them ignorant.

[crosbystillsstash]

[Koveras]

[VanIslander]

[jvalmer]