Canada Student Loans Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. S-23)

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.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.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.

9 [Repealed, 1994, c. 28, s. 23]

10 [Repealed, 2022, c. 19, s. 150]

11 [Repealed, 2022, c. 19, s. 150]

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.