| # | First Name | Last Name | Please provide a comment or personal story. |
|---|
| 501 | Surya | Govender | Thank you for your consideration. |
| 502 | Jamal | Hashim | n/a |
| 503 | Judith | Wills | Loan sharking doesn't belong in the government |
| 504 | Carla | Graebner | education is a right, not a privilege. Let's keep it that way. |
| 505 | Kenzie | Andrews | The key word here is 'fairness' - my student debt load is high (40+), but what has always bothered me the most about my loan is the multiple payments, interest rates that make my most conservative acquaintances think twice, and the lack of respect student loan holders receive in the system. The changes listed in this petition are a good step to finally making the repayment system fair. |
| 506 | Alyssa | Trayhern | My experiences in dealing with BCSL since graduation have left me wishing I had not been stupid enough to borrow money from them. I guess the fault is mine for thinking they could be trusted but I have had account errors, incorrect information and harassment. If the government truly cared about college and university grads, they would find a way to have loan forgiveness put in place. Why not reward graduates by forgiving a percentage of their loans once they graduate? For those who don't graduate, they can repay the full amount but there should be some kind of reward for those who DO graduate and enter the work force to become productive citizens. Has the government forgotten who will be taking care of them in their old age? Do they want their retirements in the hands of a generation crippled by student loan debt? |
| 507 | Anonymous | Anonymous | Never received an accurate statement of what is owed. Never received payment arrangements in the beginning. This will wipe out my family if it continues. No other business would get away with this behaviour. |
| 508 | Stephanie | Fleming | I would like to see loan forgiveness! |
| 509 | Jolene | Braun | I graduated from university in 1999 after pursuing 2 undergraduate degrees. I have been gainfully employed since that date and I am still paying off my student loans. My parents are farmers and were not able to contribute significantly to my education. We are in danger as a society of making university education a privilege that only the rich can afford. We need educated people, and yet we are prohibiting a generation of people from doing so without the immense burden of debt. This is a problem that is not going away. |
| 510 | Gregory | Johnson | I do not understand point 5 since I have had no problems getting visibility on what I owe. However, I agree with the other 7 points in principle. There is a good balance here between responsibility of the student, and the government. With rising costs of education, the considerations requested here will become even more important over time. |
| 511 | Marissa | Bender | A reduction in red tape overall would be helpful. |
| 512 | Anonymous | Anonymous | i am almost 50kin the holeand after gradschoolin the atates its gonna be 150k...numbers suck |
| 513 | Russell | Maynard | This is long over due! I have to coordinate repayment amongst six different loan agreements. Each requires a separate payment. I only have two degrees! The payments prevent me from participating in the economy beyond subsistence. |
| 514 | Anonymous | Anonymous | A restructuring of the Canada Student Loan Program is long overdue. |
| 515 | Natasha | Wright | The debt I am accumulating is a significant factor in decisions i make about my future. Education should be liberating, not limiting. |
| 516 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I am allready dealing with more debt than both my parents put together and I'm only 26. I believe the fairness of the student loan program should better reflect the value of education to all citizens that our society and government purport to uphold. |
| 517 | Fawn | Greaves | I am about to begin paying off my student loans and am confused by the numerouse amount of information I receive in the mail from BCSL and the other one.. the Canadian student loan? It's a pain to keep track of both and rates could be better - We're educating ourselves for a better society and we have to pay like crazy for it! |
| 518 | Jan | Braun | I have thirty-thousand dollars worth of student debt and am an artist. I consider my university education invaluable but will never earn enough money to pay my debt. |
| 519 | Clayton | Welwood | I particularly agree with reinstating the 6 month interest free grace period |
| 520 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I have both a canada student loan and a BC student loan. The amount of money i make especially when i have two little ones to take care does not leave me near enough to pay what they want. Its not a realistic amount. Now i have my income tax return taken to pay for it. Oh well i feel that is money i don't see anyway so go ahead and take it |
| 521 | Anonymous | Anonymous | n/a |
| 522 | Anonymous | Anonymous | m |
| 523 | david | fleming | Student Loan programs in this country are a complete disaster. It is imperative that immediate action is taken to make these loan programs fair and transparent. The Federal government has dragged its feet for far too long in fixing this unconscionable mess. |
| 524 | CHANTELLE | MAGEE | I HAVE SEEN THE IMPACT OF STUDENT LOANS AND THE DIFFICULTIES THEY CAN CAUSE GRADUATES, IT'S ABOUT TIME THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED LOWER INCOME STUDENTS INSTEAD OF SEEING THEM AS A SOURCE OF INCOME |
| 525 | James | Mahon | Went bankrupt and still cannot manage my student loans. |
| 526 | Anonymous | Anonymous | Working hard in school has got to count for something... graduating with an insane amount of debt and very high interest rates is not that something. FOR STUDENT DEBT CONSOLIDATION |
| 527 | Joyce | Nickel | Canada needs an educated workforce . . . how is this going to happen if students can't afford school? Shall we as a country import our educated workforce, and let Canadians shlep coffee at Starbucks?
Come on, use some common sense. |
| 528 | Glenn | Blake | im gonna be poor really soon |
| 529 | Carla | McEvoy | Should the crown have a right to garnish gst refunds, etc. when one is clearly living waaaaay below the poverty line? |
| 530 | David | Sadoway | My story, like so many others, probably reads like an extract from the Terry Gilliam movie Brazil, or perhaps a Kafkaesque novel.
Upon recently returning to do my Ph.D at an overseas Grad School (also a degree granting institution recognized in Canada), I have had nothing but headaches, attempting to convince the 3 separate entities who hold my old student loans that I am now officially "back in school."
The problem is that each entity (NSL Service Centre, CIBC and BCSL) has its own rules and picky regulations. So after I had faxed them letters confirming my status as a student and they sent them back to me because they were not technically correct, the interest on my loan continued to accrue. Well as I tried to address their paper needs, however, the interest kept adding up. Some letters were returned because the signature was signed by the Dean over 30 days previous, so it was not "current" enough.
Its hard enough dealing with these folks in Canada, try from overseas!
While this is madness in itself since when I speak with the kind folks at these entities on the phone they acknowledge that I am registered at the University and that there are only minor technical problems with the paperwork. So why am I being charged for interest when I am clearly in school and no longer earning the bucks! Anyway I could go about my own story but I won't...
The main issue here seems to be when a system that professes to help and empower people to get an education is creating a maddening array of obstacles either after they have finished their education, or upon returning to get more education, then the system is broken and in serious need of serious overhaul.
Why should I have to get everything in triplicate to deal with three separate entities which themselves have differing rules and regs? Why is it that other G8 nations have far more flexible systems for supporting students both in terms of tuition fees and/or grants and/or debt? For example Australia ties their system to income earned after school. The Swedes still charge NO tuition for their students and their economy is well known for its competitiveness and flexibility. We have great minds in Canada why can't we arrive at a creative solution to these dilemmas??
We need to see more incentives, not bureaucratic disincentives. The problem seems to be getting the Feds and Provinces together on this one.
I agree with your points, especially Point 4: one graduate, one loan and one payment. Just by consolidating all of these loans in one cost centre the paperwork and duplication of efforts would be massively reduced. Aren't Conservatives supposed to like less paperwork and less hassle? Come on Feds get with the program!
If we really trace back the problem, however, it goes back to when the Feds (under Mulroney and Chretien) decided to annually reduce their shares of CAP transfers to the Provinces and the universities had to then fend for themselves.
Until the Fed government really recognizes the importance of affordable and accessible lifelong university/college education, by reinstating funds for college/university education, Canadians of all generations will continue to be burdened by this outdated and archaic student loan system.
We need a system where education is something that we can access at any point in our life for a minimal financial burden. Otherwise all the policy wonk rhetoric about lifelong learning is simply hollow propaganda and spin doctoring.
As and 'educated' pundit once said:
"Better to send a man to Yale than to jail..."
Perhaps this quote should be amended this quote to reflect the present Canadian situation:
"Better to send a women or man to Dalhousie U. than to the poor house..."
Thank you for organizing this coalition, it is about time that people hear the myriad of problems inherent in the current Canadian student loan system !
david ;) |
| 531 | Suzanne | Brett | I've been saving trying to save for over 2 years to go to school without having to get a student loan. I now know that this is an impossible task in my situation. I hope to go to school sooner than later, in which case I have no choice other than to get a student loan. I've spent almost 3 years trying to avoid getting one because of the cost of borrowing. I don't want to be poor for any longer than I need to be. As it stands student loans are forcing starving students to be starving students for even longer than they are students. |
| 532 | Darren | Paterson | While I am not fully aware of all the 'ins and outs' of student loans, these are all points that I not only agree with, but am shocked to find that such systems do not already exist. |
| 533 | Anonymous | Anonymous | here is my signature for the petition |
| 534 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I live in developing country and they treat their students and those struggling to begin careers far better than Canada. It is embarassing. Students loans have driven me from Canada and are the reason I will probably never return. |
| 535 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I would love to have the opportunity to negotiate my student loan debts in a transparent and documented manner in order to trust that my efforts are being documented and/or captured. |
| 536 | Anonymous | Anonymous | Devry Institute of Technology missled me to take one of their courses while I was new into canada.My English was very limited at that time Dery's people wanted me to sign one of their coarses. I am asking Canadian government to forgive my entire student loan because Canadian government knew what devry institute doing to the poor students who want to achieve their canadian dream. How ever canadian government turned its back and setled Devry whith $7 Million Dollars, and awarded Devry with DEGREE coarses aproved.
For mer info READ the following article.
........................
Pannu wants DeVry's degree status revoked
Last Updated: Friday, February 9, 2001 | 3:05 PM ET English course
CBC News
The leader of Alberta's New Democrats is calling on the government to revoke degree-granting status at the DeVry Institute of Technology in Calgary.
The province agreed last week to allow the school to grant bachelor's degrees in four areas of study. But Raj Pannu says the government should reconsider its decision in light of new information about some of DeVry's franchises.
He says the DeVry school in Toronto improperly released $7 million worth of student loans between 1993 and 1996. He adds a number of former students launched an American-wide class-action suit claiming DeVry Inc. didn't adequately prepare them for careers in the high-tech industry.
Pannu says he can't believe a company with such a history can now grant degrees in Alberta. "This college appears to have a rather questionable record of client service and of handling public money," says the ND leader.
Learning Minister Lyle Oberg says he hasn't heard of the class-action lawsuit, but promises to look into the matter. However, he notes that DeVry Calgary passed a very stringent set of accreditation procedures and was judged by representatives from universities across Canada.
"My job as minister is to ensure that there are more spaces for students in the future," says Oberg. "I believe this is one element that we can deal with that with."
But Pannu wants Oberg to take the matter a step further.
"I think he should send the matter back to the private colleges accreditation board and say, 'Have you asked these questions? Will public money be handled properly?'"
John Balheim, president of DeVry Calgary, says neither the lawsuit nor what happened in Toronto have anything to do with his school. |
| 537 | jessie | sihota | Even after working a part time job(s) students like myself are in debt continuously due to high tuition. Please make education costs more affordable for hard working post-secondary students who are among the working poor in British Columbia! |
| 538 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I have had problems with OSAP for years. My loan is split up into 4 different loans. I want to be able to pay my student loans like I pay any other debt through online banking and pay it on the day I am able to pay it. I also want a monthly statement mailed to me!!!!!!!!! I have been making payments the past few months even though I am in school and applied to have the payments stop. They haven't stopped taking the payments out and now they sent my loan to a collections agency I have PAID them and have no idea why it got sent there. Don't they have to legally inform you in writing if you have missed a payment??? |
| 539 | Darren | McLeod | I absolutely agree. |
| 540 | Andrea | Beaudoin | You need education to get a job, but need money to get the education. If it's necessary to have the education, shouldn't the government help us out a bit? If they could at least do a few of these 8 things it would be great. |
| 541 | Debby | Reis | I have approximately $40,000 worth of loan to pay back, which is frightening in and of itself, but knowing that I'll end up paying nearly twice what I borrowed is horrendous. The government system should be there to help us, not hinder us. |
| 542 | Penny | Green | I was paying my loans yet the national student loan center sent it out to collections and put me in default! Had months of fights getting reciepts for all the payments still no real resolution cause they "can't" locate the payments |
| 543 | Matthew | Barnard | I have been paying back my student loans since 2001. For the past 5 years I have had a pretty good job but I remain working poor. I own nothing except my degree. A large portion of my loan was for child care for my, now 10 year old, son while I was in school. I continue to live much the way I did when I was a student because I pay approximately $550 per month (the minimum) for my combined BCSL and CSL. I remain at the mercy of landlords and have no savings or way of getting ahead. The repayment situation has snowballed into a stressful quagmire of instability and uncertainty for my family that has been ongoing for years. There are many homeless people where I live in Victoria and I live with the knowledge that I'm always only 2 paycheques away from being where they are. All I wanted was an education and I got more than I bargained for. |
| 544 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I am buried under $55,000 of student loan debt...with 4 separate lenders. WE NEED CHANGE! |
| 545 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I support the students. |
| 546 | Anonymous | Anonymous | I have 4 different student loans and would have to pay nearly $1,000 a month for 15 years at almost 9% interest, outrageous! I have not been able to secure f/t employment due to my chronic migraines and occasional back pain. Infact, even my present and only employer (p/t hours) is encouraging my dismissal for productivity concerns. I do work sometimes when in pain and it reflects on my performance. If it were not for the union, I would definitely be jobless, homeless and begging-but still as hungry as today since it costs much to feed oneself. After a dozen years there are no cures from conventional medicines. Who and how will any employer hire me; how will I even pay $1,000 a month even when that is all I earn in a month for the past decades? I have 2 years of interest relief left and then they will garnish p/t wages. I guess then I'll only be able to eat porridge, potatoes and live in a tent. Oh Canada, what has become of me and where is the sharing of your prosperity? I could not predict the outcome of my health, education, perpetual poverty and debt for life; must I also be punished for even trying to make it? |
| 547 | Michael | Rice | This year has been an absolute nightmare trying to secure OSAP funding in order to go to school.
Being a part-time student, taking 3 courses but not in my degree program, I was denied OSAP until I became a full-time student in January.
Unbeknownst to me, I was being charged horrendous interest on my old student loans during this period, and had to pay some $283 for National Student Loans.
I thought that would be the end of it, but I also owed CIBC some $486 in arrears payments for loans I had in 1999-2001. In 6 months, I had to pay almost $900 IN INTEREST on about $18,000 in total loans debt.
I was supposed to get OSAP in January, it is now May, and I am still waiting for some funding.
The Students United will not be defeated. Change the Loans Systems, or we will change your jobs. |
| 548 | Anonymous | Anonymous | why is the relationship between student debt and national productivity never considered a subject for analysis? |
| 549 | Karma | Lacoff | I am lucky to only have two student loans and have twice had to apply for interest relief when I was unemployed. On both occasions it took at least four phone calls and various faxes regarding why I was not working and where the little money I had was coming from. Once I only had to apply because, though the same officer was responsible for both of my loans she refused to cross reference and when two numbers in my SIN were mixed up on form indicating I was still a student, though they had it on file to match my name and address, they refused and my loan automatically put into repayment without contacting me. This is ridiculous.
An honest effort should be put forth to educate student loan holders what there options are in repayment and how to go about following through. four out of five people who work answering the phones for the company sourced to take care of NSLSC have no idea how to deal with cases that are not straight forward, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one who fits the narrow mold they train them with. The whole system needs great improvements. |
| 550 | Anonymous | Anonymous | We need to avoid being punitive to those electing to educate themselves. |
