The Supreme Court of Canada's decision comes April 17 in the case of a woman who received government student loans in the course of three university programs from 1987 to 2003.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The Supreme Court of Canada says a person must wait seven years after completely finishing their postsecondary studies before they may be released from student loan debt under the federal bankruptcy law.
The top court’s decision comes today in the case of a woman who received government student loans in the course of three university programs from 1987 to 2003.
She later returned to school and earned a master’s degree in 2009 without the help of additional student loans.
In 2013, she made a consumer proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, an alternative to bankruptcy that allows for payment of a portion of money owed, or payment over an extended period.
Under the bankruptcy law, a person may be released from their student loan debt seven years after they cease to be a full- or part-time student.
In 2019, the woman unsuccessfully argued that she was no longer a student for the purposes of the law as of 2003, when she completed her last period of study funded by a government student loan.