Bill S-219 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (student loans)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-219, if enacted, would amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to alter the conditions under which bankrupt individuals are released from student loan debt and would allow individuals to apply to the court for relief from such debt under specific financial hardship conditions.
This bill proposes to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to change the rules around the discharge of student loan debt in bankruptcy. Currently, a bankrupt is generally released from student loan debt if seven years have passed since they stopped being a student. This bill would shorten that period to five years. It also introduces a new provision allowing a bankrupt to apply to the court at any time for an order to be released from all or part of their student loan debt, or to set terms for repayment, if they have acted in good faith and are experiencing significant financial difficulty. The bill also includes transitional provisions for how these amendments would apply.
- It would change the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to state that a discharge from bankruptcy does not release a person from student loan debt if the bankruptcy occurred within five years after they stopped being a student.
- It would introduce a new process allowing bankrupt individuals to apply to a court for an order to be released from all or part of their student loan debt, or to have repayment terms set.
- It specifies that a court may grant such an order if the bankrupt has acted in good faith and is experiencing financial difficulty that prevents them from paying the debt.
- It outlines factors the court must consider when deciding on such an application, including efforts made to repay, future earning capacity, and other obligations.
- It sets out transitional rules for how these changes would apply to discharges and bankruptcies occurring before or after the amendments come into force.
- Individuals who declare bankruptcy and have outstanding student loan debt.
- Courts that handle bankruptcy cases.
- Lenders of student loans.
- The right of a bankrupt individual to apply to the court for relief from student loan debt under certain conditions.
- The obligation of the court to consider specific factors (e.g., good faith, financial difficulty, future earning capacity, family obligations) when hearing an application for relief from student loan debt.
- The condition that a bankruptcy discharge does not release a bankrupt from student loan debt if the bankruptcy occurs within five years of ceasing to be a student.
- The amendments related to the five-year period for student loans would apply to discharges occurring on or after the day on which that subsection comes into force.
- The amendments related to the court application process for student loan debt would apply to any person who becomes bankrupt before, on, or after the day on which that subsection comes into force.
- The bill text does not specify the exact date the proposed amendments would come into force; this would be determined through the legislative process.
- The bill outlines general conditions for court relief (good faith, financial difficulty) but the specific interpretation and application of these conditions would be up to the courts.
- The bill does not specify the sources or types of student loans that would be subject to these provisions beyond referencing federal acts and provincial enactments providing for student loans or guarantees.
This bill proposes changes to specific sections of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, particularly concerning the discharge of student loan debts and the conditions under which a bankrupt individual can seek relief from such debts through the court.
Source: Section 1
Specifically, it seeks to replace subparagraph 178(1)(g)(ii) which relates to debts not released by a discharge in bankruptcy, altering the timeframe related to being a student from seven years to five years for student loans.
Source: Section 1(1)
It also proposes to replace subsection 178(1.1) and add new subsections 178(1.2) and 178(1.3), creating a court application process for bankrupt individuals with student loan debt to seek release or repayment terms.
Source: Section 1(2)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Introduction and first reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Sponsor’s speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced