Regulations Amending the Canada Student Loans Regulations: SOR/2020-184
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 154, Number 19
Registration
SOR/2020-184 August 27, 2020
CANADA STUDENT LOANS ACT
P.C. 2020-569 August 25, 2020
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development, pursuant to section 11 footnote a of the Canada Student Loans Act footnote b, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Canada Student Loans Regulations.
Regulations Amending the Canada Student Loans Regulations
Amendments
1 The Canada Student Loans Regulations footnote 1 are amended by adding the following after section 3:
Medical Leave and Parental Leave
4 (1) The following definitions apply in this section.
- medical leave means a leave from studies taken by a borrower as a result of a medical problem that, in the opinion of a medical professional, would significantly interfere with the borrower’s ability to pursue their program of studies. (congé pour raisons médicales)
- parental leave means a leave from studies taken by a borrower as a result of the birth of a child of the borrower, the adoption of a child by the borrower, or the commencement of the guardianship or tutorship of a child by the borrower. (congé parental)
- period of postponement of repayment means the period during which, by reason of a medical leave or parental leave, a borrower is not required to repay the principal amount of a guaranteed student loan and no interest is payable. (différé de remboursement)
(2) The Minister may, on application, grant a borrower who ceases to be a full-time student on or after October 1, 2020 a period of postponement of repayment by reason of a medical leave or a parental leave, if the borrower submits the application in the form and manner specified by the Minister in the six months after the end of the borrower’s most recent period of studies, but no later than 12 months after
- (a) in the case of a medical leave, the date specified by the medical professional; or
- (b) in the case of a parental leave, the date of the birth or adoption of a child or the date the borrower becomes the guardian or tutor of a child.
(3) If the Minister grants the borrower’s application, the borrower is deemed to continue to be a full-time student despite section 4.1 for a six-month period beginning on the first day of the month after the month in which they would otherwise have ceased to be a full-time student.
(4) If the borrower’s medical leave or parental leave must be extended or the borrower is entitled to a new medical leave or a new parental leave, the borrower may, no earlier than 30 days before the end of the six-month period referred to in subsection (3) and no later than 30 days after that period, submit a request to the Minister to extend the length of the period of postponement of repayment to 12 months.
(5) If the borrower’s medical leave or parental leave must be further extended or the borrower is entitled to a new medical leave or a new parental leave, the borrower may, no earlier than 30 days before the end of the 12-month period referred to in subsection (4) and no later than 30 days after that period, submit a request to the Minister to extend the length of the period of postponement of repayment to 18 months.
(6) A borrower who has been granted a period of postponement of repayment cannot submit a new application for a period of postponement of repayment by reason of a new medical leave or a new parental leave for 30 days after the first day of the current confirmed period.
2 The portion of subsection 4.1(1) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
4.1 (1) Subject to paragraph 3(2)(b) and subsection 4(3), a borrower ceases to be a full-time student on the earliest of
3 Subsection 9(10) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:
(10) For the purposes of subsection (9), the number of weeks is the aggregate of the number of weeks corresponding to the borrower’s confirmed periods as a full-time student, or the equivalent, under the Act and the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, less the number of weeks determined by the Minister for which the specified educational institution has provided that the borrower, despite subsections 4(3) and 4.1(2), was no longer a full-time student.
Coming into Force
4 These Regulations come into force on October 1, 2020.
N.B. The Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement for these Regulations appears following SOR/2020-182, Regulations Amending the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations.