OTTAWA — The federal government is writing off more than $200 million in outstanding student loan payments that officials will never be able to collect. Recently released spending documents show the government won’t collect $203.5 million in debts from 34,240 students. It is the third time in the last four years that the government has had to write off outstanding student loans even as officials make concerted efforts to round up more money from borrowers. The most recent annual report on the Canada Student Loans Program said that in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the government provided 489,000 full-time students with $2.7 billion in loans and a further $20.9 million in loans to 12,100 part-time students. The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations called on the government late last month to also give new parents a break from student loan payments when they are on parental leave, even if they are receiving employment insurance benefits.

Source: National Post February 16, 2018 15:33 UTC