Start Date for Loan Interest Amendments

Summary#

This Order in Council (SI/2023-78) sets the day when parts of the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022 come into force. It brings into force provisions that tidy up the law after the federal decision to permanently stop interest from accruing on student and apprentice loans.

What it does#

• It fixes the day those provisions come into force as the day after the Order was made — the Order was made on December 8, 2023, so the provisions come into force on December 9, 2023.
• It brings into force certain sections of the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022 (specific section numbers listed in the Order).
• It removes or changes powers in the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, and the Apprentice Loans Act that referred to creating rules about interest-free or interest-reduced periods.
• It amends how alternative payments to non-participating provinces and territories are calculated so that interest paid before interest accrual was eliminated is treated correctly.
• It aligns the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations, the Canada Student Loans Regulations, and the Apprentice Loans Regulations with the legislative changes and clarifies that borrowers still owe any interest that accrued before the elimination date.

Who's affected#

• Borrowers of federal student loans (Canada Student Loans) and federal apprentice loans (Canada Apprentice Loans) — especially in relation to how past interest is handled.
• Federal officials and provincial/territorial governments that deal with payments or calculations tied to these loan programs.
• Most of the changes are technical fixes; it’s not a new benefit or tax change.

Why it matters#

• These changes clean up the law after the government announced the permanent end to interest accruing on these loans (announced November 3, 2022, with related legislation receiving assent on December 15, 2022, and the main elimination coming into force on April 1, 2023).
• The amendments reduce confusion by removing old legal references to interest rules that no longer apply.
• They also make sure any interest that built up before the elimination date is still handled properly in calculations and repayment.