student loans

Fresh Starts and Student Loans: Assessing the Supreme Court’s Approach in Piekut

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Piekut v Canada (Attorney General), 2025 SCC 13 (“Piekut”) resolves a long-standing dispute over when student loans become dischargeable in bankruptcy. At issue was whether the seven-year waiting period in s. 178(1)(g)(ii) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”) runs from any cessation of studies or only from […]

Fresh Start or False Start: Seeking Uniformity in Piekut v Canada

In April, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (the “BCCA”) provided its reasons in Piekut v Canada (Minister of National Revenue), 2023 BCCA 181 [Piekut]. The decision added another chapter to the ongoing interprovincial conflict in jurisprudence regarding the discharge of government student loans in an insolvency pursuant to s. 178(1)(g)(ii) of the Bankruptcy and […]