issue 09 / volume 41

   

Student loan debt could affect your driving

» BC may deny licences to those who default on student debt

Cameron Welch
Canadian University Press

hose who default on their

student loans could lose
their driver’s licence if new
legislation proposed by British
Columbia’s Finance Ministry
passes.

Under the proposed law,
Insurance Claims British
Columbia (ICBC) would receive
a “Refuse-to-Issue” notification
on the accounts of people who
had been out of good standing
for over one year on their
government student loans.

According to Finance
Minister Mike de Jong, who
announced the proposal
on February 26, the move
is intended to puta dent in
the $185-million in overdue
student loans owed to the
BC government, and aims to
recoup an additional $3-million
per year. Last year, the crown
brought in a total of $17-million
from defaulted loans.

ICBC currently denies new

licences or licence renewals

: based on a number of debt

: evasions, including those for

: motor-related infractions and
: crimes, transit fare-evasion

: fines, bridge tolls, and “family
: maintenance” (child support,
: alimony) payments. De Jong

: cited ICBC’s regular and

: province-wide contact with

: citizens as the reason the

: corporation makes an effective
: and efficient debt collector.

The proposal has drawn

criticism, particularly from

: the Canadian Federation of

: Students BC. According to

: CFS-BC, Chairperson Zachary

: Crispin, withholding licences

: due to student debt is, “just poor
: public policy.”

“If you take away someone’s

: driver’s licence and they lose
: their job,” Crispin said, “they’re
} just going to default further.”

But the Ministry of Finance

disagrees, saying the penalty
: would only affect licence

: renewals once every five years
: and would allow recipients to
: get the notice withdrawn by

: proving financial hardship.

“It is not in the interests

: of government to put a debtor

: into a position where they have
: less ability to pay,” said the

: ministry’s senior public affairs

: officer Brennan Clarke. “The

: Refuse-to-Issue hold will only

: be applied or maintained where
: it improves the likelihood of

: repayment.”

BC is tied for the highest

: rate of interest on student loans
: in the country (prime plus

: 2.5 per cent), and is second-

: highest when it comes to

: average government student

: loan debt, measured three

: years after graduation. The

: province provides several

: means for student debt

: alleviation, primarily through

: its Repayment Assistance Plan.
: Under that plan, borrowers

: can qualify for a reduction

: or removal of their monthly

; payments based on their income :
: and family size. A single person
: qualifies to make no payment if
: their gross monthly income is

: under $1,684.

According to the Ministry

of Finance, of the 113,000

: borrowers currently in

: repayment, there are 26,000

: people in default, and at any

: given time 1,500 of those

: defaulters have resumed

: repayment or would qualify

: fora financial exemption. To

: meet the goal of $3-million, the
: Refuse-to-Issue plan would have
: to get 2,250 of the remaining :
: defaulters to complete their

yearly payments.

The ministry wasn't able to

: provide a dollar figure on how

: much is currently brought in by
: the existing types of Refuse-to-

: Issue notices, and ICBC did not

: have any information on how

: many drivers repay and get their
: notices lifted, or how quickly

: they repay.

“We don’t have a business

news // 5

 
 

 

== _——— — :
Photo by Mike de Jong

”
»

need for that [information]

ICBC senior communication

: specialist Leslie Dickson said,

: explaining that notices from

; the government just appear on

: drivers’ ICBC files when there

: isan outstanding debt and

: disappear when the government
: receives payment and withdraws
: the notice.

ICBC does however record

how many notices there are

: and what each is for. As of

: February 26, there were 55,000

: active notices: 42,000 for bridge

toll debt, 9,300 for family

: maintenance, and 4,200 for
: public transit fines.

The proposed law is before

the House and is expected to

: undergo a final vote by May

: 28. If passed, the law would

: take effect in late 2015 or early

: 2016. Under the law, the Refuse-
: to-Issue policy would also be

: applied to unpaid court-ordered
: fines such as hunting violations,
: but would not affect the issuing
: of non-driving forms of ID.

 

Tri-cities to wage expensive
battle against chafer beetle

» Solutions to the long-time lawn infestations soon to be in progress

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

he European chafer beetle

BC lawns since 2001, but 2015

has seen a mass increase in the

insects and resulting damage.
The region-wide infestation

has been most predominant

in the tri-cities areas of New

Westminster, Coquitlam,

and Port Coquitlam, as well

as Burnaby. The insects

have caused major damage

to Coquitlam in particular,

according toa city staff report,

which states that eight per cent

: of city-owned turf—55,000
: square metres—has been heavily :
: compromised by the beetles
: and, more notably, by the

has reportedly been infesting :

animals who hunt them, such

: as crows. Animals searching

: for the bugs do so by picking at
: and tearing up grass, which has
: resulted in torn up lawns.

“Based on this assessment,

a turf remediation program

: has been developed and will

: commence shortly,” according

: tothe statement. “It is expected
that this insect will continue

: to bean ongoing challenge

in Coquitlam, requiring a

: higher level of proactive turf-

care practices that will help

; ensure against repeated turf
: destruction.”

The report goes on to point

: out that residential lawns that
: are properly taken care of will
: generally be better off than

: those that are not regularly
maintained.

The same staff report,

: according to the Tri-City

: News, puts the taxpayers’ bill

: at $250,000. $30,000 of the

: total will be put towards fixing
: Robinson Memorial, a central
Coquitlam located cemetery

: which has suffered substantial
; damage. A budget highlights

: booklet released this year by

: the City of Port Coquitlam,

: where the affected land area

: is lower than its namesake

: neighbour, states that $104,000
: of the city’s budget will go

: towards eradicating the pests;

: the Port Coquitlam Cemetery,

: where famous Canadian Terry

: Fox rests, has also had its grass
: tarnished.

Port Moody also joined the

fight against the chafer beetles
: as of this year; however, due to
city bans, chemical agents like

: pesticides aren't an option for

; the city. The idea of exploring

: pesticides as a possible solution
: was voted against by city
council.

A brochure by the

: Canadian Nursery Landscape

: Association, in partnership

: with some of Metro Vancouver’s
: municipalities, has been

: released in response to the

: European chafer beetle

: epidemic, explaining the basic
: facts of the pests as well as

: giving advice on prevention,

: monitoring, and biological or
chemical control.