The Honourable Paul Dinn, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, has introduced legislation to amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, 2019, which would modify the assistance appeal process for students.

The amendments to the Act advanced to second reading in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The bill would replace the Student Financial Assistance Appeal Board while ensuring that students have access to two levels of review and written decisions. There have been no appeals submitted to the Student Financial Assistance Appeal Board since 2013-14. These amendments would eliminate an underused board structure while fully preserving a strong, fair and transparent secondary review process for students.

Under the proposed amendments, students seeking reviews of their student loan applications will submit requests to Student Financial Services staff. Staff will ensure that all federal and provincial legislation and policy are applied when examining each request, and the director of Student Financial Services will serve as the final review authority.

The proposed amendments will also modernize how the province recovers long-outstanding defaulted student loans, ensuring public funds are collected efficiently and responsibly. This update to the Act would bring student loan collections in line with other government collections practices.

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“Our government is committed to our students so that they can get the post-secondary education they want to begin their careers. These proposed changes to the Student Financial Assistance Act are long overdue. Students can be assured that their requests will continue to be heard through a clear and concise process with accountability and procedural fairness.”
Honourable Paul Dinn
Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development

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