Jeannine Mitchell's blog

Sometimes, change seems to take forever when suddenly, bang!

After several decades of debate, the interest charges on both Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans were effectively ended yesterday (November 3, 2022). 

Canada had a Covid-pandemic pause on student loan interest charges that was set to last through March, 2023. The new zero-interest policy takes effect starting April, 2023, replacing the Covid pause.

Revealed in Freeland's mini-budget

Thanks to Kyle Prevost, co-creator of My University Money, I've done a Skype interview you can check out online. Link is below, after I blather a bit.

I've meant to do podcasts for years and since I used to work in radio, it sounds easy.

You just get out the audio gear and edit a few talks about how to pay off all this student debt you've got. Or, better yet, how you can avoid this mess in the first place. 

But there are never enough hours in my day. Argh, neverrr!!!

1. We hear you: not everybody likes e-books. So there will be a paperback version of Kaching! How your family can cut thousands off your debt without spending a cent. [Seriously].

That should be out by the end of this year. We'll announce it on the website or you can just follow the Ka-Ching ad there and see the paper option.

2. There's a new book on the way after that, my Student Loan Survival Guide. I'm actually writing 2 at the same time. Umm, don't ask why - it just happened.

Are you a new teacher wondering when - or if - you’ll ever get the job you trained for?

If so, I've got something to share.

Katie Hyslop, a knowledgeable education beat reporter with Canadian online newsmagazine The Tyee,” has published an interesting piece full of ideas and information that could help new education grads.

It could also help if you’re currently considering or now studying in this field.

The next few years will bring continued steep increases for post-secondary schooling for most Canadian students and their families. That's the outlook in Tier for Two, a new report from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

If Canada's current government policies and trends continue, warn Erika Shaker and David Macdonald in their new report, Tier for Two, the next 4 years will see an increase of 13% in average undergrad tuition and related fees.

Think we all have equal access to post-secondary education in Canada? You’re wrong if your answer is “yes.”

  UPDATED Sptember 2014...

No story I've heard about student loans matches the one about the guy called 'Fried Potatoes.' You know, the direct action aficionado who erased half a billion dollars in student debt - as an art project!

It's a much more colourful version of Occupy's debt freedom project. Remember? When they bought people's student debt at the commercial price (5 or 10% of face value) and cheaply freed some lucky Americans from their heavy student loan debts?