Bill C-550

3rd Session, 40th Parliament,

59 Elizabeth II, 2010

house of commons of canada

BILL C-550

An Act respecting the forgiveness of student loans for health professionals

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Forgiveness of student loans for health professionals Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“health professional” means a person who is a physician or nurse practitioner.

“Minister” means the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“nurse practitioner” means a nurse qualified under the laws of a province to provide a range of medical and health care services without the direct supervision of a physician.

“physician” means a person who is entitled under the laws of a province to practice the profession of medicine.

“publicly funded health care system” has the meaning assigned by the regulations.

“student loan” means a debt or obligation to the government owed by a student as a result of a loan made under the Canada Student Loans Act on or after August 1, 2000.

“underserviced area” has the meaning assigned by the regulations.

STUDENT LOANS FORGIVENESS

3. If a health professional has signed an agreement committing them to work as a family practitioner in the publicly funded health care system in an underserviced area, no interest is chargeable, payable or recoverable on a student loan made to that health professional during each of the first five years of the agreement provided that the health professional complies with the terms of the agreement during that year.

4. In the sixth and subsequent years of the agreement referred to in section 3, the outstanding balance of the student loan of the health professional shall be forgiven at a rate of 20% per year provided that the health professional complies with the terms of the agreement during that year.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS

5. The Minister may, after consultation with the provinces, and on the terms and conditions that the Minister may specify, enter into an agreement with the government of any province that does not participate in the Canada Student Loans Program to provide funding for a program established by that government for the forgiveness of student loans provided by that government to health professionals.

REGULATIONS

6. The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) defining, in consultation with the prov- inces, for the purposes of this Act,

(i) the expression “underserviced area”,

(ii) the expression “publicly funded health care system”;

(b) respecting eligibility criteria for the student loans forgiveness program;

(c) prescribing any other matter or thing that under this Act is to be prescribed by the regulations; and

(d) generally, for carrying into effect the purposes and provisions of this Act.

COMING INTO FORCE

7. This Act comes into force one year after the day on which it receives royal assent.