Canada' s B.C. Province to bar those from getting driving license who fail to pay student loans

The legislature of Canada's western province of British Columbia introduced a new bill on Thursday, which will bar those from getting a driver's license who ignore repayment of their student loans.

B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong said in a statement that the proposed law was intended to help government collect some of the debts owed, including an existing 185 million CAD (148 million U.S. Dollars) in outstanding student loans, as well as fines for other infractions such as illegal hunting and pollution.

"For folks that graduate and get a job and are working and decide they just don't want to take their obligation to repay their student loan seriously, this would be a mechanism to remind them on a fairly regular basis they need to honor that obligation," de Jong said.

The changes mean that the Insurance Corp. of B.C. (ICBC) could refuse to renew or issue a drivers license if the government flagged a person's debt for repayment. They are also unable to insure their vehicle if caught by the ICBC.

"It's a collection tool," de Jong said of bringing the ICBC into the debt collection process.

The "refuse-to-issue" provision would apply to students whose loan accounts have been out of good standing for more than a year, according to the Ministry of Finance.

B.C. government only collected 17 million CAD (13.6 million Dollars) of the 185 million in outstanding student debt in 2013/14. Endi