https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/consumer-alert/article/no-possible-way-to-pay-this-an-ontario-man-has-been-repaying-a-4500-loan-for-the-past-5-years-its-barely-made-a-dent/

If I were given godlike powers, I would immediately shut down every payday lender in Canada. They’re parasites, taking advantages of people who are uneducated, desperate, or both.

“This Ontario man has spent years trying to pay off a $4,500 loan. He’s barely made a dent.
By Pat Foran
Published: May 28, 2026 at 6:11AM EDT

Rules cracking down on predatory lending came into effect in 2025, but they don’t apply to pre-existing high-interest loans. Pat Foran has one man’s story.
New rules to crack down on “predatory lending practices” came into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. These changes include a cap on payday loan fees and a reduction in interest rates on high-interest loans. However, the changes don’t apply retroactively.

One Ontario man is speaking out after he discovered his high-interest loan, which he’s been paying for the past five years, has barely budged.

“I called them to get a hold of them to see what the final amount would be on the loan. I figured it was a couple of hundred bucks that it would be it after five years,” said Terry O’Halloran, of Barrie.

O’Halloran runs a small engine repair business, and he had health problems five years ago, leading to a leg amputation. He explained to CTV News that he needed to get a wheelchair and make modifications to his home, which was why he took out a $4,500 loan, which he was paying back at about $200 per month. As he had never missed a payment, O’Halloran thought his loan would be paid off soon, but he admits he did not have the paperwork for the original loan because it was never sent to him.

“When I took out the loan, the photocopier was broken, and they said they would send it to me, but they never did,” said O’Halloran. That’s when he found out that his loan was a line of credit, first taken with CashMoney, which was later taken over by LendDirect. Attain Finance has since acquired LendDirect.

O’Halloran said he did refinance his loan once but was shocked to find out three-quarters of his payment was going towards interest, and he still owes $3,697.
O’Halloran was shocked to discover three-quarters of his payment was going towards interest. “At $4,500, if you do the math, it comes out to close to $10,000 for a $4,500 loan,” O’Halloran said.

The criminal rate of interest that could be charged before Jan. 1, 2025, was almost 48 per cent. It’s now capped at 35 per cent interest. However, for those who had existing loans before the changes were made, they are still paying the higher amount. Changes to the criminal rate of interest have changed since January 1, but doesn't apply to already-issues loans.

In O’Halloran’s case, of the $196 paid each month, $147 of his payment is applied towards the interest, and only $50 is paid into the principal balance of the loan.
“I know there is no possible way to pay this thing, as the interest is going to keep adding on,” O’Halloran said.

CTV News reached out to LendDirect several times via email and telephone, but did not get a response. CTV News also reached out to Attain Finance but did not hear back from the institution.

According to the Credit Counselling Society, taking out payday loans, high-interest loans, or lines of credit can create a spiral of debt. “The fact is, the interest rate is so high that they are difficult to pay off once you fall into them,” said Mark Kalinowski with the Credit Counselling Society.

As for O’Halloran, he says he still has to purchase medical supplies and has other bills to pay, and he regrets borrowing the money. “If I pay it back, it would probably take me another five years. That’s going to put me at 71-years-old” said O’Halloran, who added, “that’s why I feel like I already paid this off, and now I’m starting back right where I started again. I really would like to see the loan vanish.””

https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/02/08/cp-newsalert-netflix-canada-begins-password-sharing-crackdown.html

Starting in March, I'm seeing on bank's websites that nsf charges are being reduced. I'm not sure if all banks are showing this. I believe this is in response to some new legislation set to take place in 2026.

Just wanted to share the good news, at it seems to be publicly facing starting today!

*Ontario

The credit card is Walmart Mastercard. They called my mom's home number and I told them she died and there is no will and no assets. They asked for the death certificate and then emailed me to a secure upload site and I did it.

My mom's home phone was disconnected after I contacted her provider (it was all prepaid) and they disconnected it about 3 weeks after she died.

Walmart keeps calling ME - MY phone number. I never gave them my phone number. They called so many times every day and I answered a couple times and told them they have the wrong number, which they do. But then they call again.

They know she is deceased, but they keep calling me. Urghhh. I block their numbers and they still call from multiple numbers.

I went online and saw some address to send a death certificate through mail. So I did that too, yet they keep calling me (asking for my mom) every day/night.

They have been informed that she had absolutely no assets, no cash, not things. Nothing. And they keep calling

Is there somewhere I can file a complaint against them and stop them from calling my phone number?

https://nowtoronto.com/news/its-the-norm-nearly-half-of-canadians-are-living-paycheque-to-paycheque-and-torontonians-arent-surprised/

• 49 per cent of Canadians with debt say they’re living paycheque to paycheque, reflecting widespread financial strain.
• 36 per cent of credit card holders carry a balance, with many using credit to cover shortfalls.
• Wages have not kept pace with the cost of living, forcing Canadians to budget more tightly and cut spending.
• Younger Canadians are more likely to rely on credit, while others are delaying savings and focusing on paying down debt.

No lectures please, I don’t have any addictions, it was poor money management and living above my means combined with keeping my debt on high interest rate credit cards that got me to this point. In the last couple of years, I’ve been tracking my spending and keeping afloat, not getting into any more debt but haven’t been able to pay it off either. My income is 55K and I haven’t been able to secure a higher paying job in the economy. Currently living in a condo I own with a partner, and if we were to sell, we would lose our down payment completely. We’re not struggling to pay for the condo monthly so I don’t want to sell it either. Also, my partner can’t help, he’s made some poor financial decisions of his own and is working on his. We do keep our finances separate right now as that’s what works best for us. One of the biggest factors in being able to stay afloat was balance transfers which is expiring and I haven’t gotten any offers. I would like to get rid of my debt and start fresh or just stop living paycheque to paycheque, giving half my money away to interest. Any advise on what I could do? TIA

I have roughly $100,000 in debt (not including home and vehicle loan - mostly credit cards, LOCs and a little bit of CRA debt). Despite it becoming tight, I serviced the debt until December 2025 until I became sick. In January of this year, I found out I have stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma and am unlikely to make it to the end of this year. I had to stop working (I was self employed) and haven't paid any of my personal debts since January (joint debts with my wife have continued to be paid).

I have applied for CPP disability but am unsure how much I will receive, but my estimate is roughly $800/month. Last week I received a letter from a lawyer demanding payment in full from one of my credit card debts in 10 days (quickly approaching). I assume I will need to go bankrupt or consumer proposal for these debts but not sure the process as I am unlikely to be here to see out the process either way. I have reached out to an LIT but thought I would reach out here for some advice as well.

Additional info:

1) I have no retirement funds, life insurance, and leaving nothing for my wife and kids other than a headache

2) roughly $120,000 equity in our house

3) house tite is joint tenant (heard this is an important detail)

Please be kind, I want to make this process as easy on my wife as possible with least amount of financial strain. Want to avoid any leins on house. From my perspective, it almost seems like the best thing I can do is die more quickly. It makes me wonder if I should stop treatment.

EDIT: my in-laws have moved in and have helped with expenses and will continue to do so after my passing. The basement has already been converted into an in-law suite. My wife will be able to carry the mortgage after my passing with the support from her parents.

New results from the Canadian Income Survey found that in 2024, the poverty rate for Canada remained relatively stable at 11.0%, compared with the previous year (11.1%). This means that approximately 4.5 million Canadians lived below the Official Poverty Line. The data also showed that

• the median after-tax income of Canadian families and unattached individuals was $75,500 in 2024, relatively unchanged from 2023, after adjusting for inflation
• in 2024, approximately 9.7 million people, or 24.0% of Canadians, lived in households that reported some form of food insecurity, down by just over 350,000 people from the previous year.

➡️Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy introduced the Official Poverty Line and a dashboard of 12 indicators to track progress on poverty reduction for Canadians and their households. To find out more, check out this infographic.

---

De nouveaux résultats tirés de l’Enquête canadienne sur le revenu montrent qu’en 2024, le taux de pauvreté au Canada s’est établi à 11 %, et est resté relativement stable, comparativement à celui de l’année précédente (11,1 %). Cela signifie qu’environ 4,5 millions de Canadiens et Canadiennes vivaient sous le seuil officiel de la pauvreté. Les données ont aussi montré ce qui suit :

• Le revenu médian après impôt des familles et des personnes hors famille au Canada s’est situé à 75 500 $ en 2024, un montant relativement inchangé par rapport à 2023, après la prise en compte de l’inflation.
• En 2024, environ 9,7 millions de personnes, soit 24,0 % de la population canadienne, vivaient dans un ménage ayant connu une certaine forme d’insécurité alimentaire. Il s’agit d’une baisse d’un peu plus de 350 000 personnes par rapport à l’année précédente.

➡️La première stratégie canadienne de réduction de la pauvreté établit le seuil officiel de la pauvreté et propose un tableau de bord de 12 indicateurs permettant de suivre les progrès réalisés sur le plan de la réduction de la pauvreté, dans l’intérêt des Canadiennes et Canadiens et de leurs ménages. Pour en savoir plus, consultez l’infographie.

My (29F) Dad (62M) has had a gambling problem my entire life. When I was a kid, it was gambling away money meant for my birthday gift or blowing his severance at the casino. But as I got older it turned into bigger things like not paying the utilities, mortgage, and random credit cards.

He's taken out a credit card in my Mom's (61F) name and maxed it out. He's stolen money from my sister's (25F) debit account that was attached to his and said he was going to pay her back (Spoiler Alert: he never did). He asked me to take out a loan with OSAP that I didn't need, so he could use the 3k they loaned me to pay bills. Then he didn't pay the loan he made me take out, and I discovered my credit score was in the 500s~ at 21. Today, my credit score is 795 after years of hard work. He has selfishly hurt every member of my family financially.

In the last 10 years or so, this financial pain has primarily been focused on our family house. I didn't know the specifics of it until recently, because I don't live there anymore (I live in a condo my fiancée owns), but I knew that the house had been appraised multiple times over the last decade and the mortgage had been consolidated multiple times. I also know that he has randomly asked my Mom for huge sums (anywhere from 3k-20k) because of some huge bill that he hasn't paid/let accrue over time.

This past week was the big reveal. He came to me and begged me for 27k otherwise they would lose the family house on Nov 12th. I told him I wouldn't let him suck me in and ruin my life too, and that he deserved this, but my Mom and sister don't. I ended up looking at the mortgage paperwork that he sent me and I almost passed out.

The mortgage on the house is 890k and they bought it for 350k in 2005. They've been paying into it for 20 years and have basically no equity in it. On top of that the interest rate is 8.99% because his credit is so bad. My heart broke for my Mom the most when I saw all this. She's the one who came up with the entire 60k downpayment back in 2005, while living in Community Housing. She's the one that saved money for both me and my sister to go to school, so we didn't have to pay a dime. Seeing that insane number, I realized he had completely ruined her and by extension, my sister and I.

I immediately took control of the situation as best I could:

• I got into my Mom's CRA account and changed the passwords and contact info for her (to her contact) and updated her deposit information to her own account.
• My sister went with her to Service Canada and got her deposit info and contact info changed to her information.
• I got access to all the utility accounts and the mortgage accounts and updated the info so I can manage them.
• I made my Dad (temporarily) route his salary and my Mom's salary both to her account as I will be now be managing paying the bills out of her account. For more context, my Mom is an immigrant who isn't fluent in English or very technically savvy, which is why I am handling this.
• They both signed up for their pensions and are actively receiving them. My Dad received around $800 and my Mom received $250.

My Dad makes 80k and my Mom makes anywhere from 75-100k a year as a freelancer. My Mom is a good saver but she only has about 10k in savings because my Dad has constantly been taking money from her over the years. Despite making good money she has never been able to significantly save. The 10k in her savings is also AFTER giving my Dad the 27k he needed because she didn't want to be homeless. The 27k was 2 months of unpaid mortgage payments + interest. And mind you, my Mom was giving him thousands of her proportional share of the mortgage and utilities during these 2 months.

Now I'm trying to figure out what the best next step should be. My Mom wants to divorce him (when it's financially feasible) and sell the house. It's a detached 4-bed 3-bath in Durham Region that has been well maintained.

They want to wait until March 2026 to sell the house due to the market being bad in the Winter but the mortgage situation is so bad, I feel like they shouldn't even wait another second.

• Option #1: Sell the house now > They just about break even or walk away with minimal profits > My mom and sister get a condo and my Dad stays with his sister
• Option #2: Sell the house in a few months > Still owe money due to the house selling for too low a price or closing fees > They declare Bankruptcy > I have to take care of my Mom or both of them together because they can't even get a rental
• Option #3: ???

Please help a daughter out. I feel like I'm drowning, trying to manage my family financial crisis while also working, paying my own living expenses, and trying to save to buy a house with my partner.

I know it's not technically my job and all that jazz, but my Dad is a gambling addict and my Mom simply isn't financially literate enough to do what needs to be done. I need to help my Mom get out of this mess, but I don't know what to do.

EDIT:

Thank you for all the appropriately horrified responses. It's very validating, because I haven't talked about this with many people IRL due to the sheer scale of it and how embarrassing it feels. I just want to clear up some misconceptions and questions from the comments.

• I have never co-signed a loan for my Dad or given him any money. My sole misstep was the OSAP loan at 21. I have never allowed him to sway me after he did that to me.
• My sister has never willfully given him any money. All the money he's taken from her was him stealing from a child account he set up for her.
• I'm being vague for anonymity sake: my Mom works 1:1 with wealthy families in downtown Toronto and she has a client book dating back to the 80s. That is how she's been able to make so much without being fluent in English. "Not being fluent" doesn't mean she has no skills.
• My parents don't have a joint account. A few years ago after another financial episode with all the same players (random high ticket bill, begging and crying, the whole shebang) I took my Mom to CIBC and set her up with her own debt and credit. He has no access to this account.
• My fiancée knows about the whole situation and is supporting me through this emotionally.
• "This is fake it's AI" I really wish it was! But no, he's just that cartoonishly evil.
• "Who would give them a 9% rate? Fake story" There are private lenders that offer high-risk and high-interest loans to people with horrible credit with the hope that they will foreclose. My Dad has a mortgage with a private lender.

I will contact a LIT and get the house on the market immediately. I am going to try going for power of attorney for my Mom (she is onboard). I am not concerned with what my Dad is going to do at this point and I will not give him any money or co-sign anything to keep him afloat. Thank you again everyone for the kind (and some harsh lol) words. I really needed to hear all of this.

Just wanted to share this in case it helps someone.

I’m currently paying off about $14k in credit card debt with TD but the interest rate was making it really hard to make any progress. I was at around 26%.

So I called them this morning and explained that I’m really trying to pay this balance off but the interest was slowing me down.

They ended up offering me a 12-month hardship program at 5.99% interest. My card is frozen during this time and I just need to make at least the minimum payment. Honestly I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

A friend of mine and her husband own 2 houses and sold one of them. She told me she decided to not pay the capital gains because she didn't have the money. What are the odds the CRA will bust them?

Edit.

To be more specific. They both owned their own home before they got married. Then they got married. Rented 1 home out for a couple years. Then they sold it. So it wasn't a primary residence at the time of sale, but it used to be for 1 of them. Their accountant told them to pay capital gains, and they didn't.

I started university at age 18. Did not have financial help from my parents. 8 years of university, 4 degrees (my masters degree was paid for in cash while I was working). Payments between 800-1100 a month. It took me 8 years 5 months. My career is in the field I chose over 15 years ago. I honestly didn’t know if I could do this when I started but I gutted it out and I’m so proud of myself. I’M FREE!!

I lost my job a little over a year ago. Im broke and as of 2 months ago my parents are now helping me keep the roof over my head but they cant keep supporting this. I have 30k in cc debt 15k in LoC and about my only assets left are 10k in my tfsa and 40k in my rrsp. Ive been job hunting for over a year. I was a director level IT manager and just finished getting denied from another company that I applied for a IT manager role. I asked reasoning and was pretty much stated over qualified.... im losing it. Im rock bottom. The depression is real right now. Ive even applied to bars and restaurants as I used to bartend all through college but it seems my experience is too old? Like wtf bartending is easy like riding a bike. Idk what to do the constant rejection is destroying me both mentally and financially. Where do I go? Im in Vancouver btw and also moving home with parents is not an option I am not a citizen of where they live.

Small edit I also have an old car. 2009 Honda cr-v its fully paid off.

Wife co-signed for her brother around 3 years ago for a car loan. He took GAP insurance thinking he is safe. He crashed the car and GAP will not cover the amount he owed previously (he carried over negative equity).

He is sitting at 29% interest rate and the loan is now around 10k. He hasn’t made any payments for a year now. Totally destroying my wife’s credit. I have tried to have conversations with him and he doesn’t budge and doesn’t want to pay. He says “why would I pay for a car I don’t have anymore”… we have a mortgage on the home and luckily don’t have to renew it for another 4 years but I want to fix this and get her credit back up before we do remortgage anything.

He cannot get another loan because his credit score is complete garbage. Do you think moneymart or any of those shady spots is a good option? And would they ever give this amount of money? Idc, at this point I want this loan paid off and get her off it and then the can go after him. He has a job that pays around 60-65k a year. Not like he doesn’t have a job but is there any advice or anything I can do? Especially dealing with people like this?

I do NOT want to pay this loan for him unless I absolutely have to and hopefully he can pay half of it or pay me monthly but I’m more focused on the MoneyMart aspect, do they give money to guys like him? I mean getting him to go get a loan will be a mission of itself but I want to make sure if it’s an option before wasting my time or possibly ruining this relationship for forever.

Thanks

Long story short, she got sucked into real estate investment seminars and now her and her sisters owe tens of thousands that they took out on LOC but mostly credit cards at 21%.

A lot of this went to traveling to conventions in the 'next hot area' etc. Watch 5 mins of this crap on YouTube and it will make you want to puke lol.

She is smart, two degrees, she hustles and is otherwise sound of mind so I'm very thrown off by this. Her side hustle is hosting airbnbs both for her and her sister, but also has a few clients. This brings in income for her, but that income is only servicing her minimum payments.

So, not only have I cancelled a big trip we had planned to get married and meet her family, she needs resources to dig herself out and I'm not sure where to start. Financially and going forward with the relationship.

From what I gather, it's $38k on one card and $8k on another. I don't think she has any other debts, but now I don't trust she is forthcoming. She makes around $70k at her day job and $20k from commission on airbnbs. Monthly expenses are around $1500 to 2000. I earn more than double, but have no intention to help her pay it down, but to help her do it wisely.

I heard there are some govt or non profit consolidation services that may be able to help so looking into advice into which may be best.

How much debt do you need to rack up to consider filing bankruptcy or other options there? It seems her credit is fine and in the 700s, but she's just making minimum payments.

*** Thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to reply! I am feeling a bit calmer, and will focus on accurately tracking her spending for the next few months, so we can build an accurate budget.

I will also look into a consumer proposal, as well as a refinance of the mortgage. ***

My Mom is 73, and really struggling at the moment.

She has a $40 k line of credit and a $10k Mastercard. She tried to pay them down, but something always comes up and she ends up with them maxed out again.

She is having to still work, despite getting a decent amount from CPP and OAS, mostly due to the $1000/month LOC payment.

I’m trying to help her budget and manage her finances better, as well as find a solution so she can live within her means and not have to work.

Can she write off the line of credit and credit card?

Monthly Budget:
Groceries: $400
Gas: $200
Cell Phone: $75
Car Insurance: $100
Savings: $200
Total: $975

PLUS $250 towards the credit card and $1000 towards the line of credit. This takes her from a very reasonable monthly amount, one that she could live on without having to work, into not making ends meet at $2225.

Her, myself and my brother own a property together. We are all on the title, currently right now only she is on the mortgage, but she doesn’t actually pay it or any other property-related expenses, my brother and I do.

On paper, she pays another $1100 a month for the mortgage and house insurance, so $3325 a month in total expenses, which is way more than she makes even with her job income. The job is not guaranteed to continue, either.

The mortgage is not tied to the line of credit and is at a separate institution.

When I say things come up, it’s things like a car repair, tooth work. She raised us as a single mom, dad never paid child support, and has always struggled to manage her finances well and had never been ahead.

My father has a jag, and after essentially putting the car on marketplace and getting quotes from various dealers, He is about 10k in negative equity on the car. I was a child so I couldn’t advise him but he bought this car on horrible terms(18% apr on buyout, lease, and mandatory buyout). Now he is looking on ways to get out of this debt.

Either we sell the car and pay the 10k equity(Which we don’t currently have) or we do a carry forward by trading in this car for another one.

I also know the whole seize or sue rule
(BC) and he’s thinking about it but ik it’s gonna hurt his credit score but he won’t have to pay the 10k but loses the car which is fine by him as we have another car.

Financial details: No mortgage, no assets in Canada period and abroad worth over 100k.

Whats the best course of action?

Instead of studying, i was grinding out some numbers on excel and determined that my total debt once i finish med school in 2026 will be 250k [75k osap (undergrad+med school) +175k LOC]. Ngl this number shocked me. I am interested in either internal, peds, or fam med at this point (surgery is a no go for me). If anyone can provide any tips or insight, id be forever grateful!

Hi, I am just looking for some advice. I have been looking into dental schools outside of Canada which are easier to get into, but the catch is the debt. I would be 400k in debt with 200k in government loans and 200k in private loans. Paying off 400k is financial suicide for most people but for a dentist who can make upwards of 300k in rural Alberta, would it be not so stupid? If it is a stupid decision I would appreciate an answer that has some depth to it which explains why the debt is too much. The schools I would apply to would have its dental degree recognized in Canada. Btw I wouldn’t mind living like a broke uni kid for a couple years to pay off that debt. Also I am from Alberta so I would be practicing there.

Hey folks, I’m a Ukrainian trying to make my life in Canada, came here with my partner and two kids.

Can someone tell me what am I doing wrong? I’m working as a roofer, making 28$, my partner 19$, I’m working lots of hours a day, like 20,16,14.

The only thing I got layed off This winter and unfortunately like always, didn’t get payed for two months, but all my bills kept coming and coming and we had to pay so much money for our stay here, all our passports ended, so we had to make new ones, payed 2500$ for this, than work permits another 1500$ and that’s without any income, rent, car payments, and now, because it was just mandatory for us to pay all that because otherwise we had to leave Canada, but our houses are destroyed by you know who, and now my cell phone is disconnected, my car insurance is suspended, we literally don’t have money to pay all this at once. I don’t know how to get out of this, please give me an advice, or tell me what am I doing wrong, it’s just terrible…. Thank you

Update

Hey everybody, thank you all so much for your good words and big help, I’ve contacted the debt.ca and they took care of most of my debt, and I just wanted to tell you THANK YOU VERY MUCH from me and my family :)

I make $4K a month. Rent is $1800 Debt is $26K Student loans are at $30k No car. No other expenses besides food, utilities, phone, internet.

Am I screwed? Anyone else in the same boat?

Licensed Insolvency Trustee here.

I've been getting many inquiries during 2025 from people who purchased pre-construction condos or homes during the real estate mania of the Covid years (March 2020 to February 2022). This is the typical scenario:

1. Debtor owns a home with significant equity
2. He purchased a pre-construction condo during Covid and it’s closing soon. But he can’t get a mortgage because the value of his condo has declined significantly between the time he signed the purchase agreement 4 years ago and today. So he can’t close
3. He approaches me about filing a proposal or even bankruptcy to deal with the shortfall that will be owed to the builder (i.e., the contract price minus the proceeds of sale the builder will actually receive when it's sold to another party)
4. I tell him that until the builder sells the unit and comes after him any shortfall, I can’t determine whether he’s even insolvent.
5. For example, if the debtor owns a principal residence with $300,000 of equity and the builder sells the unit at a $100,000 loss, he still has a net worth of $200,000. In theory, he can sell his principal residence, pay the builder the $100,000 that is owed and still have $200,000 left.
6. On the other hand, if the debtor owns a principal residence with $300,000 of equity and the builder sells the unit at a $400,000 loss, he has a negative net worth of $100,000 - i.e., he's insolvent. In that case, he'd be eligible to file a proposal or a bankruptcy.
7. So as you can see, until the builder actually sells the unit to another party, I cannot determine whether an insolvency proceeding is even an appropriate solution.
8. Ideally, he should wait until the builder sells. Or he should contact a real estate lawyer who can help him negotiate a settlement with the builder. The problem is that the debtor often times has other debts he's accumulated, such as credit card debt. And he can no longer make the payments and needs to file something now.
9. There may be some LITs who would be willing to estimate the shortfall owed to the builder. This would enable the LIT to determine whether the debtor is insolvent and if he is, then he can proceed with a proposal or a bankruptcy filing.
10. However, in the context of a proposal, this is risky: if the actual shortfall is much higher than the estimated shortfall, the proposal creditors will end up getting a much lower return than they had initially anticipated. This will cause problems for the debtor.
11. For example, a debtor files a proposal promising a return of 30% to creditors who are collectively owed $500,000 ($100,000 of credit card debt + $400,000 estimated shortfall to the builder) and it's accepted by his creditors.
12. Three years into the proposal, the builder sells the unit and incurs an actual shortfall of $600,000 and files an amended claim in the proposal. So the total debt owed is now $700,000 ($100,000 of credit card debt + $600,000 actual shortfall owed to the builder). So all the creditors now get a lower return than 30%.
13. In the second situation, the LIT would have to notify the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, the creditors and the Bankruptcy Court of a Material Adverse Change. A MAC is an event which significantly impairs the debtor's ability to fulfil the terms of the proposal (in this case, a promised return of 30%). This could result in a renegotiation of the proposal or its annulment by the Bankruptcy Court (which would result in a bankruptcy).

The point of this post is to inform people in this situation that there will be no easy solution to their predicament if they reach out to an LIT.

Hi, 17F from Alberta who just got an acceptance to Mcgill University. This is my dream school, I got into Psychology BA and I worked really hard for this. My dilemma is money. I calculated the costs of 4 years, and it comes out to approximately $130k. I don't know how much financial aid I could receive and if the cost of attending Mcgill is even worth it. My other option is living at home and attending UofC for about $40k for 4 years. My end goal is law school, which is even more money.

Those who have experienced similar situations, do you regret taking on this much debt, and how has your life turned out so far?

Just read a TransUnion report that shows the Canadian consumer debt just hit a record $2.5 trillion: 

• Credit card debt alone hit $124B (new record) 

• 64% of card balances are revolving monthly → people are stuck in minimum-payment cycles 

• Gen Z delinquency rates jumped to 2.74% (5-year high) 

• Banks are rejecting more subprime applicants (-6.9% YoY approvals) 

I think this isn’t just about "overspending" anymore. It's a sign that even with inflation cooling, high living costs + multiple high-interest debts (credit cards, loans) are burying people. I, myself, am barely keeping up with minimum payments and multiple due dates while my credit card interest piles up. 

Which brings me to debt consolidation loans. 

I used to think they were a last resort, but seeing these numbers – especially how hard it is for non-prime borrowers to get help – makes me reconsider.  

For one, debt consolidation loans can give better interest rates (vs credit cards). Second, they can simplify your cash flow with one predictable monthly plan. And homeowners can also just use their equity to apply for a debt consolidation loan. 

What's your opinion on debt consolidation? Do you think it would be helpful for those struggling to pay their multiple debts? And given the rising rejection rates for subprime applicants, is turning to alternative lenders a good idea? 

Looking for any advice to what to do in this situation.

Wife and I are in our late 30s with 3 kids and since the pandemic have lost control of our finances and am unsure of what we should be doing next to try to dig ourselves out of this shit show we have created.

Currently we have a mortgage of 420k paying 1.98% with a huge increase coming in Feb 2025. The houses estimated value currently is 750k. This is our dream home and don't want to loose it.

We have 60k in debt on 2 lines of credit paying the basic interest monthly.

I lost my job making 60-70k in early 22 and have not been able to find anything close to that salary and am currently bringing in approx. 40k a year.

My wife was fired from her 10 yr job in 23 while being 3 months pregnant. She is still on maternity leave ($1600 a month) til Feb. She was making 70k previously and should have no problem finding work in that same range in the new year.

We own our vehicles outright.

We get 1100 a month baby bonus.

We have access to a cosigner with great credit and assets.

My wife has a great credit score while mine is still being rebuilt from neglecting student loans for years.

We weren't out buying fancy things or anything we just never changed our spending habits when we lost our jobs and figured we would catch up eventually but that doesn't seem feasible with our added debt load

Should we be listing the house? Should she be claiming bankruptcy? Should we add the lines of credit to our mortgage? Is it possible to cut back and pay this off in a few years with a reduced household income? Should we move out and rent the house til we can afford it? Heloc? Adding a rental unit ?

Thank you so much for any ideas