The Times Colonist reports that BC’s Ministry of the Attorney-General is launching an action against a former University of Victoria Law student to recover $20,000 in student-aid debt.
The student, one Kent Daniel Glowinski, is raising a number of wacky defences. He claims that he never had a loan; he claims that student loans contravene the Charter; he declared bankruptcy, but that does not shield him from student loan recovery. It does not appear significant to either party that the legal costs will far outweigh the contested $20,000.
Glowinski works for the CRTC in Ottawa. He has had a political career ranging from the BC Liberals to the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, and has published a singularly awful collection of poetry.
“It does not appear significant to either party that the legal costs will far outweigh the contested $20,000.”
I don’t think the government could tolerate the precedent of settling this matter, and whatever legal fees are incurred could be justified based on the greater good of maintaining the integrity of the student loans program.
20k isn’t that bad. I’m at about 67k and thats after a year of repayment. Unless there is actual merit to his first ground (i.e. that he never actually had a loan) he should pay his debt.
Hopefully a small claims debt collection matter won’t run up in $20,000 in legal fees for the province. There are no costs in small claims court but if he appeals then that becomes an option for the province.
Leave it to Kent to take on the ‘powers that loan’ in his usual Quixote-esque style. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won. KG is a master of lateral thinking, and a credit to the profession.