Canada student loans surpass $13 billion

OTTAWA, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The value of outstanding student loans in Canada surpassed the unprecedented $13 billion mark Wednesday, a national student federation in Ottawa said.

In a release, the Canadian Federation of Students said that amount doesn't include some $5 billion of provincial loans, or education-related credit card, lines of credit or bank loans.

The group said total student loans owed to the federal government increase by $1.2 million a day, and for this school year, 360,000 students required loans.

The federation Chairwoman Katherine Giroux-Bougard said she had sent a letter to the federal finance minister last month asking for ways to find relief for students.

"The students and families who can least afford to pay for post-secondary education are carrying a $13 billion burden," she said. "Saddling a generation of students with billions in debt will have far reaching implications for Canada's economy and socio-economic inequality."