Vol. 145, No. 8 — April 13, 2011

Registration

SOR/2011-95 March 25, 2011

CANADA STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ACT

ARCHIVED — Regulations Amending the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations

P.C. 2011-459 March 25, 2011

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, pursuant to section 15 (see footnote a) of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE CANADA STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS

AMENDMENT

1. Schedule 3 to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the Schedule 3 set out in the schedule to these Regulations.

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

SCHEDULE
(Section 1)

SCHEDULE 3
(Paragraphs 38.1(1)(e), 40.02(1)(d) and 40.021(1)(d))

INCOME THRESHOLDS

TABLE 1

LOW–INCOME THRESHOLDS, 2010 ($)

Province	ON	NS	NB	MB	BC	PE	SK	AB	NL	YT
Family size
1 person	22 637	19 495	19 495	22 637	22 637	19 375	19 495	22 637	19 495	22 637
2 persons	28 182	24 269	24 269	28 182	28 182	24 120	24 269	28 182	24 269	28 182
3 persons	34 647	29 837	29 837	34 647	34 637	29 653	29 837	34 647	29 837	34 647
4 persons	42 065	36 226	36 226	42 065	42 065	36 003	36 226	42 065	36 226	42 065
5 persons	47 710	41 086	41 086	47 710	47 710	40 883	41 086	47 710	41 086	47 710
6 persons	53 808	46 339	46 339	53 808	53 808	46 053	46 339	53 808	46 339	53 808
7 or more	59 907	51 591	51 591	59 907	59 907	51 274	51 591	59 907	51 591	59 907

TABLE 2

MIDDLE–INCOME THRESHOLDS, 2010 ($)

Province	ON	NS	NB	MB	BC	PE	SK	AB	NL	YT
Family size
1 person	40 937	35 853	31 520	34 980	39 287	32 689	34 605	43 702	31 423	42 535
2 persons	57 312	50 194	44 129	48 971	55 003	45 765	48 447	61 183	43 993	59 550
3 persons	71 152	62 458	54 761	61 331	71 456	58 181	60 680	73 333	54 964	69 990
4 persons	80 971	71 154	62 307	70 100	83 124	66 993	69 354	81 948	63 527	77 399
5 persons	88 594	77 903	68 159	76 907	92 174	73 824	76 083	88 638	70 165	83 146
6 persons	94 811	83 418	72 939	82 468	99 571	79 408	81 586	94 099	75 593	87 848
7 or more	100 078	88 080	76 983	87 168	105 827	84 126	86 233	98 718	80 179	91 815

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

The Canada Student Grants Program was implemented in 2009 for students in participating provinces and territory. The income-based eligibility thresholds set out in the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations (CSFAR) for the Canada Student Grant for Persons from Low-income Families (CSG-LI) and the Canada Student Grant for Persons from Middle-income Families (CSG-MI) were designed to be updated each year to account for inflation.

The objective of this amendment to the CSFAR is to update these thresholds based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in order to account for inflation.

Description and rationale

The income-based eligibility thresholds for the CSG-LI and the CSG-MI were originally based on the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) and the Moderate Standard of Living (MSOL) indicators, respectively, for 2008.

LICO is a measure established by Statistics Canada indicating the income level below which a family is likely to spend significantly more of its income on food, shelter and clothing than the average family. It is an indicator used by programs targeting benefits or assistance to poorer citizens. To qualify for the CSG-LI as per section 40.02 of the CSFAR, the income of the student’s family needs to be below the income threshold in Table 1 of Schedule 3 for the province or territory in which he or she resides.

MSOL is a threshold currently used by the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to determine the point at which the student, or the student’s family, is considered to have sufficient discretionary income to make a contribution to the cost of post-secondary education. MSOL uses the same methodology as LICO. To qualify for the CSG-MI, the family’s income will need to fall between the LICO and the MSOL threshold in Table 2 of Schedule 3 for the province or territory in which he or she resides.

This amendment updates Schedule 3 of the CSFAR according to the CPI rate of 1.8% for 2010 and 0.3% for 2009. The CPI rate functions as a proxy for inflation. This change adjusts the current income thresholds to account for two years of inflation since 2008.

As a result of this change, the income thresholds will be slightly higher, and a small number of people not previously eligible would become eligible to qualify for either the CSG-LI or CSG-MI. For instance, some individuals who previously received the CSG-MI will become eligible for the CSG-LI and other individuals who were not previously eligible for the CSG-MI will now become eligible for this grant. This change results in a modest economic and societal benefit, as the costs of pursuing post-secondary education would be reduced for these individuals.

Overall, the number of grant recipients that would be affected is estimated to be less than 300 with a value of $800 to $1200 per recipient (taking into consideration the difference between the two grants, $2000 for CSG-LI and $800 for the CSG-MI, over a typical eight-month academic year). The incremental cost to government would be approximately $360,000 annually.

Consultation

The provinces and territory that participate in the CSLP, as well as student and educational stakeholder groups, were consulted during the development and implementation of the Canada Student Grants Program in 2008 and 2009. At that time, they were made aware of the CSLP’s intention to update the income thresholds on an annual basis to account for inflation. Overall, these partners and stakeholder groups are supportive of the CSLP using a proxy such as CPI to keep the income thresholds up to date.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The participating provinces and territory and the federal service provider administer Canada Student Grants on behalf of the CSLP. In anticipation of changes to the income thresholds, most have the capacity to update their systems on an annual basis. There are expected to be no significant challenges in terms of implementation, enforcement and service standards.

Contact

Atiq Rahman
Director
Operational Policy and Research
Canada Student Loans Program
Learning Branch
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
200 Montcalm, Tower II, 1st Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0J9
Telephone: 819-994-4518
Fax: 819-997-6037

Footnote a
S.C. 2008, c. 28, s. 108

Footnote b
S.C. 1994, c. 28

Footnote 1
SOR/95-329