In the dissenting opinion, Karakatsanis said she would have allowed the appeal in part, overturning the BC Court of Appeal’s “conclusion that the single-date approach governs the interpretation of s. 178(1)(g)(ii).”

Karakatsanis wrote that s. 178(1)(g)(ii) functions instead “as a conditional statutory bar on discharge of an individual’s student loans.” Once an individual has ceased to be a student for a continuous seven-year period, that statutory bar no longer applies to their student loans. The individual can then pursue more studies in the future without jeopardizing their ability to be released from those loans.

“I would grant the appellant’s declaration in part,” Karakatsanis wrote. “The statutory bar does not apply to student loans she had accrued before she ceased to be a student in April 1995.”

In a statement to Canadian Lawyer on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, one of the intervenors in the case, said that although the organization was advocating for a different outcome, “this decision at least levels the playing field across the country as prior to this SCC decision there was conflicting case law across the various Canadian provinces.

“In our opinion the SCC decision highlights some issues with the student loan provision in the BIA. CAIRP has long been advocating for changes to the student loans provisions in the BIA with respect to having more flexible dischargibility conditions which would ensure individuals with old student loans can access our insolvency systems to get a fresh start while still maintaining the ability for student loan regimes to get a fair recovery,” the spokesperson added. “Some legislative change may be warranted to continue to strive towards a fairer insolvency system for all stakeholders.”

A federal government spokesperson was not able to immediately comment on the decision.

Counsel for Piekut declined to comment. 

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with comments from the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals.