Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Lewis on September 29, 1992. Student loans are not written off because of student requests. Only loans which are considered impossible, or uneconomical to collect, are recommended to be written off. The purpose of writing off loan accounts is to recognize, on the financial statements, that these accounts are extremely unlikely to be collected.
Loans are recommended to be written off after all means of collection are exhausted, including the use of the courts and collection agencies. However, when loans are written off these loans are still considered outstanding debts. If a loan which has been written off later becomes collectible, it can be collected by government. Thank you.