Treat “government approved” as a claim to verify
A private website may discuss a real Canadian law without being a government service. Look for the exact program name, official department and eligibility rules. A maple leaf, federal-sounding language or a .ca domain does not prove government affiliation. Official federal pages use canada.ca or the Government of Canada’s departmental domains.
Ask what happens after you submit information: are you contacting a government agency, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, a credit counsellor, a lender or a lead-generation service? Those are materially different relationships.
Formal insolvency options are real—but not automatic forgiveness
Consumer proposals and bankruptcies are governed by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Only a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can administer them. A consumer proposal is an offer to creditors with required payments and duties; bankruptcy also has duties, costs and consequences. Neither should be described as a universal grant or an automatic government write-off.
The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy provides an official comparison of debt solutions and a directory for checking trustee licences. Use those sources before relying on a marketer’s description.
Some official help is tied to a specific debt
Government student-loan repayment assistance, CRA payment arrangements and provincial programs are not interchangeable. Eligibility, payment calculations and application routes differ. A program for a government student loan does not automatically cover a private line of credit. A CRA payment arrangement does not erase a credit-card balance.
Start by classifying each debt: government student loan, tax debt, unsecured consumer debt, secured debt, court obligation or something else. Then use the responsible agency’s official page.
| Debt or situation | Official starting point |
|---|---|
| Multiple unsecured debts | OSB comparison and Licensed Insolvency Trustee directory |
| Government student loan | National Student Loans Service Centre / Canada.ca |
| CRA amount owing | CRA payment-arrangement information |
| Mortgage or vehicle loan | The secured lender and qualified advice for the documents |
Pause when the sales claim outruns the official source
Warning signs include guaranteed debt reductions, urgent upfront payment, a claim that every creditor must participate, or a promise to fix your credit score by a specific amount. Ask for the legal name of the service, all fees, the organization delivering it and the official rule that supports each claim.
If you are comparing a settlement company, credit counsellor and trustee, use the same debt list and budget for each discussion. That makes differences in coverage, cost and consequences visible instead of letting each provider choose the most flattering example.
Prepare for a conversation
- Exact program and administering organization
- Official government page describing the rules
- Every fee and required payment
- Written explanation of debts included and excluded
You do not need account numbers, a SIN, banking credentials or uploaded documents to start our enquiry.
Is DebtHelpers a government debt-relief program?
No. DebtHelpers.ca is a private Canadian information and referral website. We do not represent the Government of Canada, administer insolvency proceedings or promise debt forgiveness.