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Manitoba will be the first Canadian jurisdiction to receive Criminal Code designation for regulating the rates that can be charged for payday loans, Finance Minister Greg Selinger said today.

 

“Federal designation is necessary for the province to have the legal right to regulate the rates that can be charged for payday loans and that designation has now been made by the federal government,” said Selinger. “Having this designation gives us the ability to implement the consumer protection legislation we originally brought forward in 2006.”

 

Since that time, a number of steps have been taken including:

·         bringing into force certain provisions of the Consumer Protection Act to allow the Public Utilities Board to hold hearings into the maximum rates that may be charged for a payday loan;

·         developing the Payday Loans Regulation;

·         allowing the Public Utilities Board (PUB), after 20 days of public hearing, to issue an order setting the maximum amounts that may be charged for payday loans, extension, renewal or replacement and on default;

·         bringing into force provisions to allow the licensing of payday lenders; and

·         distributing payday lender licence applications and licence information.

 

“The PUB order and the federal designation are now in place, so the final step is for the balance of the legislation to come into force,” said the minister. “Government announced in May this could happen in the fall and that continues to be our goal. It has been a long journey but we have now progressed to the point where borrowers can expect to be protected against exorbitant fees and potential abusive industry practices.”

 

The minister noted that a Manitoba payday lender is attempting to appeal the PUB order to the court of appeal.

 

“The court of appeal has moved quickly to get itself in a position to decide whether there is any basis for an appeal,” said Selinger. “Our current intention is to wait until after the court makes that initial decision before making any further comments about dates when we can begin to regulate payday loans.”