Bill C-213

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal interest rate)

Sponsor

Peter Julian  NDP

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Dec. 14, 2021

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Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to lower the threshold at which an interest rate becomes a criminal rate and to include, in the calculation of the interest rate, the charges paid by a person to obtain insurance coverage.
It also repeals section 347.1 of that Act, which relates to payday loan agreements.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

April 19th, 2023 / 4:50 p.m.
See context

NDP

Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, as a former city councillor, I was the first one in the province of Ontario to take on payday loans. I heard the hon. member mention the predatory practice of payday loan. At that point in time, it was a provincial Liberal government that was paying lip service to any kind of meaningful reform, yet in this budget, the remedies the Liberals have for payday loans are once again lip service.

The Liberals would go to the industry and ask it to lower the rates, while the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby has Bill C-213, a bill that is ready to go. It is a real, meaningful bill that would include amending the Criminal Code to lower the maximum legal interest rate from 60% to 30% and that would include the calculation of the interest rate within the overall charges for these payday loans.

Why is it that, when the Liberal government has the power and the opportunity and the willing partners in the NDP to make true reforms to the predatory usury and the loan sharking that are payday loans, it refuses to do it? Is it because the past association president was Stan Keyes, the former Liberal?

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

December 14th, 2021 / 10:05 a.m.
See context

NDP

Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-213, an act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal interest rate).

Mr. Speaker, it is very important to introduce this long overdue legislation to end predatory lending in Canada.

I would like to thank my seconder, the member of Parliament for Nunavut, who has been a strong advocate for marginalized people, as well as organizations like ACORN across the country that have been pushing back against predatory lending practices.

As members are well aware, legalized interest rates of up to 600% currently exist in Canada. This bill would end the loopholes that allow financial institutions and payday loan lenders to charge 500% or 600% and would cut in half the criminal interest rate that is currently permitted in the Criminal Code. I will provide just one of many examples. My constituent, who I will call Lisa, paid $13,000 in interest charges over a number of years. She struggled to put food on the table and keep a roof over her head for a $700 emergency loan and was unable to pay even one dollar of principal over that period.

Other countries have put in place microcredit, lending circles and co-operative credit. Therefore, for the marginalized populations, who make up 40% of this country and who share no part of the wealth, it is vitally important to end these predatory lending practices.

I hope all members of Parliament will support this long overdue and important legislation.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)