Mr. Speaker, before putting my question to the member of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to draw the attention of the House to what the Conservative member said.
The member was talking about 60% interest. If someone borrows $200 at 60% interest—interest rates are always calculated on an annual basis—that amounts to $120. If we divide that by 12, it is $10. For a loan of $200, an individual would pay $10 dollars interest per month. That does not seem exorbitant, but when you make the calculation the rate of interest is 60%. Unfortunately for those lenders, it is possible that $10 per month may not cover the administration costs.
That means that, strictly in terms of the profitability of such a service to the public—if it can be called that—the rate of interest would have to be even more exorbitant.
Therefore, I ask my colleague whether, given the conditions relating to the operation of such a business, we should not simply forget all that and create a bank for small loans and in doing so introduce regulations that better protect consumers?