Mr. Speaker, Bill C-26 is a blatant example of the Conservatives saying one thing, but doing something else. They claim to want to use a different approach with the provinces and to respect their jurisdictions, but in this case Quebec has had its own Consumer Protection Act for years, to deal with payday loans.
In fact, this industry barely exists in Quebec, because we have eliminated excessive rates. The annual interest rate must be indicated on loan contracts, and the courts have established that an annual interest rate above 35% is excessive. In other words, we already have the tools to legislate this area.
I realize that the other provinces want some legislation, but this is a matter of regulating commercial practices and comes under provincial jurisdiction.
Why did the federal government not simply say that, where relevant legislation exists, such legislation will apply?
The Consumer Protection Act has been in effect for over two decades and it is working very well in Quebec. In committee, we suggested that this be indicated in the legislation, but that proposal was rejected by the other three parties, which completely ignored the fact that Quebec's experience in this regard is conclusive.
Why does the federal government not accept that we simply indicate this in the act, instead of having the Prime Minister give his blessing and the governor in council decide whether or not the Quebec legislation is acceptable?
The government could simply have said that, if a province already has an act, that legislation will continue to apply, and where new legislation is passed, such legislation will have been determined by the provinces.
How do we explain this discrepancy between the Conservatives' rhetoric and the respect for provincial jurisdictions? In the case of payday loans, Quebec has long had in place a tool that is recognized as adequate and acceptable.
The Conservative government has decided to adopt the same attitude as its predecessor and as federal governments in general. This means that the federal government will impose the same measure across the country, without taking into consideration the initiatives implemented by various provinces.
Why does the Conservative government not show good faith for once and accept such an amendment, so that we have an act that will adequately serve Canada, while respecting the practice that has been in use for decades in Quebec?