Laurie in Question Period
Payday Loan Industry
Ms Blakeman: Thanks for the intro. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. According to Statistics Canada young families with little savings who have fallen behind in their bills are those most likely to use payday loans. Other provinces have protections against usury interest rates while Alberta has decided to use the old voluntary, self-regulation practices that have worked so well in the environment and financial sectors. My question is to the Minister of Service Alberta. Why is the minister letting the payday loan industry set the rules when it was their practices that allowed for sky-high charges in the first place?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, the Criminal Code of Canada now allows us to re-evaluate that and look at that, and most certainly that’s one of the areas we’re going to be looking at. I’m certainly looking forward to the excellent debate that we’re going to have on Monday night with the hon. member’s motion.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much. To the same minister: will the minister stop allowing lower income families to be caught in this trap by mandating that people who are on employment insurance or who receive social assistance are to be charged at a lower interest rate than the payday loan companies certainly set? This is exactly what Manitoba did.
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that with respect to the whole issue of lower income families and the struggle they face on a day-to-day basis, that’s the kind of input that we need to hear, and that’s the kind of input I’m looking forward to hearing. That’s certainly something that we need to look at to ensure that their needs are being met by other places than just payday loan people, including the banks that are across Alberta.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Again to the same minister. I’m pleased to hear that she’s looking forward to the debate on my Motion 511, but more specifically I’m wondering if the minister will follow the lead of both that motion and of Manitoba and commit to implementing caps on the interest rates that can be charged by payday loan companies in Alberta. What’s the lead you’re going to take on this?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, the cap issue is something that we’re going to look at. As mentioned, it is across Canada. A number of provinces have taken different approaches. The approach that we take here in Alberta will be what’s right for Albertans and not what’s right for other provinces.
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