OTTAWA — Today, NDP MP Peter Julian (New Westminster-Burnaby) tabled Private Member’s Bill C-274, which would limit the interest rates private companies can charge on loans to vulnerable Canadians.
“People are using high-interest loans to buy food, pay rent, or meet their basic needs. But these loans are not well regulated by the government and instead of helping people the loans often catch Canadians in a vicious debt spiral with skyrocketing interest rates of up to 500 per cent (plus hidden fees) which only profit the lenders,” said Julian. “We are a year into the pandemic, people are struggling financially and it’s clear that the federal government and the banking sector have failed low and moderate-income people. They’re standing by while the poorest and most vulnerable struggle to get through the pandemic while the rich are getting richer.”