(Quebec) The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, intends to table a bill within a year to fight against abusive credit contracts, think of credit cards and mortgage loans.
He made this announcement on Wednesday during an exchange with Liberal Michelle Setlakwe as part of the study of the budgetary appropriations of the Ministry of Justice, Consumer Protection component.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette said he was inspired by Bill 199, “An Act aimed at better consumer protection against abusive credit contracts”, tabled last year by the Liberal MP for Saint-Laurent, Marwah Rizqy.
M’s billme Rizqy – who has never been called by the government – proposes to regulate the interest rates on different loans, as is done in France, to protect the borrower against excessive rates.
The consumer whose credit contract is abusive could claim its nullity or demand reimbursement of credit costs, while the merchant who agrees to an abusive credit contract would be liable to a fine.
In parliamentary committee, Mme Setlakwe asked Minister Jolin-Barrette to act, arguing that Quebecers are currently being suffocated by the rising cost of living.
“Everything costs more. The proportion of interest becomes very important. There are Quebecers who find themselves trapped in a spiral of debt, taking out loans or credit whose interest rates make it almost impossible to pay the balance,” she declared.
“Last year, the minister was open,” she stressed. Fourteen months later, is the minister able to give us an update? Does he plan to put forward the measures proposed in Bill 199? »
Mr. Jolin-Barrette responded that he found the question “entirely relevant”, especially in the inflationary context. He said he found “many elements” in Bill 199 “inspiring”.
“It’s something we’ve been working on for a while now. These are legislative measures that we will most likely have the opportunity to study together in the medium or short term,” declared the Minister of Justice.
“Without revealing state secrets, I think it is important to really limit access to credit adequately, because there is abuse.
“Often, people who find themselves taking out short-term credit like that at ultra-high rates with lots of conditions, these are people who are in a situation of significant financial vulnerability,” he admitted.
He clarified during the exchange with Mme Setlakwe that he intended to legislate within a year.