About the consultation

There are more than 800 licensed payday lenders and loan brokers in Ontario that offer short-term loans. While payday loans are convenient, many borrowers can find themselves in a cycle of repeat borrowing. Over the past six years, the number of complaints and inquiries the ministry receives about payday loans have increased significantly.

From June 15 to August 14, 2015, we consulted on new ways to protect consumers. We gathered input through meetings in six communities, posting a consultation paper for comment on the Regulatory Registry, posting a survey on Ontario.ca, and meeting with interested stakeholders. MGCS received 48 written submissions, met with 85 interested individuals at community meetings, and received over 172 survey responses.

Results

We heard that people were primarily concerned with payday loans and rent-to-own and were very interested in seeing more done to address the underlying causes of the use of alternative financial services.

The feedback we received informed the development of Bill 156, the Alternative Financial Services Statute Law Amendment Act.

This legislation, which is currently before the Ontario Legislature, proposes to further strengthen protections for consumers who use alternative financial services and have debts in collection in our province.