The Standing Committee on Economic Policy talked about impending provincial legislation to regulate Pay Day loans.
Finance Minister Cathy Rogers says Pay Day lenders will have to be licenced and the Financial and Consumers Services Commission will be used to enforce the regulations.
Green Party leader David Coon says Pay Day lenders have to be reined in when some people get financially overwhelmed with annual rates of interest equivalent to 600 per cent. Coon is praising the Saint John Human Development Council for chronicling the devastating effects on people who get in over their heads. He calls the stories “heart wrenching”.
Coon, meantime, says the Liberals suspended debate on the Enbridge Bill just as he began his questioning. Critics claim the bill may prevent the province from being sued but will not be good for natural gas customers. They worry rates will be allowed to skyrocket.
