NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo says the McGuinty government’s payday loan law that was introduced today does not go far enough to protect consumers and continues to allow sky-high interest rates.

Last year, DiNovo introduced her own bill that requires the licensing of payday loan operators and sets a 35 per cent cap on interest rates. Today, the McGuinty government finally introduced long overdue legislation to regulate the payday lending industry.

“The McGuinty government has followed the NDP’s lead by taking some advice from the bill I tabled last year,” said DiNovo. “Unfortunately, this government has completely missed the most important aspect – a cap on interest rates. The bill tabled today still permits payday loan operators to charge criminal interest rates.”

Research shows that interest rates by payday loan operations, when extrapolated to annual levels, range between 390 and 891 per cent or more. The majority of these payday lending outlets are located in economically-needy neighbourhoods where many residents struggle to get by.

“The reality is that this government continues to allow payday loan companies to take advantage of poor communities by charging exorbitant interest rates,” said DiNovo.