On April 20, 2023, following a consultation in 2022, the
Government of Canada tabled Bill C-47, the Budget
Implementation Act (the "Bill").
The Bill includes, amongst many other things, amendments to the
criminal interest rate provision under section 347 of Canada's
Criminal Code, which aim to crack down on predatory
lending by reducing the criminal interest rate.
The Bill was preceded by the Government of Canada's budget
announcement on March 28, 2023, in which the Government of Canada
proposed to lower the criminal interest rate to 35% APR (as defined
below) while also proposing to adjust existing payday loan
exemptions to cap the maximum amount of interest that could be
charged.
