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ARTICLE · 17 JANUARY 2025

Reminder: New Lower Criminal Interest Rate Now In Effect

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As of January 1, 2025, amendments to Section 347 of the Criminal Code (Canada) (the "Criminal Code"), announced in the Budget Implementation Act 2023 (Canada)...

CanadaFinance and Banking
Steven Marmer
Steven Marmer
Darcy Ammerman
Darcy Ammerman
Meena Shanmuganathan
Meena Shanmuganathan
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As of January 1, 2025, amendments to Section 347 of the Criminal Code (Canada) (the "Criminal Code"), announced in the Budget Implementation Act 2023 (Canada), Budget Implementation Act 2024 (Canada) and the Criminal Interest Rate Regulations (Canada) have come into force. These changes mark a significant reduction in the criminal interest rate and expand the scope of related offences.

Background

Over the last two years1, we summarized some of the federal government's proposed changes to the criminal interest rate under Section 347 of the Criminal Code. This section prohibits:

  1. Receiving payment of a criminal rate of interest; and
  2. Entering into arrangements that involve charging interest at a criminal rate.

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The foregoing provides only an overview and does not constitute legal advice. Readers are cautioned against making any decisions based on this material alone. Rather, specific legal advice should be obtained.

© McMillan LLP 2025

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