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ARTICLE · 18 MAY 2011

Criminal Rates Of Interest

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Most lenders don’t expect to be subject to criminal charges or imprisonment due to loan agreements entered into with commercial borrowers or due to receiving payments from their commercial borrowers.

CanadaReal Estate and Construction
Beth Earon
Beth Earon
Thomas Von Hahn
Thomas Von Hahn
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Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Real Estate, May 2011

Most lenders don't expect to be subject to criminal charges or imprisonment due to loan agreements entered into with commercial borrowers or due to receiving payments from their commercial borrowers. However, section 347 of the Canadian Criminal Code (the Code) makes that a possibility. Section 347 contemplates fines and imprisonment for those who enter into agreements or arrangements to receive interest at a criminal rate or those who receive interest payments at a criminal rate.

Section 347 of the Code is an anti-loan-sharking provision which some commentators have suggested is overly broad. Initially, the parliament of Canada dealt with the problem of those who lent money at what is seen as an overly high rate of interest by regulating interest rates on small consumer loans. The trouble with the early legislation was that it required police to be able

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