Bob Bromley

Thank you, committee. That completes the detail on the department. I would like to now turn to page 9-2 for the departmental summary. So for the Department of Transportation, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $62.703 million. Agreed?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Next on my list I have Mr. Krutko.

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. Does committee agree that we’ll be considering Tabled Document 66-16(5), NWT Capital Estimates 2011-2012? Committee’s preference was to start with the Department of Transportation, so that’s what we’ll do, if committee agrees. Does committee agree?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister McLeod.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s commitment to this and I think it is something that we are hearing a lot about and I guess when it comes forward, I am wondering if the Minister would accompany it with some information on the degree to which this exists in other communities. I know it’s a big one in Yellowknife and the people from other communities are being taken advantage of in the city. So it would be good to have that information, as well, from other centres. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that gets into my second question here. I think there are two essentials for any law on this. The first is that firm and reasonable controls on the actual amount of additional charges, that can be attached to a loan agreement. So I’m hoping that there will be those controls as well as the clarity and declaration to the customer.

The Quebec legislation, which is considered the most strong -- and I hope that is being referenced by the folks drafting this bill -- establishes a percentage ceiling that forbids additional charges exceeding a certain percentage of the principal amount.

The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is an urgent need for government action on a growing problem plaguing our people, that of payday loan companies’ exorbitant interest rates and hidden charges.

People living paycheque to paycheque and people gripped by substance abuse are among the clients of these firms. Usually small amounts are borrowed for brief terms, but as borrowers learn, added costs are anything but small.

Two court decisions in Yellowknife have proven that when you add up all the fees and charges, the annual cost of a loan can be as much as 1,000 percent. So a $200 loan can end up costing...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start by saying that I’ve been listening closely to the remarks that have been made by the Ministers and there was considerable material that I agree with and support, but I want to note in most general initial comments here that I recognize the international economic considerations and to some extent the decisions of this government have placed us in a position where I recognize the need to support the government’s fiscal strategy that sees us through these times of uncertainty. I stress that we have a combination here of the international sort of globalized...

Yes, so the first was firm and reasonable controls on the actual amount of additional charges. So I will look for that.

As the Minister knows, it is a much more expeditious, faster process if those can be in first rather than coming to committee to, again, identify them later and go back, a time-consuming approach. The new law is meaningless, however, without enforcement, Mr. Speaker.

We learned in recent media reports that MACA officials don’t monitor lenders’ practices to prevent abuses. People being ripped off have to use the courts, which is difficult, costly, and, for most people...