NDP calls for action to cap credit card interest and end predatory lending

With thousands of Saskatchewan people facing financial challenges because of the economic impacts of COVID-19, NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon is calling on the banks to cut credit card interest rates, and on the provincial government to protect families from predatory lending.

“People in our province were already stretched before COVID-19 hit, with half of Saskatchewan families living paycheque to paycheque. Now, with mounting job losses and layoffs, many families are at a breaking point,” said Wotherspoon. “We need to act now, before more families get trapped by massive credit card bills and gouged by predatory lenders during this vulnerable time.”

Wotherspoon called for three measures to put people first:

For credit card lenders to cap their interest rates at 11% or less for all cardholders – not just those cardholders who apply.
For the provincial government to cap the maximum interest rate for short-term loans at 19% from the current maximum of 59.9%,
For the provincial government to cap the maximum fees for payday loans at $15 per $100 borrowed, as Alberta has done.

“I know first-hand how easy it can be for families to become trapped by high-interest loans, and how difficult it is for those families to get out,” said Alysia Johnson, an advocate for lending fairness. “The government can protect and empower Saskatchewan borrowers who are facing an incredible amount of uncertainty and whose lending options become more precarious by the day. If folks feeling the pressure are faced with borrowing rates of 59.9% in their greatest moments of desperation, frankly, you’ll be measuring the damage to their financial health and well-being in years, not months.”

“Saskatchewan people are doing their part to address the threat to public health posed by COVID-19,” said Wotherspoon. “We need the big banks and the provincial government to step up and ensure that families will come out of this crisis with healthy finances that set our province up for a full economic recovery.”

Latest posts

SCOTT MOE’S PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER WEGER CAUGHT LYING ON THE RECORD ABOUT SHOCKING WILDFIRE REPORT

Enough Is Enough — Scott Moe Needs To Fire His Incompetent Public Safety Replacement Minister
SASKATOON – Scathing new documents show the Sask. Party government lying to people of the North who lost so much during last year’s devastating wildfire season. The lies are just the latest in a series of failures, cover ups and scandals concerning Scott Moe’s government’s horrific preparation, response and review of the disaster that saw hundreds of homes and businesses burnt to the ground.

LUXURY JET SCANDAL TAKES OFF AS WEEDMARK REFUSES TO PRODUCE RECEIPTS

Second Luxury Jet Video Emerges Showing Scott Moe’s Out-Of-Touch Sask. Party MLA Using Lavish Private Jets To Perform Government Business
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team is demanding that Scott Moe’s MLA for Moosomin-Montmartre reveal how many times he has used luxury private jets while performing government duties.

SCOTT MOE’S REFUSAL TO PROVIDE RELIEF KEEPS SMALL BUSINESSES UNDER WATER

Retail Sales Growth In Saskatchewan Dead-Last, Financial Anxiety For Consumers Highest In Canada
SASKATOON - Carla Beck’s team is standing with a Saskatoon small business owner, calling out Scott Moe for refusing to provide any relief despite sky-high costs, which will only be made worse by new tariffs.

REGINA PEDIATRIC DIABETIC CARE CHANGES LEAVE RURAL FAMILIES FEELING ABANDONED

Scott Moe’s Minister Brushed Off Changes Last Week, Said Health Authority Could Have Communicated Better
WOLSELEY — A mother from Wolseley is speaking out about an abrupt and harmful change to pediatric diabetic care in Regina that she says has disrupted care for her family and made an already difficult situation even harder to navigate.

NDP Caucus Office