Bill 156 explained in plain English
Alternative Financial Services Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends Ontario's laws regarding debt collection, consumer protection, and payday loans, introducing administrative penalties for debt collection, new rules for cashing government cheques, and modifying regulations for payday loans.
Bill 156, also known as the Alternative Financial Services Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016, introduces several changes to Ontario's financial services laws. It aims to improve consumer protection and regulatory oversight in areas like debt collection, consumer protection, and payday loans. Key changes include allowing for administrative penalties in debt collection, establishing new rules for cashing government cheques, and modifying regulations around payday loan agreements and lender inspections. The bill also expands the regulation-making powers within these acts, enabling more detailed rules to be created in the future.
- Introduces administrative penalties for contraventions of the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act.
- Establishes new rules for agreements related to cashing government cheques under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, including fee limits and disclosure requirements.
- Amends regulations concerning payday loan agreements, including restrictions on concurrent or replacement loans and loans between the same borrower and different lenders.
- Grants the Registrar of the Payday Loans Act, 2008 the power to conduct inspections of individuals or entities suspected of acting as lenders or loan brokers without a license.
- Expands the regulation-making powers under the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act, the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, and the Payday Loans Act, 2008.
- Collection agencies and their collectors
- Individuals and businesses engaged in purchasing and collecting debts
- Consumers who receive debt collection services
- Consumers who have their government cheques cashed
- Suppliers who cash government cheques
- Lenders and loan brokers operating in the payday loan industry
- Borrowers seeking payday loans
- The Minister of Government and Consumer Services
- The Registrar under the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act and the Payday Loans Act, 2008
- Collection agencies must exercise due diligence to ensure their collectors comply with the Act and regulations.
- Suppliers cashing government cheques must display prescribed information and not charge fees exceeding prescribed amounts.
- Suppliers cashing government cheques must provide consumers with a statement of prescribed information.
- Lenders under payday loan agreements must adhere to new restrictions on concurrent, replacement, and multiple loans.
- Loan brokers must not facilitate violations of payday loan agreement restrictions.
- The Registrar has the power to inspect entities suspected of unlicensed activity in the payday loan sector.
- Individuals or entities may face administrative penalties for contravening prescribed provisions of the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent, with certain provisions coming into force on a day named by proclamation or on a specific future date.
- Some provisions related to the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act and the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 come into force on a day named by proclamation.
- One provision related to the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act comes into force on the day section 8 of Schedule 1 to the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014 comes into force.
- Administrative penalties under the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act can be up to $10,000 per contravention.
- Fees for cashing government cheques are subject to prescribed maximum amounts.
- Administrative penalties of up to $10,000 can be imposed for contravening prescribed provisions of the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act.
- Orders imposing administrative penalties can be filed with the Superior Court of Justice and enforced as court orders if not paid.
- Non-payment of an administrative penalty results in a debt due to the Crown.
- The Registrar of the Payday Loans Act, 2008 may conduct inspections and take action against unlicensed individuals or entities.
- The specific 'prescribed provisions', 'prescribed amount', 'prescribed requirements', and 'prescribed matters' for administrative penalties and other aspects of the bill are not detailed in the Act itself and will be specified in regulations.
- The exact date of commencement for several provisions is to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill does not specify the exact amount or percentage for the fee limit on cashing government cheques, leaving this to be prescribed by regulation.
- The appeal process for administrative penalties and the specific 'prescribed person' to whom appeals are made are not fully detailed in the bill and will be subject to regulations.
This bill amends the Act to introduce administrative penalties for violations, update definitions for 'collection agency' and 'registrant', and clarify the responsibility of collection agencies for their collectors. It also adds new sections to allow for administrative penalties, appeals, and enforcement of these penalties.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
This bill adds a new Part (Part VII.1) concerning agreements for cashing government cheques. This new part sets limits on fees charged for cashing these cheques and requires suppliers to provide consumers with a statement of prescribed information.
Source: Sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
This bill amends restrictions on payday loan agreements, including those between the same borrower and different lenders, and introduces new provisions for third payday loan agreements. It also grants the Registrar the power to inspect individuals or entities suspected of operating without a license.
Source: Sections 18, 19, 20, 21
The definitions of 'Minister' and 'Ministry' within the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act are updated to refer to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services or another member of the Executive Council assigned administration of the Act.
Source: Section 1 (3)
References to banks in the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act are updated to include 'authorized foreign bank' as defined in the Bank Act (Canada).
Source: Sections 2 (2), 12 (3)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced