Payday loan companies under ethical examination
Posted Mar 12, 2015 6:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A council committee is asking bureaucrats to look into rules requiring payday loan businesses to be separated at least 400 metres from each other.
Administration recently presented a report saying all the City can do is advocate for legislation changes, both provincially and federally, as well as educating the public.
While some social advocates in the city say payday loan businesses are clustering in poorer areas of Calgary, Canadian Payday Loan Association President Stan Keyes said the industry isn’t targeting the city’s poor.
He tells City News there’s some big misconceptions and councillors need to ask themselves key questions.
“If you put too many restrictions on the payday loan industry and the payday loan industry says ‘we just can’t comply anymore’ and they shut their doors, where does the individual go to borrow a small sum short term loan?” he said.
The City is forming a task force to deal with the matter and Alison Karim-McSwiney with the International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone tells City News it’s an important conversation to have.
“We stand with our community, our community has said that they are concerned about this, there’s been some research that shows that as well,” she said. “Our job is to revitalize and improve the area and certainly we’re making great strides, but this is a very key issue.”
