Bill 25 The Payday Loan Bill - Are there loopholes?

In Bill 25, a payday loan is defined as "a loan of money with

(a) an initial advance of no more than $1,500.; and

(b) an initial term, ignoring any extension or renewal, that is no longer than 62 days."

The question which arises is this: Will lenders start using loans of $1501 to escape being subject to the terms of Bill 25? Or will lenders start using terms of 63 days in order to avoid being subject to the terms of Bill 25?

Bill 25 has been put forward by Greg Selinger the Minister of Finance. If lenders start using loans of with amounts of $1501 or with terms of 63 days, will such loans be called "Selinger" loans because they are designed to avoid the terms of Greg Selinger's Bill 25?

If you want to have your say about this bill, you have a chance to present to the Manitoba Legislative Committee at 8:30 a.m. Thursday June 8. To do so, you need to arrive by 8:30 a.m. in the committee room and register to present.

[Note added in Apri 2010: This Pay Day Loan Bill turned out to have such major problems that Greg Selinger had to bring in a completely new bill in a later session to rectify the problems with it]