Conservatives fail to provide credit card relief

OTTAWA – Today, once again Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced new measures to protect Canadian consumers from credit card gouging. And once again, the measures he announced fell well short of providing real relief to consumers.

“I’m pleased to see the government taking additional steps to implement our motion that was passed earlier this year,” said New Democrat consumer advocate Glenn Thibeault. “Unfortunately, the government seems to miss the point. Skyrocketing high interest rates and the growing number of superfluous fees are the biggest hindrances for consumers; and unfortunately for them, there is nothing within these new regulations that would bring worthwhile relief.”

The supposed “landmark” regulations, which mirror those announced four months ago, barely scrape the surface of the challenges Canadians face with credit cards. Aside from making it clear to Canadians how much they owe and the eternity it will take them to pay off their balance, there is no real help for consumers. Canadians who are stuck paying interest rates at high as 25%, excessive fees and those who’ve received unsolicited premium cards with even higher interest rates ? no protection, no relief for them.

“While some figures may show our country emerging from the recession, Canadian families across this country are still scraping by month-to-month, often using their credit cards as their lifeboat,” said Thibeault. “If the government wants to protect Canadian credit card users, it must go all the way with its credit card regulation and implement substantial regulations that would put a cap on interest rates and eliminate many of the excessive fees that consumers are being charged.”

Last session, Thibeault introduced Bill C-426: An Act to amend the Bank Act and other Acts. The bill, if passed would cap credit card rates at five per cent above prime.