While The Canadian Payday Loan Association's (CPLA) tactics are highly questionable, specifically the CPLA's stance that any non-association member is predatory (the CPLA represents about one third of the industry in Canada), their approach has been effective with legislators.

The government of Canada passed a new law that will give provinces the authority to regulate the payday loan industry.

Bill C-26 now gives authority to provinces to regulate the industry but requires each province to set a maximum on the cost of borrowing.

In anticipation of the passage of this bill, the governments of Manitoba and Nova Scotia passed their required legislation late last year while the governments of British Columbia and Saskatchewan have legislation in progress now. The government of New Brunswick is expected to introduce legislation this spring with the governments of Alberta, Ontario and other Atlantic provinces to follow.

Provincial legislation introduced to-date demonstrates significant efforts to harmonize regulatory regimes between provinces.

While The Canadian Payday Loan Association's (CPLA) tactics are highly questionable, specifically the CPLA's stance that any non-association member is predatory (the CPLA represents about one third of the industry in Canada), their approach has been effective with legislators.

CPLA applauded the new regulations. "The CPLA has worked for several years to achieve strong regulation that balances consumer protection with a viable industry," said Stan Keyes, President of the CPLA. "For the first time, provinces will be given real authority to regulate the best players in the industry while putting the worst players out of business. This is great news for consumers and great news for the serious industry players who are often tarnished by the bad reputations and bad business practices of some unscrupulous operators in the industry."