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Volume 64, No. 23

289/2021

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

November 30, 2021

B.C. Reg. 289/2021 , deposited November 23, 2021, under the BUSINESS PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION AMENDMENT ACT, 2019 [section 23] and the BUSINESS PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT [sections 194 (3), 197.1 (1), 197.2, 199 (1) and 201]. Order in Council 634/2021, approved and ordered November 23, 2021.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that

(

a) the Payday Loans Regulation, B.C. Reg. 57/2009, is amended as set out in the attached

Schedule 1,

(

b) effective May 1, 2022, the following provisions of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act, 2019 , S.B.C. 2019, c. 22, are brought into force:

(

i) sections 1 (

a) and 3;

(ii)

section 10 except as it enacts

section 112.21 (2) (

k) of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act , S.B.C 2004,c. 2;

(iii) sections 11, 13, 14 and 15;

(iv)

section 16 except as it enacts

section 189 (4) (

v) of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act , S.B.C 2004, c. 2,

(

c) effective May 1, 2022, the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Regulation, B.C. Reg. 294/2004, is amended as set out in the attached

Schedule 2, and

(

d) effective May 1, 2022, the Payday Loans Regulation, B.C. Reg. 57/2009, is amended as set out in the attached

Schedule 3.

— M. FARNWORTH, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Deputy Premier ; S. ROBINSON, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Schedule 1

1 The Payday Loans Regulation, B.C. Reg. 57/2009, is amended by adding the following section:

Exemption – loan broker

3.1

Part 6.1 of the Act, and this regulation, do not apply to a loan broker when the loan broker arranges, negotiates or facilitates an extension of credit that is not a payday loan.

Section 20.1 is repealed.

Schedule 2

1 The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Regulation, B.C. Reg. 294/2004, is amended by adding the following sections:

Prescribed provisions of the Act – high cost credit products

5.2 For the purposes of

section 164 (1) (

a) and (5) (a) [administrative penalties] of the Act, the following provisions of the Act are prescribed:

(

a) section 112.20 (6) [receipt on cancellation for amount repaid or returned] ;

(

b) section 112.25 (2) [receipt for prepayment] ;

(

c) section 112.30 (2) [payout of balances on cash cards] ;

(

d) section 112.30 (3) [receipt for returned cash card] ;

(

e) section 112.31 (5) [failure to provide refund] .

Prescribed provisions of the High-Cost Credit Products Regulation

7.4 For the purposes of

section 164 (1) (

a) and (5) (a) [administrative penalties] of the Act, the following provisions of the High-Cost Credit Products Regulation are prescribed:

(

a) section 11 [high-cost credit grantor licence for each location] ;

(

b) section 13 [display of high-cost credit grantor licence] ;

(

c) section 14 [business name] ;

(

d) section 16 [reporting changes to the director] ;

(

e) section 17 [retention of documents] ;

(

f) section 24 [cancellation of optional product] .

2 The following

Part is added:

Part 5 – Consumer Financial Education Fund

Prescribed purpose for expending Consumer Financial Education Fund

16 For the purposes of

section 141.5 (d) [payments from Consumer Financial Education Fund] of the Act, the purpose of paying grants to organizations for the provision of financial education to consumers respecting high-cost financial services, including payday loans, high-cost credit products and cheque cashing services, is prescribed.

Director's report

17 Each year the director must publish a report in respect of the Consumer Financial Education Fund for the previous calendar year or other period determined by the director that includes the following information:

(

a) the total amount paid to the fund in the period by applicants for a licence under the High-Cost Credit Products Regulation or the Payday Loans Regulation;

(

b) the total amount of any interest or other income of the fund in the period;

(

c) the total amount paid from the fund in the period

(

i) for the purpose of providing financial education to consumers respecting high-cost financial services, including payday loans, high-cost credit products and cheque cashing services,

(ii) to pay grants to organizations for the provision of financial education to consumers respecting high-cost financial services, including payday loans, cheque cashing services and high-cost credit products,

(iii) for the purpose of increasing compliance with Parts 6.1 [payday loans] , 6.2 [government cheque cashing fees] and 6.3 [high-cost credit products] of the Act, and

(iv) to pay the costs of administering the fund.

Schedule 3

Section 4 of the Payday Loans Regulation, B.C. Reg. 57/2009, is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by striking out " and " at the end of paragraph (a), by adding " , and " at the end of paragraph (

b) and by adding the following paragraph:

(

c) subject to any applicable amount set by the administrative authority, payment of $200 to the Consumer Financial Education Fund. , and

(

b) by adding the following subsections:

(4) If the term of the licence to be issued is less than one year, the payment to the Consumer Financial Education Fund under paragraph (

c) of subsection (2) is to be pro-rated on a monthly basis.

(5) If the term of the licence to be issued is greater than one year, the payment to the Consumer Financial Education Fund under paragraph (

c) of subsection (2) is to be made in respect of each year in the term.

Section 14 is repealed and the following substituted:

Notice in loan agreement

14 For the purposes of

section 112.06 (2) (

t) of the Act, a payday lender must ensure that a payday loan agreement includes the following statement:

Payday lending is regulated by the Province of British Columbia. Payday lenders must be licensed and follow requirements under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act . If you have a complaint about a payday lender or would like to know more about your rights as a borrower, please contact Consumer Protection BC (the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority).

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