C-322
First Session, Thirty-ninth Parliament,
55 Elizabeth II, 2006
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
BILL C-322
Antipoverty Act (amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code)
first reading, June 13, 2006
Mr. Ménard (Hochelaga)
391182
SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Canadian Human Rights Act by
(a) adding “social condition” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination;
(b) declaring the refusal by a financial institution to provide a banking service to an individual by reason only of the individual’s low income to be a discriminatory practice;
(c) requiring the Canadian Human Rights Commission to review every bill introduced in or presented to the House of Commons by a minister of the Crown to ascertain whether any of its provisions are likely to result in a discriminatory practice prohibited by the Canadian Human Rights Act; and 
(d) requiring the Canadian Human Rights Commission to submit an annual report to the Minister of Justice on the impact of measures taken by the Government of Canada to reduce poverty in Canada and on the amount of money that should be expended annually to reduce that poverty.
The enactment also amends the Criminal Code to change the criminal interest rate set out in section 347 and to include in the calculation of that interest rate the charges paid by a person to obtain insurance coverage.
Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:http://www.parl.gc.ca
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1st Session, 39th Parliament,
55 Elizabeth II, 2006
house of commons of canada
BILL C-322
Antipoverty Act (amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code)
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
R.S., c. H-6
CANADIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT
1. Section 2 of the Canadian Human Rights Act is replaced by the following:
Purpose
2. The purpose of this Act is to extend the laws in Canada to give effect, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, to the principle that all individuals should have an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have and to have their needs accommodated, consistent with their duties and obligations as members of society, without being hindered in or prevented from doing so by discriminatory practices based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, social condition, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted.
2. Subsection 3(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Prohibited grounds of discrimination
3. (1) For all purposes of this Act, the prohibited grounds of descrimination are race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, social condition, disability and conviction for which a pardon has been granted.
3. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 10:
Refusal to provide 
banking services
10.1 (1) It is a discriminatory practice for a financial institution offering a banking service to refuse to provide the banking service to an individual by reason only of the individual’s low income.
For greater certainty
(2) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not restrict the generality of the other sections of this Act.
Definition
(3) In this Act, “financial institution” means
(a) a bank or an authorized foreign bank within the meaning of the Bank Act;
(b) a company to which the Trust and Loan Companies Act applies; and
(c) a body corporate to which the Cooperative Credit Associations Act applies.
4. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 61:
Review by the Commission
61.01 (1) The Commission shall review every bill introduced in or presented to the House of Commons by a minister of the Crown, in order to ascertain whether any of its provisions are likely to result in a discriminatory practice under this Act, and the Commission shall prepare a report on its findings.
Copy of the report to the Minister of Justice
(2) As soon as the Commission has completed the report, it shall transmit a copy to the Minister of Justice.
Tabling of report
(3) The Minister of Justice shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first two days on which that House is sitting after the Minister receives the report.
Report on poverty
61.02 (1) After consultation with Statistics Canada and the National Council of Welfare, the Commission shall prepare and transmit to the Minister of Justice, not later than the first day of December in each year, a report on the impact of legislative, budgetary and regulatory measures taken by the Government of Canada to reduce poverty in Canada and on the amount of money that should be expended annually to reduce that poverty.
Tabling of report
(2) The Minister of Justice shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the Minister receives the report.
Debate in the House of Commons
(3) Within the first fifteen days that the House of Commons is sitting following the tabling of the report, the Minister of Justice shall propose a motion in that House that the report be debated in the House.
Debate in the House of Commons
(4) The House of Commons shall take up and consider the motion referred to in subsection (3) beginning on the second day on which that House is sitting after the day on which the motion is proposed.
R.S., c. C-46
CRIMINAL CODE
5. The definitions “criminal rate” and “interest” in subsection 347(2) of the Criminal Code are replaced by the following:
“criminal rate”« taux criminel »
“criminal rate” means an effective annual rate of interest on the credit advanced under an agreement or arrangement, calculated in accordance with generally accepted actuarial practices and principles, that exceeds by 35 percentage points or more the target for the overnight rate, determined and published by the Bank of Canada, on the day on which the agreement or arrangement is entered into or renewed;
“interest”« intérêt »
“interest” means the aggregate of all charges and expenses, whether in the form of a fee, fine, penalty, commission or other similar charge or expense or in any other form, paid or payable for the advancing of credit under an agreement or arrangement, by or on behalf of the person to whom the credit is or is to be advanced, irrespective of the person to whom any such charges and expenses are or are to be paid or payable, but does not include any repayment of credit advanced or any official fee, overdraft charge, required deposit balance or, in the case of a mortgage transaction, any amount required to be paid on account of property taxes;
COMING INTO FORCE
Coming into force
6. This Act comes into force 60 days after the day on which it receives royal assent.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of CommonsAvailable from:Publishing and Depository ServicesPublic Works and Government Services CanadaOttawa, Ontario K1A 0S5Telephone: (613) 941-5995 or 1-800-635-7943Fax: (613) 954-5779 or 1-800-565-7757publications@pwgsc.gc.cahttp://publications.gc.ca