Industry insights from Hoyes Michalos co-founders Doug Hoyes and Ted Michalos on bankruptcy, debt relief and consumer debt issues that affect Ontarians. Doug and Ted are strong advocates of a fair, equitable and transparent process for those dealing with overwhelming debt problems.
We don’t just have a financial literacy problem in Canada, we have a debt literacy problem. Household debt in Canada continues to skyrocket, reaching a “gravity-defying” $2 trillion in December 2016. While it’s true that we... Read more »
2016 was a year we won’t soon forget, and early indications are that 2017 will also be very eventful, so it’s time to review the events of 2016 and make our predictions for 2017. Consumer... Read more »
It’s the holiday season, so today, for one show only, we won’t talk about numbers, and we won’t have any industry experts as guests. Today, we’ll talk about people. It’s tough for many in Canada today.... Read more »
Every two years Hoyes, Michalos & Associates publishes what we call our Joe Debtor study. This study examines the average person who experiences financial hardship. A portion of our study is dedicated to the female... Read more »
My guest today is Michael Chong, the Member of Parliament for the federal riding of Wellington-Halton Hills, and an advocate for the privatization of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. First, some background: As we... Read more »
Everyone wants to end poverty. The controversy begins when you start talking about how to solve the problem. One solution which has received a lot of media attention lately is the concept of a basic... Read more »
NOTE: This post originally published on October 8, 2016, and refers to changes to insured mortgages. On January 1, 2018 additional new rules were implemented that also required a “stress test” for uninsured mortgages (so... Read more »
In June 2016 Walmart Canada announced that they believe interchange fees charged by Visa are too high, so, starting with their three stores in Thunder Bay Ontario, they would no longer accept Visa cards at... Read more »
Payday loans are a problem. The interest rate charged is massive. In 2016, payday lenders in Ontario can charge a maximum of $21 on every $100 borrowed, so if you borrow $100 for two weeks,... Read more »
This past season, I have talked extensively with industry experts about payday loan solutions and alternatives. When I asked my guests from show 83, Brian Dijkema and Rhys McKendry, and my guest from show 85,... Read more »
A year ago Ontario enacted legislation targeted at reducing consumer abuse by unlicensed debt settlement companies. While this legislation has helped eliminate some of the severe abuses, most agencies have just switched tactics and we... Read more »
Payday loans are expensive. Lenders charge a ridiculously high interest rate and demand repayment in one balloon payment. Inevitably, this traps some payday loan borrowers into a debt cycle. As a result, the Ontario government... Read more »
The government of Ontario, and many other jurisdictions, are looking for ways to better regulate and control payday loans. Even Google has weighed into the fray by banning ads from payday lenders. Yet, most critics focus... Read more »
Have house prices in Canada gotten out of hand? Is Canadian real estate due for a crash? On today’s show, I speak with Hilliard MacBeth, a portfolio manager and author of When the Bubble Bursts: Surviving... Read more »
It’s no secret that payday loans charge an outrageously high interest rate. In Ontario, as of 2018, payday lenders can charge $15 for $100. If you take out a new $100 loan every two weeks,... Read more »
Debt Relief Experts