By Jack Farrell
Paying and receiving interest is prohibited in the Islamic faith under Sharia law, meaning traditional interest-based mortgages are not an option for many Muslims in Canada.
A few private lending companies, such as Edmonton-based Canadian Halal Financing Corp., currently offer alternative financing plans that do not include interest payments, but these alternatives are not available from any of the largest banks in the country. Canada.
These alternative financing plans include a program in which a financial institution purchases a home on behalf of a customer and charges fixed monthly payments, which include a profit margin for the institution, until the customer’s home is paid off .
Another existing option involves a financial institution and a potential homeowner becoming co-owners of a home, and the client ultimately buying out the company’s interest in the home.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said the legislation allows credit unions and ATB Financial, a Crown corporation, to offer halal mortgages, but those banks will not be required to do so. .
“We are not requiring financial institutions to implement alternative financing models, but are paving the way for anyone who wants to offer these models,” Horner said at a press conference Monday.
Horner said he expects these financial institutions to develop their products in short order as the changes incorporated in the legislation are sought by the industry.
“They came to us in large numbers,” he said. “Investments have already been made in the IT and systems that would be required, so I think that shows they are very committed to this process.”
In an emailed statement, ATB Financial said it was willing to offer such products, although it would need to conduct significant consultations before doing so.
“ATB Financial is committed to understanding the diverse needs of our customers, including those seeking halal financing options,” the statement said.
“We recognize the complexities of developing such specialized products and are committed to actively listening to our customers to ensure all future offerings align with market demand.” »
Horner said these alternative financing options, if eventually offered by credit unions and ATB Financial, would be open to all Albertans, regardless of religion.
Sharif Haji, the opposition New Democrats’ shadow minister for affordability and public services, told reporters that, on paper, the legislation appears to be a good first step, but he questioned whether the The UCP had carried out sufficient consultation on the changes.
“What I’m hearing from communities is that they haven’t been consulted, whether it’s faith-based institutions or individuals and experts who have worked, developed and own knowledge about products like this,” Haji said.
The omnibus bill introduced by Horner on Monday also amends the Fuel Tax Act to set the stage for the government’s planned annual $200 tax on electric vehicles to be implemented over the next year , as well as a change in the way provincial social benefits such as Assured Income for the Severely Disabled (AISH), are funded each year.
Horner said that going forward, annual increases in funding for AISH and other social benefit programs, by default, will be either 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is greater. down.
Horner told reporters that this new default calculation is not final, because the government could set a different rate above 2 percent if it wanted.
He said this change is intended to ensure that each benefit program is calculated the same, as currently the fiscal years for some programs are different, meaning it is possible that some programs will see larger increases than d ‘others.
“It’s just the default,” Horner said. “This must be reviewed annually (and) if no decision is made, the default applies.”
In 2019, the UCP government led by former premier Jason Kenney de-indexed programs like AISH to inflation, arguing the province could not afford the rising costs.
Last year, that decision was reversed by the UCP and the programs were reindexed to inflation, but advocacy groups argued at the time that because the reindexing was not retroactive, the roughly 300 000 people who receive these benefits were still left behind. behind.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 4, 2024.
Learn more about halal mortgages
Visited 494 times, 8 visit(s) today
Alberta Alberta halal mortgage halal mortgages muslim Nate Horner Prairies Regional The Canadian Press
Last modification: November 4, 2024