Canada’s debt collection industry plays an essential, if often overlooked, role in managing the country’s $2.6 trillion household debt landscape. Yet agencies operating nationally must navigate 13 separate provincial and territorial regulatory regimes, each with its own licensing requirements, processes, definitions, and communication rules.
In his latest article, Bryn Hazard examines how this fragmented system creates unnecessary costs, restricts competition, and makes it harder for the industry to invest in the technologies and consumer experiences shaping the future of financial services. Read the full article here.
The Cost of Fragmentation
Financial drag: Redundant licensing applications, administrative “touch time,” and onboarding delays cost the industry an estimated $4 million to $4.5 million annually.
Stifled innovation: Agencies must configure systems around 13 different sets of localized rules, creating uncertainty around digital communication channels, artificial intelligence, and other modern collection tools.
Immobilized capital: Duplicative surety bonds and separate provincial trust accounts lock up liquidity that small and medium-sized agencies could otherwise invest in technology, cybersecurity, and service improvements.
Bryn’s full article explores how these challenges affect not only collection agencies, but also creditors, consumers, taxpayers, and Canada’s broader productivity.
A Roadmap for Modernization
To better align the industry with Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking framework and federal competition goals, the article recommends three core initiatives:
A National Interprovincial Licensing System: A unified digital portal that would streamline applications, standardize background checks, and simplify licensing across participating jurisdictions.
Harmonized legislative language: More consistent definitions and communication rules across provincial acts, giving agencies and creditors the certainty needed to adopt modern tools responsibly.
A standing interprovincial legislative forum: A collaborative group of regulators, industry representatives, and consumer advocates that could coordinate responses to emerging technologies and evolving consumer needs.
Streamlining Canada’s collection laws represents a practical opportunity to reduce regulatory duplication, improve competition, support responsible innovation, and strengthen consumer outcomes.
Read Bryn Hazard’s full article Collection Harmonization: A New Legislative Approach for a Unified Canada, to explore the research, international comparisons, and proposed path forward.
