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A Hamilton city councillor is taking on the payday loan industry. Matthew Green says the money lending outlets prey on vulnerable people by charging outrageous fees and he wants the province to enforce stricter regulations.

But industry officials argue they offer a much needed service that is already highly regulated.

Green says there are too many pay day loan outlets in Hamilton. An industry, he says preys on societies most vulnerable.

“I look at it as a form of economic violence. It’s predatory.”

Green will be tabling a motion this week asking the city to lobby the province for major changes to the industry.

“I would love to see this industry regulated to a place where it’s not financially viable for the loan sharks that are out there right now. For the legalized usery that’s happening.”

But the president of the Payday Loan Association Stan Keyes says his industry offers a necessary service and he says the alternative is unlicensed, offshore lenders with much higher penalties.

“They can charge whatever they want. They have abusive practices. They are going to locate out of Cayman Islands and Belize and empty accounts. They ask their customers for their pin, passwords for their accounts they drain their accounts.”

Green says there is another alternative.

“I’d love to see the onus placed back on our credible institutions like our banks, like our credit unions. ”

And if they don’t?

“We try to educate consumers as to what their choices are. Educate consumers about their true cost of borrowing and I think at the provincial level we need to have a broader conversation about what a living wage looks like.”