Halal mortgages in federal budget about ‘being equal’ for Muslims, providers say

Federal budget references to mortgage products aimed at Canadian Muslims have members of the community celebrating, along with the mortgage providers that look to serve them, despite a lack of detail from the government on what is to come.

In Tuesday’s budget documents, the federal government indicated that it’s “exploring new measures to expand access” to financing methods such as “halal mortgages.”

The budget provided few details about the plan, other than to say the government had been consulting “financial services providers and diverse communities” and that an update would come in the 2024 fall economic statement. Despite no specifics, it was a welcome addition to the budget for the Muslim community.

“It was very happy news for me,” said Abdullah Mohiuddin, who has already taken out an Islamic, or halal, mortgage to purchase a home in the Edmonton area. He said he welcomed the government’s announcement that it would be finding a way to increase access to a financial product he believes his community needs.

Several firms in various Canadian provinces offer halal mortgages. Halal is an Arabic word that translates in English to “permitted” or “allowed” under Islamic law.

These mortgages are deliberately structured to adhere to both Canadian law and the belief systems of many Muslims. Interest, which is referred to in many Islamic texts as “riba,” is forbidden.

Abdullah Mohiuddin took out a halal mortgage to buy his Edmonton-area home. He says he’s pleased Ottawa plans to find a way to increase access to the mortgages for the Muslim community. (Peter Evans/CBC)

Although interest isn’t charged, there are still costs associated with halal mortgages. In many cases, the costs are higher than those associated with conventional mortgages, and the mortgages are often not available at the branches of mainstream financial institutions.

“It seems like it’s a little bit expensive,” Mohiuddin said, adding he believes the lack of established legal definitions for a halal mortgage in Canada is behind the higher costs. 

Announcement boosts credibility

Muslims looking for a halal mortgage are still going to be paying carrying costs for a loan to purchase their home.

Providers in the industry said these costs can be higher because while there is demand, there are fewer providers — and some halal mortgage providers are unable to foreclose due to religious restrictions, which can increase what some financiers assess as risk.

That could be changing with the federal

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A federal pandemic business loan is coming due. Some in N.S. can’t afford to pay

Small businesses in Nova Scotia are bracing for Jan. 18, the date Canadian Emergency Business Account loan repayments come due.

The federal money was given to small businesses and not-for-profits in April 2020 to help lessen the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown. The money has to be repaid by Jan. 18 in order to receive loan forgiveness of up to $20,000.

Duncan Robertson, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in Nova Scotia, told CBC’s Information Morning Halifax this week that four in 10 businesses in Nova Scotia will be able to pay back the loan, a quarter will have to borrow money to get the loan forgiveness, two in 10 won’t be able to make the deadline and the rest don’t know what will happen.

“If they do miss that January deadline, they will go from having $40,000 debt on Jan. 18 to $60,000 debt,” Robertson said.

“They’ll have to pay that five per cent interest and then they’ll have until Dec. 31, 2026 to fully repay that CEBA loan.”

Robertson said the federation is concerned for the more than 16,000 small Nova Scotia businesses that took the loan and were counting on the forgivable portion. He said they’re hoping the federal government will extend the forgivable loan by a year so businesses have time to catch up.

“When they took that loan, we weren’t really sure what the economic realities would be and now many are faced with high costs and rising interest rates, so we’re asking government to take that into account … we found that would benefit around 95 per cent of businesses that took that loan,” said Robertson.

‘Bad time for a lot of small businesses’

The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia said half of the establishments are either just breaking even or operating at a loss.

“With increased expenses across the board and high debt loads, many businesses will not be able to pay back their CEBA loans by the determined deadline,” the restaurant association said in a statement. “We urge the Federal Government to extend the repayment deadline as restaurants continue to recover from closures during the pandemic and navigate challenges in the industry.”

Brendan Doherty, the owner of Edible Matters and The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse, said the loan repayments are coming at “a terrible time for small businesses.” He said the loans were “a lifeline that kept

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