Article content

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is signaling a tougher stance on how debit and credit card issuers deal with Canadian consumers and small businesses.

Beginning this week, companies such as Visa and MasterCard will have 30 days to fall in line with new — but still voluntary — code of conduct guidelines.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa gets ‘tough’ on credit-card issuers with new 'consumer friendly' code of conduct Back to video

Details of the expanded guidelines will be announced by Finance Minister Joe Oliver on Monday in Toronto. He will be joined by officials from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“Minister Oliver is taking a tough stand to protect consumers and small business owners. We see these measures as another important step towards ensuring that consumers and entrepreneurs get the best deal possible,” a government official said.