That's a good question. Thank you.
Our association believes that what is absolutely necessary is to review why credit card fees in Canada are so expensive. This has been done in other countries. Australia is probably the best example. There they studied the issue over a three-year period, determined that the rates being charged by the credit card companies were excessive, and capped those rates, recommending a review I think every four years to make sure that the credit card companies were still making enough to be a viable transaction option.
Not to cloud the issue, credit cards are a very important means of transaction for our industry. They speed up processing times; they are absolutely important for consumers who don't have money with them right then and there. At the same time, we believe that this advantage is not equivalent to the fees that we pay, so I think something has to be done to address these fees.