moved for leave to introduce Bill C-335, An Act to amend the Bank Act (bank amalgamations).
Mr. Speaker, many of us feel that Canadians are not well served by the mergers of our large charter banks. The charter banks were given the rights to certain financial practices, very lucrative ones such as credit card transactions, in exchange for providing basic services to Canadians in whatever part of the country they live.
These megamergers in the Canadian financial sector, which seem to be about to take place again, do not serve Canadians well. We want to put forward legislation to put specific guidelines, rigid criteria under which we may allow the charter banks to merge. They do not deserve their charter if they are not living up to their end of their charter which is to provide good service to Canadians in the financial services sector.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)