moved for leave to introduce Bill C-466, an act to implement the recommendations of the Task Force for the Payments System Review.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for seconding the bill.
As mentioned, the bill would implement the recommendations of the Task Force for the Payments System Review. The Minister of Finance received the task force report on the payments system a full year ago, yet has failed to act on any of the report's recommendations. This report emphasizes that the Canadian economy could realize $32 billion in productivity gains by modernizing our payments system. According to the task force, Canadian payment regulation is being quickly outpaced by countries like Romania, Peru, 27 European countries, as well as the BRIC countries.
The task force also says that, unless Canada develops a modern digital payment system, Canadians will be unable to fully engage in the digital economy of the 21st century, leading to a lower standard of living and a loss in international competitiveness.
That is why it is paramount that we implement the recommendations of this task force to put Canada as a leader in the 21st century economy.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)