Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I apologize to you, Chair, and to the committee members for being late. I was in a cabinet committee meeting that ran a little late.
I thank you for the opportunity to be here today.
I appreciate this opportunity to appear before your Committee today to discuss Bill C-37, An Act to amend the law governing financial institutions and provide for related and consequential matters.
As you know, in November we introduced Advantage Canada, which is the long-term economic plan for our country. We introduced this along with the economic and fiscal update. Advantage Canada is a long-term economic plan designed to make Canada a world leader, both today and for future generations. It will help make the Canadian economy even stronger and improve our quality of life through competitive economic advantages. A strong economy must be supported by a financial system founded on competition, which instills confidence and efficiently provides the financial services that families, individuals, and businesses need in Canada.
Canada does have a strong and sound financial system that has served Canadians well. It provides about 700,000 highly skilled, knowledge-based, well-paying jobs.
In the coming years, however, Canada's financial system will have to adapt to the evolving needs of households and businesses.
It will also need to embrace the increasing use of technology in the delivery of financial services.
That would be achieved through a flexible regulatory framework founded on sound principles. That is where Bill C-37 comes in. The bill does not seek to overhaul the financial institution statutes that by and large work well. Rather, the bill introduces adjustments to the framework, fine-tuning to further promote competition disclosure, regulatory efficiency, and innovation. The results will benefit families, individuals, small businesses, and the economy overall.
Before I outline the measures in the bill, I want to underline the fact that the proposed changes I'm referring to today are based on extensive consultations. These changes were then outlined in a white paper, which was issued last June, entitled “2006 Financial Institutions Legislation Review: Proposals for an Effective and Efficient Financial Services Framework”.
Catchy title, isn't it?