Therefore, on this issue the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail believes that the federal government should take the appropriate measures to avoid the introduction of interchange or other such fees that are not based on the true costs of debit transactions, and subject all corporations entering the debit market to the rules set out by the Canadian Payments Association.
With regard to the second topic, the harmonization of waste management rules, retailers have helped achieve tangible sustainable development targets for a number of years now. They have volunteered their time and effort to support end-of-life product disposal initiatives. In Quebec, for example, there are extended producer responsibility programs for paints and oils. Over the years, all Canadian provinces have established a list of products covered by these types of programs, which require that end-of-life products be taken back.
The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment is now attempting to establish a general framework to guide the federal and provincial legislatures in crafting their own regulations. We commend the council for this initiative and have participated in the related consultations.
Furthermore, the council is of the opinion that such harmonization must first and foremost simplify and facilitate the opting-in of producers and their participation in these programs, and support targets to improve the environmental performance of products and the effectiveness of programs, not increase the administrative burden of corporations with more government red tape.
In this regard, we recommend that the federal government table general regulations containing common guidelines regarding waste management systems in order to streamline programs among all provinces and thus help reduce the financial burden on corporations caused by the vast web of standards.
Thank you.