How can we be sure that they will be regulated in a standard way? We would have three kinds of financial institutions in Canada, and each of them could have a branch on the same street corner. We could have a bank, a caisse populaire and a Canadian cooperative bank.
How can we be sure that by enacting this part of the Bank Act, the situation will not turn into a regulatory shambles or a hodgepodge of institutions? The situation could become unmanageable, in that there might be competition problems similar to what we were just talking about for the Canada Post Corporation, arising out of what kind of regulation an institution will be subject to.
We have a Canadian banking system that works very well, it should be said, and a system of cooperatives that also works very well. So why would the government of Canada interfere in this area of jurisdiction and start shuffling the cards, as we say where I come from?