Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll read the motion first:
That the Standing Committee on Finance undertake a study on emerging digital payments systems (such as “mobile wallets” and “near field communications”) in Canada, including but not limited to (i) an overview of new digital payment technologies, including the challenges and opportunities they present (ii) an overview of the evolving role of Government oversight of these systems (iii) how best to ensure small businesses and consumers benefit from these new systems; and that the Committee report its findings to the House.
The reason behind it is that as we look forward to these new technologies with smart phones and near field communications, there are some issues with consumers' awareness and consumers' eyes on protection, privacy, and what happens with the information. There are also some concerns about the type of data and the information that's being presented. This is going to replace a wallet some day. As a committee, it's important for us to understand how this system is working and the impact it will have, not just on the business community but on consumers and constituents.
We should take a few meetings to go through this new technology and get some opinions from people in this field on where it's going and have an understanding of any types of regulations, if any, that are going to be required. We should make sure to be positioned properly as this new technology emerges. That's why the proposal is there.