Mr. Chair, I represent a rural and small-town riding. I find the credit unions provide tremendous service to rural and small-town Canada. In many cases over the last 15 years or so, banks have closed a lot of the branches in smaller communities, not for any malice, but just based on the fact that their business model does not necessarily fit into some of these smaller communities.
During the same period of time, I've seen credit unions expanding their presence in these communities, which means they are part of the community—to lend to small businesses that are the backbone of rural and small-town Canada. They are there to provide services to seniors. Increasingly, in rural and small-town Canada, we've seen an aging demographic in our communities, and the importance of the credit unions and the role they play in our communities has grown in recent years.
We have heard strenuous testimony on this legislation on behalf of credit unions. The government hasn't explained the rationale for it, so I believe it ought to reconsider.
We are opposed to these changes, and later I will be proposing an amendment to clause 15.