Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to also welcome the Governor and the Deputy Governor to the finance committee.
I want to begin by saying that you and the finance minister have for a while now been talking about the dangers of high consumer debt, especially with regard to the housing market. On my way back to Ottawa last night, after taking my kids out trick or treating, I read with great interest the NDP platform from the last election. In one provision, they were calling for consumer credit card interest rates to be capped at prime plus 5%, which I think, had that been implemented, would have exacerbated the consumer debt crisis. You also note in the October monetary policy report that there's been somewhat positive information emerging in terms of household credit and the debt rate slowing down a bit.
As you know, the government has taken numerous steps to help Canadians enter the housing market, and also to strengthen Canada's housing market by reducing maximum mortgages to 30-year amortization and significantly reducing the interest payments Canadians have to make on the interest on their mortgages. But the government has also done a lot to encourage broader improvements in financial literacy—and this is where I'm going on this—including a task force on financial literacy headed up by Don Stewart of Sun Life. Now the government is working to implement its recommendations. In fact, even our esteemed chair of the finance committee has put forward a motion in the House on financial literacy.
I want to ask you: can you speak to why improving financial literacy, particularly among our youth, is an important goal?