Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Like everyone else, I want to congratulate you on being elected committee chair. It's always a pleasure to work with you, and I'm also very glad to see my colleagues again. I know that we work very hard in the Standing Committee on Finance, but we can also enjoy ourselves.
Bill C-28 is very problematic to me. The report put forward 30 recommendations, good recommendations, but only 1 of them was implemented. My colleague Ms. McLeod asked the Minister of State for Finance whether the recommendations would be followed. He said that the leader has the option of putting those recommendations in place, but is not required to do so. One of our problems with the bill is just that: the government put together this piece of legislation, but did not use it as an opportunity to set out a real strategy. And that's a shame because I wholeheartedly agree that it is important in terms of financial literacy.
Mr. Chair, I also want to commend you on all the work you've done on this. Unfortunately, all this bill does is establish a new position, not the strategy that was recommended. Above all, the bill doesn't provide for the advisory council, whose makeup is supposed to be somewhat diverse, if I'm not mistaken. Its members could be drawn from the educational sector, the working world and the financial sector.
There is one recommendation that I think is just fantastic, but unfortunately it's not in the bill either. I'll read it quickly: “The Task Force recommends that the Government of Canada make financial literacy training programs for young Canadians eligible for funding through the Youth Employment Strategy.” What a shame that's not in the bill.
Another prime example is the Urban Aboriginal Strategy, which would make financial literacy training programs for young aboriginal Canadians eligible for funding. The recommendations also address immigrant education.
I would just like the officials to confirm something for me. Does this bill provide for a group that could put a financial strategy in place, or does it just create a position?