Thank you, Mr. Jean.
As members of Parliament, we've certainly all heard from our constituents when they feel they've been slighted or ill advised, and we look at what government can do. We try our best to put in regulations that protect against these things that upset people and in fact cost them money.
One that we moved on recently is the banning of unsolicited credit card checks. This refers very much to the lack of understanding of how these actually work. People thought there wasn't a charge when they utilized a credit card check, but there was.
That was simple and straightforward: banning the unsolicited. People hadn't asked for these. They just arrived in the mail. A lot of seniors didn't realize the cost that went along with them. So we banned those.
You referred to the banned negative option billing for financial products. We don't take kindly to that in any other business, so why should we accept that in dealing with our financial institutions?
Greater disclosures on mortgage prepayment charges is another. Many people who have mortgages have no comprehension of this. When they signed that mortgage—those are large documents and this is probably the largest investment that most Canadians will make—they didn't realize what the rules were around paying down more than their ordinary payment if they were in a position where they could pay more. So we suggested that it be mandatory that these prepayment charges, if you will, or penalties, be disclosed to individuals.
There's one other thing. We know that all financial institutions try to do their best, but if there are violations and they're found at fault in those violations, we've actually doubled the fines that can be levied against them—up to $1 million.
We think protecting consumers and providing information is our role.