Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome to all the witnesses.
I'm going to do two things. I'm going to read a couple of things to you, and then I'm going to ask you for your opinion on what I've read.
First of all, I'm going to read out the first recommendation of the task force report, in its entirety. I want you to pay close attention to the words, because then I'm going to read out something that Mr. Thibeault and Ms. Nash wrote recently in The Hill Times about their interpretation of this bill. I'm going to ask you, given that this bill focuses on recommendation number one, do you agree with the statement made by the NDP about the bill? So listen to both, and then you give me your opinion.
This is the first recommendation:
The Task Force recommends that the Government of Canada appoint an individual, directly accountable to the Minister of Finance, to serve as dedicated national leader. This Financial Literacy Leader should have the mandate to work collaboratively with stakeholders to oversee the National Strategy, implement the recommendations and champion financial literacy on behalf of all Canadians
Here's what was said by Ms. Nash and Mr. Thibeault, as written:
Bill C-28 excluded these very important recommendations
—following number one—
and only created the financial literacy leader position, making C-28 more of an expensive job posting, rather than a bill addressing the need for in-depth financial literacy. Without these key recommendations, the financial literacy leader could become nothing more than a cheerleader for new financial products that benefit the banks, not Canadians.
I don't see how that has anything to do with Bill C-28 or that first recommendation. Do you see it?