Finance Committee on May 9th, 2018

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

But what I would say to you is our—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

To be fair, we don't have ample time. Give Mr. Kingston time.

Do you want to complete your answer?

[Brian Kingston]

I would just like to note one more thing about the A.T. Kearney report, which I think undermines its credibility.

The report also mentioned the fact that the CETA agreement will be attracting new investment from Europe, and it cited the new investor protection court. We know that is actually not in force yet. CETA is only provisionally enforced. The whole investment chapter remains outside of that deal until all member states sign on. After seeing the methodology, I was quite concerned about the validity of that report. Given the survey data that I've shared with you, we're hearing the opposite from business leaders here.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

I think that's entirely inaccurate. I think if you look at Toyota's $1.4-billion investment in Canada, announced last week, I think it's a sign of what foreign participants and domestic participants are doing for our job growth—the 600,000 jobs created in the last two and a half years. I think that's pretty darn good. I think if you put that up against any economy in the world, it would do well.

I do want to go quickly to Angelina and the banks.

Part of the BIA, Bill C-74, deals with the banks and fintech and the ability to invest. Has that provided enough flexibility at this point in time for the banks? Fintechs aren't subject to OSFI, to a large extent. They don't have capital requirements. There's a ton of compliance measures they don't operate under. At this moment in time are you content with the way the regulatory structure is going?

[Angelina Mason]

We're pleased with the changes. They've provided the clarity and flexibility to support innovation and fintech collaboration. Of course, we're going to continue to watch this space because it continues to evolve, but we are pleased with the changes that have been put before us.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Okay.

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

You still have time.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Do I still have time? Okay.

Going back to Angelina, then, within the bank framework, we will have a review. In terms of the separation with regard to the Bank Act, do you see any issues there from your members?

[Angelina Mason]

Sorry, I don't understand the question.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

In terms of the financial framework review, are there any other issues you'd like to raise?

[Angelina Mason]

Not at this time. The Bank Act review will be phased. This is phase one—

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Yes.

[Angelina Mason]

—and there will be other ones. We'll need to see what's being proposed before we will be in a position to respond.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Of course.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Go ahead.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Luke, you and I have chatted several times. I know you cited some statistics from Colorado. In a past life I covered all of the global beer joints, including Molson Coors, and I know that for a long time U.S. beer consumption had been declining due to the global financial crisis. Beer volumes have been soft in the United States for several years, first, owing to the impact of the global recession, and second, to the impact of people moving in general to different types of alcohol. I'll call it the “hour glass”, meaning you move to the top, or you move to the bottom, and a lot of beer brands were being squeezed in the middle. That's something we need to point out. Yes, you're going to have competition from marijuana. I understand that, but at the same time there are a number of other trends that have been impacting beer volumes, both here in Canada and the United States, over the last decade. Is that correct?

[Luke Harford]

Absolutely that's correct. I even say that coffee and tea, with Starbucks and Davids Tea, are in competition for the pocketbooks of Canadians. It is a trend in the United States, and it's a trend here.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

It's forced the beer industry to innovate.

[Luke Harford]

Absolutely. I think the point that I would like to make is that we're ready and willing to compete. It's just the level of taxation, and that going up and increasing every year isn't putting us on any stronger footing than if we had a more balanced approach.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you all.

Just while Francesco is on the CBA, you mentioned that this bill, under division 16, does renew the sunset provisions for the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act, and the Trust and Loan Companies Act to five years after royal assent. That means there won't be really a parliamentary review.

What's your view on that?

[Angelina Mason]

At this time, while the formal reviews were conducted over the last two years, there will be continued work in this area. Our understanding is that there will be further revisions, one through the budget implementation act, and supplementary amendments that could be done through that. While the formal review process is not continuing, there still is consultation occurring.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

I'll admit this because we talked to some people this morning. We're getting some concerns, with the fintech changes, that privacy issues could arise with the exchange of information from banks to others.

Is that a real concern or a non-concern?

[Angelina Mason]

That should not be a concern, not with the robust privacy framework that we have with PIPEDA and with the provincial legislation, and also just our approach with engaging with fintechs. The banks take the privacy of our customers very seriously. If we were to have any situation where a consumer is referred to a fintech company, it would done with so clarity about what information is being collected and with full and transparent consent. Also, banks do not take those relationships lightly. We do due diligence to make sure that, if we are referring to a fintech, it is being reasonable at how it manages customer information.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Poilievre.