Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My line of questioning really comes out of some of the remarks that the chair and Mr. Fergus made, around a certain amount of discomfort that consumers may have around their choices. You have this system in Canada with six large schedule I banks. We've talked about the regulation of these institutions to ensure that consumers are looked after, but there's another way that consumers are protected. That's through a competitive marketplace. If six large banks, by all means, compete among themselves, they also ought to be challenged. The chair spoke about who challenges the banks. Well, competition ought to challenge the banks. The banks do compete with other entities in the mortgage industry, monoline lenders, credit unions in Alberta with Alberta Treasury Branches. Other entities are capable of challenging the banks and ensure that consumers get the products they need.
Yet the Bank Act exempts many other players that challenge the banks for their business. They're exempt from provincial regulations that regulate the conduct of mortgage brokers or insurance brokers or other entities. Have you examined the role of competition and whether or not the Bank Act exemption for the banks limits competition?