Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
I want to start by saying a huge thanks to both the Canadian Bankers Association and the Canadian Credit Union Association for joining us today. It's really important for us to hear from you. We are very proud that Canada has probably the best banking system in the world, and we know that our financial institutions are key to helping us get through this pandemic and get our economy back on track.
We know that our banks and our credit unions have been engaged with our Minister of Finance and government officials to discuss flexible options to support Canadians in general and Canadian businesses during this difficult time. I think both of you have done a wonderful job of saying how you've stepped up to provide support during these last few weeks.
I will say, though, that we are still hearing far too many stories of small and medium-sized businesses walking into their bank to ask for a mortgage, loan or line of credit deferral and being rejected. They're not seeing the flexibility that they're hearing is supposed to exist right now at their financial institutions. We're also hearing from renters. Many of them are long-term customers at a particular bank. They don't own property, but they are looking for some flexibility on some of the financial instruments that they might have with the bank, whether it's a loan or a line of credit. Again, too many of them are telling us they're not being successful. I know there have been extraordinary efforts done so far. There seem to be some inconsistencies in different parts of the country.
I'll direct my question to the Canadian Bankers Association.
What will banks do to continue to address the need and meet the flexibility that Canadians and Canadian businesses are asking of banks today?