Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to put a couple of things on the record.
The general modernization of the payments sector and the legislation around it is, I think, largely supported by the fintech sector. I think it has been designed very deliberately to address the cryptocurrencies in the retail payments space. I want to put that on the record.
I also want to put this on the record. There were some questions around the Bank of Canada and support within the industry. Here is a quote that I have from an article that was written in The Globe and Mail:
The Bank of Canada will build on its previous experience as it takes on new regulatory duties, bank spokesperson Rebecca Spence said. The central bank is already charged with overseeing “systemically important” parts of Canada’s financial infrastructure, including the transfer system that lets commercial banks send large sums of money back and forth, and the clearing and depository system, which settles securities trades. Last year, the bank began overseeing Interac Corp.’s e-transfer system, which it labelled a “prominent payment system.”
The Bank of Canada has already been in this space. I think it's just expanding it in an appropriate way.
Then, I also want to put on the record that Payments Canada is also supportive of these regulatory changes. In that same article, which I'm happy to forward, Mr. Chair, Ann Butler, the chief external relations and legal officer for Payments Canada, said the following:
I would think of it as an expansion of the trust in the system.... Payments is a network business, and as you expand trust in the regulatory oversight of the system, you create the opportunity for it to continue to grow and flourish with innovation.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.