Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Hello, everyone.
We are here today in the wake of the statistics released in June by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, the OSB. We see that there is a growing number of bankruptcies by consumers and businesses alike. It is very worrisome. This could have a snowball effect and become even worse in the coming weeks and months in light of the current economic conditions. We will have more figures at the end of the month. In my opinion, this is bordering on an emergency. We need to know what the government plans to do about this.
This week, in Quebec, we found out that the dessert chain, Juliette & Chocolat, an institution back home for many years, is shutting down because of pandemic debt and current economic conditions. Mortgages are harder to pay because of higher interest rates, which is leading to an increased number of consumer bankruptcies.
This is a critical issue. We want to know what the government is doing. I believe that the purpose of this meeting is to invite the Minister of Finance to appear before the committee to explain what she is doing right now, her game plan and how this situation can be turned around.
It would be important to invite her to find out her reaction to the current crisis.