Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank the witnesses for being here with us today. We appreciate it very much.
At the outset I would like to say that personally I do not see unions as an obstacle to a solution, but as part of the solution.
We're talking a lot about postal banking, and this is what I want to focus on for the rest of the time I have.
I have read your document on postal banking, and I agree; I come from a rural area, and I agree that in some communities, especially in the “t-communities”, as I call them, some banks have left. The only thing left is Canada Post.
One of the comments I've read is that a postal bank can be quickly put in place because it already has the infrastructure—I agree—staffing and products and technology, and Canada could do this transition fairly quickly, offering a wide range of financial services. That's where I'm not sure, and I haven't yet made up my mind on what type of financial services Canada Post could potentially offer.
I noticed in your report you quoted a Scotia Bank executive, a VP of retail distribution. To paraphrase, customers do not go into branches much, but when they do, they ask for advice, and when they start asking for advice, that's where the technicalities come in for training. As you know, as soon as you ask for financial advice you have to be a certified financial planner; there are provincial regulations in place.
How did you plan on that? For me, if Canada Post would have access to its potential pool of employees, who are not trained, versus outside employees, who are already trained, who are either coming out of college with a CFP certification or they already have their mutual fund licences.... I think Algonquin College already offers that. I don't want Canada Post or its employees to shoot themselves in the foot when Canada Post could have access to other employees. How did you envision that?