Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to apologize off the bat to the other three witnesses because I'm going to focus on Mr. Green and some of his comments today. I'm going to try not to make this a long preamble because I want to hear what you have to say about this.
I just started with the committee today. I have met with CUPW in the past, and some of the messaging that I'm hearing, even today from other witnesses, and what I'm hearing from CUPW, seem to contradict what you're saying. In particular, it's the fact that if Canada Post were to move into the area of banking, it would be more acceptable or more common practice in rural areas that are not currently serviced by banking institutions than it would be in urban areas.
You're talking about Canada Post being able to facilitate banking needs within those urban areas. I'll give you some examples. In first nations communities, of the 615 first nations communities in 2014, only 54 had bank or credit unions. There have been 2,000 communities that have, since 1982, lost their financial service institutions, so this seems to be a trend more so in rural areas than in urban.
I think what concerns me about what you're suggesting, with respect, is that it seems to me you're looking to Canada Post to potentially subsidize what already exists within urban centres as it relates to the options of banking institutions. I want you to clarify this so that I have a better understanding and the committee has a better understanding. People in urban settings, unlike rural or first nations communities, have those options for those banking institutions, which, I'll remind you, are highly regulated industries within this country. Please clarify that for me.