It's from Canada. That's an important distinction. I wanted to make sure that's clear, because I come from a place with tool and die mould-making and everything. We get lots of patents, but it doesn't necessarily mean that something is produced in Canada. I wanted to clarify that. I think it's important for the record. Thank you.
Quickly over to Mr. Hannah, you keep mentioning 71% of Canadians. That's not what the Harris Poll survey said. I'm going to read from their survey here. Also, it's not what Equifax says. They say:
More than half of Canadian adults (55%) currently have credit card debt—up from 43% when asked a year ago. The repayment periods for credit card debt are increasing, too. Of Canadians with credit card debt, 51% say it will take six months or longer to pay it off, up from 40% a year ago.
These trends dovetail with the findings from Canadian credit bureau Equifax. Total balances for Canadian credit cards reached an all-time high in the third quarter of 2023, with the average balance rising to $4,119, according to an Equifax Canada Market Pulse report.
Quite frankly, you have your 71%, and this is saying something different. There's a 20% margin difference there, which is quite significant.
Maybe you can tell Canadians now how they can get a lower-interest credit card rate. What would be your best advice for those 50%-plus Canadians, or even for the 30% you argue about, to get a lower rate?
My constituents don't have that same experience when contacting credit cards, trying to consolidate and so forth. Maybe a public service announcement right now would be helpful to tell those who are paying off massive amounts of debt of $4,000 or more how they can get a lower rate.