Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, allow me to welcome the witness, Ms. Yu, who arrived a little later.
Ms. Yu, I found your opening remarks very interesting, particularly when you mentioned that some people in extremely precarious personal and financial situations go from one credit card to another, often using very high interest rate credit to pay the previous credit, and so on. It does become a vicious circle.
When we look at some recent data, we realize that Canadians are very addicted to credit. They borrow a lot. As a percentage of disposable income, Canadians' non-mortgage debt is higher than that of Americans or that of people in several European countries.
How do you interpret this situation? Is it culture?
On the one hand, the financial industry tells us that the market lacks fluidity, that it's difficult to obtain credit and that it should be easier, and that the gears should be better oiled. On the other hand, people in Canada are among the most indebted of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What's the explanation for all of this?