Industry Committee on Oct. 28th, 2024

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

I'll go to Scotiabank next.

[D'Arcy McDonald]

Yes, we would help customers with interest rate reductions or product switches to best fit their needs.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

How about TD Bank?

[Meg McKee]

We have very similar programs in place.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thanks.

To conclude, I'm going to move to something else, but that just proves my case that the business model does actually incorporate a lower rate that could be profitable.

I'll thank the witnesses, and with that, Mr. Chair, I would like to move a motion at this point in time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

I understand notice was given, so you may move your motion.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move:

That, in light of the recent report that Rogers Communications is attempting to price gouge Canadians by failing to honour the original intent of TV and internet service contracts signed by its customers, and recognizing that this exploitative behaviour unfairly impacts Canadians, the committee, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), invite Rogers Communications chief executive officer Tony Staffieri to appear before the committee for a minimum of two hours by November 1, 2024, to explain how the company intends to rectify the situation and that a report of this meeting be prepared and presented to the House.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you, Mr. Masse, for bringing forward this motion and moving it today. It's on the floor right now.

Do I have anyone on the list to speak to it?

Mr. Perkins, go ahead.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

I wouldn't mind proposing an amendment, but I won't drag this out. I propose that we add the chief corporate affairs officer for Rogers, Navdeep Bains, to the list.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Are you moving an amendment, Mr. Perkins?

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Yes, but only if it doesn't prolong our debate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

I understand that if I don't see consensus, Mr. Perkins, you're not moving the amendment. Is that correct?

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

That is correct.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Has everyone heard the amendment proposed by Mr. Perkins? Is there some form of consensus?

I don't see consensus around the table on the amendment, so I'll proceed as if you haven't moved your amendment, Mr. Perkins, if that's okay with you.

We're back to the motion.

On the motion itself presented by Mr. Masse, I see everyone nodding in agreement.

We'll do our best with the clerk to try to get this done before November 1, but November 1 is right around the corner. Allow me some flexibility in scheduling, but we'll do our best.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Absolutely, Mr. Chair. I trust your judgment on this. It's not a hard date if you need to make the adjustments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you very much, MP Masse.

(Motion agreed to)

That's dealt with, and I am amazed by the efficiency of members on this. I appreciate it a great deal.

We'll now turn it over to MP Chambers.

Welcome to the committee. The floor is yours for five minutes.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I was struck by some earlier testimony with respect to Interac fees in an exchange with my colleague Ms. Rempel Garner.

Mr. Siromani, it's true that volume-based pricing occurs at Interac, but can you just confirm that the largest tier of volume transactions is at six cents that banks are charged for an e-transfer?

[Ramesh Siromani]

I don't have that information.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Sir, you're on the board of Interac, are are you not?

[Ramesh Siromani]

The board does not discuss pricing matters.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Sir, you don't discuss your pricing of e-transfers. Do you stand by volume-based pricing, then?

[Ramesh Siromani]

As I said before, for any transaction that is of a large scale like this, whether it involves large-scale processing, whether it be credit cards, debit cards or e-transfers or statements or anything, typically service providers would have tiered pricing. I'm not aware of the exact pricing that Interac charges.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Thank you for that testimony.

What I'm struggling to understand is the highest tier based on the volume pricing by Interac, on the information that I have, is that the largest institutions pay Interac six cents for a transaction and the smallest institutions pay 43¢ a transaction. That seems like a very wide chargeback difference between large and small institutions, and I'm trying to understand why that might be the case.

[Ramesh Siromani]

I'm not aware of the pricing matrix that Interac has.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Okay, you are aware, though, sir, that we could ask for that fee disclosure.