Mr. Speaker, the industry was a leader in Canada. Not only are Canadians losing their bank branches, they are also losing their investments.
Since the minister's bad decision on the bank mergers, Canadian bank shareholders have seen $7.2 billion less in shareholder value because of that decision. During that same period of time, U.S. bank shares have increased by 8%. Americans are getting richer and Canadians are getting poorer.
The fact is that 7.5 million Canadians own bank shares. Why has the Minister of Finance failed his first test of leadership in not defending the interests of 7.5 million Canadians?