Mr. Speaker, I could not have come up with a better question myself. I thank the hon. member for the excellent question because I actually did not have time to cover that point.
I want to say most strongly and categorically that our party absolutely and very clearly supports the community reinvestment act. What they have been able to accomplish in the United States is a clear demonstration that when we lay down clear legislation and make it clear which side we are on, that is to protect Canadians and consumers, we can force these banks to be socially responsible through legislation. It can work.
I know communities where local businesses cannot get a bank loan because they are considered to be in a blighted or devastated area. That is the situation in my own community. There are whole blocks which are boarded up and empty, partly because they cannot get access to financial institutions. This is what happened in Chicago and in other cities.
A community reinvestment act which says that some of these massive profits have to go back to the community good, to community benefit, is a sound, democratic and rational principle that is not in this bill.
I am glad to hear that my colleagues from the Bloc Quebecois are speaking out on this matter too. We should be pressing the government and asking why there is no community reinvestment legislation contained within this 900 pages, why it is so glaringly absent, and why the Liberals are again bailing out these banks.