Madam Speaker, one of the dilemmas legislators face, of course, is to what degree they should pass legislation to protect people from their own negligence. If I get a cheque from someone, especially from a bank, I will read it to see what the fine print says. We all know good and well that there is no such thing as free money. That should be an alert right there. I would think that the primary responsibility is with the consumer in this case.
We do that in other areas. We cannot buy any other product without the company presenting it in such a way that it will keep our business.
If I were one of the people ripped off by the Scotiabank in that way—and I would use that characterization of it—I would just go to a different bank. I would tell the bank that I was done with it, that I wanted my money back and that I was going elsewhere. I know some people cannot do that because only one branch of the bank is close to them and the next one is far away, so they have limited options.
I would again say to the banks that if they do things like that they are only inviting legislators, like the House of Commons, to pass rules that restrict them in how they can advertise their business. They need to use their heads. The other thing open to consumers is a giant class action suit, after which the banks would never repeat it again.