Madam Speaker, it was kind of a non-question. I did take the hon. member's first questions very seriously but could not answer them with specific numbers. I do not think anyone in the House of Commons today could.
What we know is what Canadians are telling us. They sense that the profits are not going into the community, that the profits are sometimes leaving the country.
I have heard the argument on the other side that we all enjoy the benefits when the banks make money because we are all shareholders in the banks and that even if we are not personally shareholders, maybe the pension plan that we belong to with our union invests in bank stock, so we want them to flourish and prosper.
However, we also want something to go directly into the community. That is not an unreasonable request. When the banks are enjoying record profits quarter after quarter and do nothing about their service charges and the increase in fees, with an increase of up to 150% in recent years, it is no wonder they are making a profit. It is not unlike the Liberal government's EI system, whereby if government takes in more money than it gives out obviously there will be some left over. We want a tangible return to Canadians, a real hard return, one that benefits the community and not just the shareholders.