Mr. Speaker, my question was about a perceived crisis in the insurance industry across Canada. I asked it on behalf of constituents, private citizens, business people and elected officials.
Insurance is one of the foundations of our business and financial systems. Our peace of mind and the viability of our economy depend on a sound insurance system.
The events of 9/11, the wars on terrorism and in Iraq have had a great impact on the insurance system. My constituents know this. However there is a widespread belief that the ripples from global crises are being used as an excuse for excessive increases in premiums, reductions in coverage and refusal of coverage.
Why for example should the village hall mentioned in my question face such a huge increase in premiums for reduced coverage? Why has insurance for MPs' offices tripled in recent years?
It was good of the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions in his answer to let my constituents know that he, like them, has learned that insurance is, in the narrow sense, a provincial jurisdiction.
He should also know that Canadians look to their federal MPs and ministers for national and international leadership. They rely on us as the level of government with an overview of national affairs. They do not expect us to wait until a provincial government detects serious problems in its insurance industry resulting from events and decisions overseas. They expect us to be involved in decisions like the merging of banks and insurance companies.
The secretary of state meets regularly with his provincial colleagues on matters affecting financial institutions which have interests in insurance. I suspect he is on national councils that regularly discuss such matters. Also, he is part of the federal Department of Finance which plays a critical role in determining the strength of the Canadian economy. I would be surprised if there are not officials in that department who have at least a watching brief on something as fundamental as the insurance industry of Canada.
The insurance industry has a distinguished history in this country but there is real concern that it is increasingly concentrated in a few offshore corporations. There is concern that insurance coverage is uneven across the country. Ontario, for example, appears to have dropped the ball on auto insurance. There is anxiety about relationships between banks and insurance. In rural areas, with the departure of banks, a fine network of insurance brokers provides critical financial expertise, yet their training and qualifications vary widely across the country.
All of these issues and more merit national inquiry. The secretary of state has access through the House of Commons to our standing committees. One or more of these could easily conduct valuable hearings, not witch hunts, into the current state of the insurance industry, calling witnesses who could reassure Canadians in these difficult times.
Now that the secretary of state and his department have had time to get up to speed on this matter, I hope that the parliamentary secretary can provide a more useful reply. I hope that the answer will include the thoughts of the secretary of state on and plans for monitoring a healthy, prosperous insurance industry in Canada.