Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for her question and I especially want to congratulate her for the quality of her French. She deserves credit for expressing herself here in the language used by most Quebeckers and many people in Canada.
Her question is very pertinent. Personally, I believe that the range of interest rates should be much lower than the one that exists right now. Usurious rates should not be allowed to get as high as 60%. Credit card interest rates should be lowered, and people in difficult financial situations should be able to find solutions.
I do not believe that the NDP position is the ideal solution for right now. It would take us from one extreme to another. We would go from an irresponsible situation created by the federal government to a situation where the margin in relation to the prime rate is, in my view, not quite enough. The margin has to be higher than that.
However, we are on the same wavelength in that we have to make sure that the people in our society who are having the most difficulty with credit are given opportunities to get out of their difficult situation. The goal is not to put them further in debt. On the contrary, we want to help them manage their credit so that they have enough. After a few years, with support from agencies such as Option consommateurs and many other similar agencies—as long as they have the financial means to give consumers good advice—people will be able to manage their credit properly.
I hope we will achieve such conditions and that this take note debate will help the government set up interesting projects. If not, then we as MPs—any member of the House of Commons who feels like it—will have to take care of this ourselves.
I can imagine better education, the possibility of restricting the spread between the minimum rate and the maximum rate, and making credit card rates much more reasonable in relation to the Bank of Canada rate. All of this should help us create a situation whereby fewer people would fall into a credit trap they cannot control.