Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for her contribution. As a member of the finance committee in this debate at second reading on Bill C-57, she went through some excellent history, particularly that of the Bennett-Broadbent commission report and the MacKay task force report. There is a number of underpinning or foundational documents and studies which I think will be very helpful to the committee as it deals with a bill that is almost 300 pages long in both official languages.
It is going to take some careful work to ensure that we do get it right. That is one of the reasons why at second reading it is important for members who have interests in certain aspects of the bill to ensure that their input, either through debate or through their critics, is brought to the finance committee to help it do the job.
As the member laid out, the bill itself has some themes. There are four broad categories which the committee will be working on. The first is with regard to clarifying the role of directors. The second is about enhancing the rights of shareholders. The third concerns modernizing practices within the financial institution group. The fourth is about strengthening governance elements of the regulatory framework, an extremely important aspect and the member did comment on it. Finally, with regard to the Insurance Companies Act, certainly there is the clarifying of the policyholder governance in view of the fact that we have had this demutualization within the insurance industry.
I want to urge the member to consider one aspect for the committee's consideration, and it is with regard to the role of directors. We know the issues with regard to Enron, WorldCom, et cetera. There were officers and directors who were knowledgeable of the business practices and the decisions taken that gave rise to serious business failures, which led to significant losses to the citizens. However, we should celebrate our financial services industries as well. The failures in Canada have not seen the same kinds of problems that have been experienced in the United States.
The member is also aware that the financial industry, although it takes a pretty good beating in the public with regard to making $1 billion or something like that, does not often get credit for the fact that it employs about 600,000 people and contributes about 6% to Canada's GDP. I would also add that there is the industry's philanthropic work and the matter the member raised about the social aspect of the banks. That has been well established and well appreciated by Canadians for many years.
With regard to the directors and the specific question, there is the issue of directors' liability. Last evening I was at a function sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, at which I became aware that there is a serious concern about the low number of people putting their names forward to be directors of corporations because of the high risks and the liabilities associated with directors' responsibilities. It is a very important issue.
At the same time, and the member may have an opportunity at committee to get this kind of information, we have a broad range of financial institutions as well as corporations which have a tendency to seek marquee directors who are paid significant bonuses to join the board, along with stock options, et cetera, simply to be there to attract others. Would the member indicate whether she shares that concern and whether this kind of thing may also help to improve the governance scenario as it relates to financial institutions?