Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's speech on some rather complex issues, which the average person does not deal with every day. The issue of bank mergers is very important, in particular regarding services in the regions, as my colleague pointed out.
For several years now, we have been waiting for the government to have a transparent vision on this. Year after year, the former Liberal government put off this issue and tried to sweep it under the rug, and now the Conservative government is doing almost the same thing.
Could the member tell me what directions the Bloc Québécois wants to take regarding bank mergers? Which approaches have they proposed to ensure that the debate will be democratic enough, given that we are dealing with financial experts and people who know the system?
Our fellow citizens and the business sector are also in contact with the banks. In the regions, we can see that because of the lack of competition, the expected improvements have not materialized, even if the banks have had access in recent years to programs such as SBLs to guarantee loans, measures which shielded them from major losses.
Could my colleague assure me that the Bloc will be vigilant and monitor bank mergers, so that the end result is support for businesses and the development of our regions?