Mr. Speaker, this particular bill amends some 14 acts and I believe there are some 450 amendments to a variety of these bills. Interestingly enough, there were a few hours of debate at second reading and three hearing days in committee where witnesses came forward to talk about some of the aspects of the proposed changes. There were a handful of changes made at committee and now we are going to have another few hours of debate. This happens every five years.
I am not sure whether the member agrees, but it would appear to me from the debate so far that a number of issues have been raised by members that are beyond the scope of this bill. There was no opportunity to have consultations with parliamentarians on behalf of their constituents to talk about issues relating to things like bank mergers, more information for consumers, foreign banks, and small and medium sized business loans and their impact.
There are so many issues that come up when we talk about this and yet it is almost impossible to deal with a 230 page act and 450 amendments. If we do not have the acts that they in fact amend, everyone will understand how difficult it is to even follow the document. We have to rely so heavily on others.
My question to the member is whether there should be consideration given to changing the way in which we view the amendments to the Bank Act and other financial institutions, so that all of the other kinds of items and the full exploratory discussions can take place so there can be influence on the content of the amendments coming forward to Parliament for discussion?