Mr. Speaker, the small business sector is Canada's biggest employer and it is the engine of Canada's economy.
Recently, small businesses expressed concern with the conduct of credit and debit card providers. Today we introduced a proposed code of conduct for the credit and debit card industry for consultation. The measures will help ensure that the credit and debit card industry is accountable.
This is what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the voice of small business in Canada, said about it:
Today's announcement...constitutes an important step and is timely as we enter the holiday season that is so vital to so many retailers, especially coming out of a recession. We are particularly pleased that government is being proactive.... These developments will create a better future for merchants and help ensure a fair and transparent credit and debit market instead of just letting large industry players call all the shots.
We agree with the CFIB.