Madam Speaker, in speeches this afternoon we have heard often that many retailers and merchants in Canada are having difficulties because of the interchange fees charged for use of the credit card system and that they have seen huge profits for the credit card companies which provide the service. The rates that are charged to retailers for the use of that system are increased frequently. One of my constituents pointed out that his fees went up eight times in 2008. Up to about October 2008 alone it went up four times in that period.
When my constituent and I wrote to the Minister of Finance about that issue, the regulation of interchange fees and what the government might be prepared to do to both protect retailers and consumers from those high fees, the response we received from the minister completely ignored that issue. He did not comment on the issue of interchange fees at all. This was in the pre-budget period when Conservatives were looking for ideas about how to support Canadians, retailers and consumers.
I wonder if the member might speculate about why the Minister of Finance ignored that issue completely. Is it something that the government is absolutely unprepared to make any changes on?