Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend, the member for Pickering—Scarborough East, for his question, as well as his work on the joint committee to which he referred.
In recent months, concerns surrounding the practices of card issuers have garnered increasing attention in the areas, as the member has said, of interchange fees as well as interest rates, business practices and marketplace structure.
Parliament is formally examining this important issue, as the House of Commons finance and industry committees along with the Senate banking committee are currently undertaking studies. In fact, as a member of the finance committee, when possible I have participated in the joint finance-industry hearings on this very subject. We heard from the processors of debit, credit and the gift card transactions. Additionally, the Competition Bureau has also launched an investigation on the competitive environment in which interchange fees are set.
As part of our economic action plan, our government recently announced strong new consumer protection rules with respect to credit cards. Among the new proposed regulations are summary boxes on contracts and applications, clearer implications of minimum payments, timely advanced disclosures of interest rate changes, a minimum 21-day grace period, express consent for credit card increases and limits on debt collection practices, and more.
We believe that when Canadians make the choice to use a credit card, they are not signing away all their rights. As well, Canadians should not need a magnifying glass and a dictionary to read their credit card agreements or applications, and they should not have to be a lawyer to understand them either.
We are focusing on greater clarity and more timely disclosure from credit card issuers when dealing with consumers. Our new consumer friendly rules will empower Canadians by making it easier for them to shop around for the credit card best suited to their needs without fearing they will be taken advantage of later.
Numerous public interest groups applauded our aggressive consumer friendly measures. For instance, the Consumers Association of Canada remarked that all of the things the finance minister has done are actually just what it asked for and that overall, it has to congratulate him.
The Retail Council of Canada declared that it was “pleased that the finance minister has taken these steps today. It demonstrates that the federal government recognizes just how serious the problem has become”.
The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association noted:
Restaurant owners across Canada support [the finance minister]'s announcement today as a first step in establishing the rules of play for credit cards in Canada...the Minister recognized concerns about the interchange fees that merchants pay as well. “We are thrilled that the Minister recognizes there are two types of credit card consumers: those who use cards to make payments and those who accept payments by credit card”.
We have moved to protect consumers by introducing tough new regulations.