Madam Speaker, the member may or may not know that the five biggest banks in 2009 had profits totalling $15.9 billion, yet the government is insisting on reducing their corporate tax rate even further.
In fact, the Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter of this year during the recession made a profit of just under $1 billion. Now let us take a look at these corporate executives who work for the banks and see how much money they are taking home while Canadian workers are surviving on employment insurance. The CEOs of Canada's five banks saw their pay go up 10% this year. As a matter of fact, Bank of Nova Scotia CEO Richard Waugh was awarded the biggest increase at 29%, followed by the Bank of Montreal president at 25%. These executives earn $10 million a year in salary and compensation.
How does the member's government think that is fair to working Canadians?