Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first is from dozens of Canadians who signed a petition, calling upon the government to bring greater accountability and transparency to the credit card industry.
Debit card transactions are currently handled by Interac, which is a non-profit organization made up of Canadian national banks. The debit card fees are currently flat fees. There is no review process for increases to credit card or debit card fee increases. In addition, there is no requirement that credit card and debit card fees be disclosed at the point of sale to the final customer. As well, debit card and credit card fees can be increased without justification.
Credit card fees are a percentage of a total sale and the federal government is prepared to allow Visa and MasterCard to enter the debit card business, effectively allowing Visa and MasterCard to change from small flat fees to a fee which will greatly increase the cost of all purchases.
The petitioners demand that the Conservative government enshrine in legislation that debit card fees be kept at a flat fee, and that credit card fees be made transparent and accountable.