Mr. Speaker, an international consensus is emerging. Yesterday, the Minister of Finance indicated that Canada was dissenting, and told his G20 colleagues that he did not see the benefit of taxing financial institutions.
Is the minister aware that, in 2009, the after-tax profit of Canadian chartered banks was $15.6 billion and that in the first quarter of 2010 their after-tax profit totalled $5.3 billion? Why is the government so afraid of Bay Street?