Madam Speaker, the member is indulging in a little revisionist history when he talks about the situation regarding the banks.
The fact is that during whole period he referred to, the banks did want to merge so they could compete on the international market with the big American and worldwide institutions. The Liberal Party was only restrained from allowing the banks to merge by the NDP voices in the House.
The current government, when it was in opposition, was for deregulation. It pushed the government to allow the banks to merge. It wanted to follow the American-style deregulation, unshackling free enterprise and let it operate in an unfettered way.
I have complimented the previous government in the past for holding firm on that issue when it looked like the way to go was to follow the Americans. However, we know it was the NDP members who pushed the Liberal government of the day to disallow the bank mergers.
I want the member to be a little fair in how he assesses the situation and to not revise history too much in the process.