Mr. Speaker, I think if I were not a parliamentarian today and were instead sitting at home in my riding listening to this debate and looking at the significant piece of legislation we are debating, I would be shaking my head and saying, these are the problems I am facing day to day.
We know that the ratio of consumer debt to disposable income is a critical factor in the stability of a nation's well-being, and we can see that is very high now. We can also look at the kinds of practices out there for granting mortgages, which are actually resulting in a play on the housing market, a market that has not slowed down at all. In this regard I would point out that most young people in my community cannot even afford to buy a house because house prices are so high.
When I look at all of these things, I keep thinking, why do my colleagues across the aisle not want to take the time to do a comprehensive and meaningful review but just deal with technicalities instead, and why do we not want to hold the banks more accountable for their actions?