Mr. Speaker, one of the things I would like to ask my colleague about is the credit unions.
The credit union is a pretty dynamic force in our rural communities, as I am sure it is in rural communities in his riding. I know in Atlantic Canada there are a tremendous number of credit unions that serve a need no longer served by the big banks. One of the provisions in the bill would allow mergers across provincial lines, so it would allow more scope for the credit unions to actually work a little more in the nation.
One of the comments of the credit union folks when they did come to committee was specifically about the implementation timeline. There was not any argument from them with respect to the legislative aspect. However, they were concerned about the coming into force timeline and the regulatory environment on that coming into force, so that they could actually have enough time to solicit their members. It is important in a member-driven organization, as the member would know, to do that.
Generally in the committee, there was a lot of sympathy for the two years. I think finance had indicated to the credit unions that it was somewhere around a two-year implementation period. There was no argument with the legislative aspect; it was the coming into force provision.
Is the member aware of that? Would he support a good consultative process in the next two years to make sure that is brought in correctly?