Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and almost-neighbour from Chambly—Borduas.
I know that he works hard, since I have seen him first-hand, and I thank him for his relevant and logical speech.
In their 2014 budget, the Conservatives acknowledged that the transaction fees imposed on Canadian businesses were among the highest in the world and they promised to take action.
The result is that credit card companies only have to take measures on a voluntary basis. We have learned over the years that the Conservatives love self-regulation and allowing businesses to implement their own measures.
This shows that the Conservatives do not plan on standing up for SMEs and Canadian consumers when it could be detrimental to Bay Street interests.
The NDP called for the creation of an ombudsman to regulate the credit card fees that card issuers charge merchants.
Why does my colleague think that the Conservatives will not accept that suggestion?