Mr. Speaker, every year since I was first elected I have held a summer listening tour. Over the years I have heard important ideas, such as reducing interprovincial trade barriers to help small family wineries, or creating a better gas tax agreement to help municipalities like Kelowna and West Kelowna with infrastructure.
This year, I met with many credit unions and heard a growing concern about the introduction of new common reporting standards. These standards are designed to monitor bank accounts for international tax evasion, but not all financial institutions pose the same risk. If the government continues with the adoption of these new reporting standards next July, all credit unions will be required to implement a time-consuming compliance regime. Alternatively, the government could utilize the 98% test that is currently used with American FACTA standards, which exempts credit unions that have 2% or less of their assets held by non-residents. It is an approach that is already set up and works.
Focusing on the economy is job number one for any government of any stripe. Adding more red tape and costs to small and medium-sized credit unions is not helpful and will not grow the economy. I hope that the Minister of Finance reviews the current approach.