Mr. Speaker, I wonder how many members in this place do their banking with a credit union? I ask that question because, thanks to the big-government approach of the Liberals, fairly soon the answer will be zero. Any day now, archaic decades-old provisions of the out-of-date Bank Act will be enforced. That will mean that credit unions will no longer be able to use the words “bank”, “banking”, and “banker”. By extension, “online banking”, opening a “bank account”, and “bank with us” will basically become outlawed words, subject to big fines.
This needless word hunt will not only confuse middle-class consumers but will also impose yet another costly regulatory burden on Canada's credit unions, which have been particularly hard hit by the present Liberal government.
On behalf of the many credit unions in my riding and as a member of the all-party parliamentary credit union caucus, I would ask that the finance minister stop this needless action. One would think that the finance minister would better spend his time balancing the books.