Mr. Speaker, I have a petition in support of postal banking.
Nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders, whose crippling lending rates affect the poor, marginalized, rural and indigenous communities most.
The petitioners point out that 3,800 Canada Post outlets already exist in rural areas where there are few or no banks at all. Canada Post has the infrastructure to make a rapid transition to include postal banking.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to create a committee to study and propose a plan for postal banking under the Canada Post Corporation.