Mr. Speaker, on behalf of dozens of constituents in New Westminster—Burnaby and dozens of citizens in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, I am pleased to present a petition, which has recruited hundreds of signatures across this country, sponsored by the good activists of the ACORN community organization. This petition seeks to make banking fair and to end predatory lending in Canada by limiting interest rates that can be charged; lowering the interest rates that exist under the Criminal Code, the maximum interest rate one can charge; creating a national anti-predatory lending strategy; and supporting alternatives to predatory lenders, such as postal banking and credit union products.
Lower-income Canadians often do not have access to the banking system. About 20% of Canadians do not have access to banking at all or have very little access to banking in their communities. By ending predatory lending and making banking fair, we would provide more support to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.