Transport committee  You're referring specifically to delays, and I already referenced that. That, in my mind, is about the only area that I saw in there that perhaps needed a slight wording change to make sure that the extraordinary measures applied in that situation, as well.

Transport committee  You've covered an awful lot of ground here, sir. With respect to the parliamentary procedures, I'm sorry, I'm not familiar enough with them to know what can and cannot be done. When I referred to possible alterations, I was thinking of a couple of very simple ones with respect to delays that would not necessarily make cancellation the default position but would perhaps clarify a situation with respect to delays.

Transport committee  Thank you for the opportunity to present our views on Bill C-310. We received the invitation to attend less than 24 hours ago, so my remarks will be brief. The Consumers' Association of Canada is a 62-year-old, independent, not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization with a national office in Ottawa and provincial and territorial representatives.

Transport committee  Our mandate is to inform and educate consumers on marketplace issues, to advocate for consumers with government and industry, and to work with government and industry to solve marketplace problems in beneficial ways. For the past 25 years, the performance of successive Canadian governments with respect to consumer protection has been less than stellar.

Health committee  Quickly, in terms of individuals, they're not interested in reporting; they're interested in finding out what it means to them. Going back to the question about reporting positive results, I'd be quite concerned about that. If you're reporting negative results, it indicates that further testing is required.

Health committee  I think it just won't happen. By putting that kind of obligation on the consumer.... We're all so time-pressed as it is, we don't get to do the things we want to do now. I think the natural reaction is to query, should this be happening, and is it of concern to me? Once they get an answer to that question, they're not going to go beyond that.

Health committee  I think we get ourselves into a bit of a bind here when we talk about professional reporting systems. Of course, it is a different situation when you have specified groups who are involved with the medical profession in a much more active way than, say, 98% or 99% of the population out there.

Health committee  Yes. I'm certainly in favour of having more information sooner rather than less. I'm not familiar with the exact process, but if they wait until it's published somewhere to have the information, I think that's too long. There should be some mechanism by which the appropriate agencies internationally exchange this information, perhaps even at the early stages.

Health committee  No. We get no money at all, actually.

Health committee  Dr. Bennett, I can't answer that question directly. But I would take it back several steps and say I think it would be very appropriate at this time for the federal government to take a look at consumer protection in its entirety, which has fallen underneath the floorboards ever since the disbandment of the consumer agency approximately 20 years ago, and start at the top, looking at what needs to be done in terms of consumer protection across all areas.

Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. We at the Consumers' Association are very pleased to have this opportunity to appear here today. By way of background, for over 60 years the Consumers' Association of Canada has represented the interests of ordinary Canadians in their role as consumers of goods and services as provided by both the public and private sectors.

Finance committee  If the financial institutions or the banks indeed felt they could attract more customers to them rather than to their competition, yes, it's what competition is all about. We see there is quite a great deal of competition in the marketplace. All of us would like to pay less than we are paying for just about anything we do or buy, and that is the case here.

Finance committee  You're quite right. In other organizations, one would never take a look at the cost of only one specific service. You have to look at the overall cost of the operation and determine what is profitable. Talking about retail, we know that sometimes they're sold at less than cost for marketing purposes and at other times they are sold for ridiculously high markups in the hope that it all averages out.

Finance committee  Again, it's very difficult to assess, because you'd be taking one product or service out of context and separating it from the others. It may be there are certain circumstances that require a different look, such as those where a market is not served at all or is indeed underserved.

Finance committee  Madam, I think you are going well beyond the purview of what we are here to discuss.