Finance committee  I think in a democracy that is founded on the rule of law, the independence of the police, from not only the government but also those who they investigate, is paramount. So I would put the independence of the police at the top of the list. I would follow that with competency.

Finance committee  I'd just like to add a comment. I'm on the investment committee of the United Church of Canada. We're a governance body for the external management of the pension plan for the ministers and staff of the United Church. I want to make a point about corporate governance. I don't think it's appropriate for governments to give prescriptive rules on exactly what to invest in and what is denied and what should be the appropriate percentages.

Finance committee  Blame it on the witness who answered!

Finance committee  It's under Public Safety. It reports to Peter Van Loan and also to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

Finance committee  First of all, I want to make it clear that we're not talking about a national securities commission. We believe that the Autorité is a securities commission and that its best skills and its jurisdictional territory are in the administration of the Quebec Securities Act. What we're proposing is a passport model, a federal and provincial securities crime unit that comprises police experts who are going to allocate investigations to Quebec—

Finance committee  —where Quebec has proper jurisdiction. So I think we agree.

Finance committee  First of all, IMET spends $40 million a year on securities crime policing, and according to the feedback we've had from the Toronto Police Services fraud squad and other fraud squads of Canada, as of 2003, the RCMP has taken effective exclusive jurisdiction. The RCMP, in the white-collar securities crime area, notwithstanding having spent in excess of $30 million per year since 2003, has been successful in only two prosecutions, and individuals were found to have been guilty of securities fraud and were placed in Canadian prison.

Finance committee  Good morning. I'm going to speak this morning about toxic investment products and how they've contributed to the financial crisis in Canada. My apologies. I have a very hoarse voice this morning. Hopefully I'll get through this. The financial crisis in Canada is wreaking havoc on millions of Canadians through pension fund underfunding, lost savings, and now lost jobs.

Finance committee  They're probably the safe ones.

Finance committee  One of the big problems with the vote under the CCAA process is that there are courts whose function is to resolve disputes. There are other dispute resolution mechanisms, and some don't work that well, but we also haven't mentioned today the ombudsman for banking services and investments.

Finance committee  Well, there is a mechanism that works today; the problem is that these people are being denied access to it. We can come back on this, subject to another hearing on how we can fix the current dispute mechanisms, which are not working as well as they should. For the most part, all of the dispute mechanisms are controlled by the industry, and the courts are too expensive.

Finance committee  Well, I guess I would say to the provincial securities commissions that they've lost their right to govern and regulate. The cracks in asset-backed commercial paper were so clear to Standard & Poor's that there is absolutely no basis on which they can justify what took place. Consequently, it's in the interest of national economic prosperity for the federal government to proceed, as necessary, according to the demands of Canadian people, to use its constitutional powers to enter into securities regulation jointly, including in collaboration with Quebec.

Finance committee  I would like to make the point that it's my understanding that Juroviesky and Ricci, with their sublegal counsel, intends to enter the court next week. They're going to raise the issue that there are retail owners who are being asked to vote yes, and to waive their legal rights.

Finance committee  That's what they say the problem was.

Finance committee  It would have been logical for the pan-Canadian committee and the major banks of Canada to know they had a business problem, and that there was $350 million worth of paper for which there was a strong legal case to be made that they had been sold on the basis of misrepresentation and broker negligence.