Industry committee  I would add to what Nancy has said that the banks are very strong. They are very well capitalized, and they have taken into account the fluctuations in values. We're not seeing any evidence at all that it's having an impact on the availability of credit. We look at Statistics Canada data, we do our own discussions with banks, and there is no evidence that it's having a negative impact on the availability of credit.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I really appreciate that.

Finance committee  Thank you very much.

Finance committee  Yes, indeed.

Finance committee  Thank you. Karen, would you like to answer?

Finance committee  In fact the FCAC, which is government regulated, has this as their motto: shop around. They have packages, comparative online tools, where you can go through and find out what works best for you. They have about 110 different account packages from 19 institutions.

Finance committee  There is a whole series of due diligence steps, and we are continually reviewing them. That's the main point. You have to know who your customer is. That's the key to everything here when you talk about public security. By the way, concerning the fraud provisions under the Criminal Code, their sphere is different from identity theft.

Finance committee  Very quickly, most other countries do in fact have fees, and Canada's are lower than theirs. Ours are lower than those in the United States and all the countries in the EU. Sometimes a reference is made to the United Kingdom, where these convenience fees aren't charged. As I said earlier, we're number one in terms of ABMs.

Finance committee  Fair enough.

Finance committee  The first step we're taking is to strongly encourage the government to bring in legislation to make identity theft a crime. It is not now a crime. You can have the trunk of your car filled with the tools to break and enter, and that's a crime, but having the tools for identity theft is not a crime.

Finance committee  Can I comment on that point about incentive? As the minister said this morning, there are lots and lots of financial institutions. There are 70 banks and over 2,000 credit unions, caisses populaires, and trust companies. It is a highly competitive marketplace, and if you look at the spreads in Canada, they are among the lowest in the world.

Finance committee  There is no question that around the world you are seeing structural change in the industry. In terms of mergers and restructuring, there are different ways you can achieve the kind of clout you need internationally. As I'm sure you'll know, Mr. McCallum, these sorts of questions are so tied up with individual business decisions, but what I can say--

Finance committee  That's a really interesting question.

Finance committee  I would start off my minute by saying I would say, quite frankly, sir, that other countries can learn an awful lot from the Canadian regulatory system and the Canadian industry. Look at the United States, it's highly fragmented. We've got a national system. I would come back to the point that Mr.

Finance committee  I see. I was using international examples. Colleagues, what do you think?