Finance committee  It is possible. It clears overnight.

Finance committee  But within the bank system, as far as we know, it's clearing.

Finance committee  Yes, that's true in some cases, or if the cheque is from out of the country. They could make slightly longer periods for other things. Mr. Lawford could speak to this as well, I'm sure. If you're talking about bank-to-bank cheques within Canada, the CPA will tell you that 98% are

Finance committee  You mean from the banks' side?

Finance committee  You're asking me to argue in favour--

Finance committee  This is really putting me on the spot. There is no argument: 98% of things clear overnight. It was left in Bill C-8 as the one barrier the banks could still have in place that would mean that nobody with a low income, no one on social assistance, would open a bank account. It w

Finance committee  We may think that, but there are no statistics to prove it. A survey made by the federal government in 2002 showed that there were problems, depending on the kind of person applying for a loan.

Finance committee  No.

Finance committee  Precisely. But this was only a small survey. In 1999, the government created a system called the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Financing Data Initiative. Statistics Canada carries out the surveys in partnership with Industry Canada, but the sampling is too small to truly eval

Finance committee  The coalition is not proposing a particular percentage. We would like to see a system that requires the banks to release information on loan applications. The banks grant loans to consumers. The United States have a system and a method to determine whether the person asking for t

Finance committee  We do not want a percentage. We want exactly the same system as already exists in the United States.

Finance committee  No, it doesn't work according to a percentage.

Finance committee  It is a service for people applying for loans for a small- or medium-sized business. Suppose that 500 of the 1,000 applicants are black. The banks need to grant an equivalent amount of loans to the black and white applicants. The blacks are just as credit-worthy as their white co

Finance committee  The government has tried pretty much everything so far, and the competitors don't step up. Why? Because the best locations are already taken, and the start-up costs are enormous. Foreign banks have testified to that now for 15 years. When you have a market such as that, as we d

Finance committee  No, there are enormous barriers.