Finance committee  Absolutely. We have 80 banks in this country, and they compete against credit unions, financing companies, government-owned entities, venture capital...but you need to step away. You could look at the banking system, but you need to look beyond the banking system and look at other financial service providers to see the amount of competition that takes place in this country.

Finance committee  Yes, I think you're referring to variable-rate fixed-payment mortgages and, I think, to the renewal of mortgages in general. The banks are reaching out to their customers proactively to help those customers who are feeling impacted by the interest rate shock. There are a number of things that banks can do to help out their customers: moving into a fixed-rate mortgage, increasing the payments and helping them with lump-sum payments.

Finance committee  It was $18 billion.

Finance committee  There was $22 billion in dividends in 2022.

Finance committee  I'm saying that there were a number of factors impacting the banking industry. It has to manage capital requirements and liquidity requirements with taxes included. These are all things that the banks have to manage.

Finance committee  We're supportive of responsible innovation. Canadians have a tremendous amount of trust and confidence in their banking system and in their financial system. I think we have struck the balance in this country between providing excellent customer experience and having stability in the financial system.

Finance committee  There are a few things. Recently OSFI, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions—our regulator—put in place new regulations around the climate transition: guideline B-15. That outlines expectations around boards and the institutions they manage with respect to the climate transition.

Finance committee  In short, it's ultimately our customers who use those tax credits, and we're informing our customers of the tax credits that are available to them.

Finance committee  We would agree with that assertion. I would also add that we disagree with the idea of sector-specific taxes like the ones that were incurred by our industry last year. Yes, we are against retroactive taxation as well as sector-specific taxation.

Finance committee  This is part of the tax reform we were recommending in our pre-budget submission. Increasing investment in machinery and equipment innovation is critical. Unfortunately, our tax code was written several decades before intangible assets were part of the lexicon. I think there needs to be a review of the tax code.

Finance committee  You're proving my point.

Finance committee  That is something the government should look at.

Finance committee  Probably.

Finance committee  Canadians are able to open a bank account, and cash their cheque at their bank.

Finance committee  Yes.