Finance committee  Okay. We want the federal government to play a leadership role to ensure—I agree that we should be thinking about harmonization that is in line with constitutional jurisdiction over environmental matters. However, we have to make an effort to try to work together, which is what

Finance committee  I think that retailers should have the right to make information about fees public. People need to know what the fees are and have enough information to manage things properly. These are major costs. This is not just about consumer choice, about figuring out which card to use. Re

Finance committee  Visa and MasterCard plan to use fixed rates and ad valorem rates based on the value of the transaction. There is mixed information about fees involved in getting their program up and running. But it is clear that the ad valorem concept will be used with the Visa and MasterCard de

Finance committee  I was not the one who said that. It was the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance. I agree with the Senate committee's conclusions.

Finance committee  Yes, contracts between merchants, retailers and credit card companies—organizations like Visa and MasterCard—include restrictions and prohibitions against promoting or supporting the use of one credit card over another. What you said is correct.

Finance committee  That might be a step forward for consumers, but it does not address the problem that retailers are dealing with. In our case, there are no provisions or guidelines to make the system more transparent. We really have no way of knowing fee increases for particular cards. Nor do we

Finance committee  I would like to thank you for your question, Mr. Laforest. The Australian experience is an example. We are not necessarily suggesting that it be systematically applied here, but it does give you a chance to see a concept that was applied, that has been in action for a few years,

Finance committee  Therefore, on this issue the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail believes that the federal government should take the appropriate measures to avoid the introduction of interchange or other such fees that are not based on the true costs of debit transactions, and subject all c

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Finance for giving us this opportunity to speak to them about two concerns we have as part of the pre-budget consultations. The first has to do with the impact of the increase in debit and cred