Finance committee  Mr. Chair, under the act we actually have provisions to act. We have quite a range of powers. One is the power of examination. We have gone in on a number of institutions to do a special examination on particular behaviour and report out to the minister. Often, in generic terms,

Finance committee  There's a couple of things. First let's deal with the issue. If the issue arises and it's at variance with the law, such as on lending practices, we then open a case and do an investigation. We can hold the institution accountable by due process. We issue a notice of violation, a

Finance committee  I'm going to really try a yes-no answer; it's my western roots, you know--yes, no, or whatever. That really is in the policy realm of finance. There are a couple of factors. I think the ombuds network is evolving, as is this agency. It's hitting year four, five. If we move forwa

Finance committee  Yes. At a certain point, I think, I could review their complaint-handling mechanisms. I should quit using the word “network”, because the network of ombudsmen disappeared. It's the OBSI, the bank ombudsman network. It starts with individual banks and then it works up to one key o

Finance committee  They each provide an annual report. They outline the number of complaints and cases. All of that is available. They certainly could meet with you as to where their standing is. What I'm allowed to do under the law is to review their complaint-handling process, to make sure the pr

Finance committee  Yes, we do. We actually have a comparison product on our website that allows consumers to go through what their requirements are and work through which card would best suit their needs. We allow a cost comparison. Needless to say, the competitive players all want to be in on the

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, we do not have a government one. What happened at the time of the last legislative package was that from a policy point of view, the administration at the time responded to the industry in terms of the industry setting up their own self-reporting, self-regulatory om

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to begin by thanking you and your committee for the Financial Consumer Agency's first opportunity to come before the House finance committee--and to renew old friendships and to meet new people, in some cases. We are very pleased to be here. I b