Hansard – April 11, 2019

  Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP): Mr. Speaker, we learned that the finance minister and the big banks worked together to skew a report that proved banks have predatory practices and abuse their own customers. Banks misled consumers by lying about credit card fees, mortgage rates and banking fees, to name a few.

    Instead of protecting consumers, the Liberals decided to protect the banks by editing the report and trying to cover up the truth. This is shameful. Canadians are tired of the Liberal government being an apologist for consumer abuse, manipulation and exploitation.

    The Minister of Public Safety bragged about fines and penalties. Does he actually have the courage to act on them?

    Mr. Joël Lightbound (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, nothing the member just said could be further from the truth.

    We took the report very seriously and went forward with measures to prohibit banks from providing misleading information to customers, to prohibit banks from exerting undue pressure on consumers to buy products or services, to require banks to have policies in place to make sure consumers receive products that are appropriate for them, and increase penalties for banks from $500,000 to $10 million, something the Conservatives failed to do for 10 years.

    May I remind the New Democratic members that they voted against these measures.