MEDIA RELEASE

CANADIAN COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT COALITION CALLS ON PARTY LEADERS TO ACT ON THEIR PLEDGES OF BANKING REFORM

OTTAWA - Today, as the federal election moves through its final week, the Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition (CCRC) called on the leaders of several political parties to make a commitment to act on their parties proposed changes to the Bank Act and other financial institution legislation no matter what the outcome of the election.

"The Liberal, New Democrat, and Progressive Conservative parties have all made commitments concerning changes to banking legislation that will require greater disclosure of what banks are doing with Canadians money, and will help ensure that banks meet the demand for capital from job-creating small businesses," said Duff Conacher, Chairperson of the CCRC, "The CCRC wants the party leaders to commit to taking whatever steps they can to enact their proposed changes no matter what form the next government takes after the election." (Background on Party Policies and Platforms on Banking Issues)

The CCRC, made up of 46 groups from eight provinces, was launched in December and is educating and advocating for a higher standard of service for Canadians from their banks, and changes to banking legislation to ensure that Canadians can hold banks accountable to community interests. list of members and supporters

"Canada's financial institutions have escaped scrutiny of their lending for decades, and we have seen the results of this lack of accountability over the past ten years as they have lost billions of dollars through speculative lending to developing countries and real estate developers like Olympia and York," said Duff Conacher, "We have also seen mounting evidence that the demand for capital from the small business sector, which has created 80 percent of the new jobs in Canada over the past decade, is not being met."