Federal Conservatives support competition in banking
The Conservative Party of Canada may traditionally be thought of as a friend of big business, but the election campaign platform unveiled this week promises to boost competition and favour consumers, even if it means taking on large, monopolistic businesses including the big banks.
For starters, the platform document, dubbed Canada's Recovery Plan, has a pledge to bring in legislation to enact open banking.
This is to make it easier for Canadians to use fintech startups for financial products and services, including mortgages, lines of credit and credit cards. Not only are the Conservatives pledging to make rival fintechs more accessible, they say they're doing so to “ensure that Canadians get the banking services they need at a price they can afford.”
They're also seeking to win votes with a pledge to order the Competition Bureau to investigate bank fees, and increase transparency when it comes to investment management fees by “requiring the banks to show invest returns net of fees so that seniors and savers don't get ripped off.”
Finance isn't the only sector where the Tories are taking aim at David-versus-Goliath-style competition concerns and zeroing in on the power of the Bureau. The platform document says their plans include “reining in big tech companies.” If they win, a technology task force will be created within the Competition Bureau “to examine whether dominance and anti-competitive behaviour of big tech is damaging to Canadian industry,” the document says.
Among the goals of stepped up scrutiny and action on competition across the board are lower prices and jobs, according to the document. “Canada's Conservatives will give our competition laws real teeth to prevent a few big companies from dominating whole industries and pushing up prices,” it promises.
“We will also stand up to corporate Canada and reject mergers that substantially reduce competition and lead to layoffs and higher prices.”