Senator Colin Deacon

Forty percent of Canadians live in places with fewer than 100,000 people and rural communities are perennially underserved by our financial system. In this Ministerial Question Period, Senator Deacon asks the Minister of Rural Economic Development of Canada to what extent Open Banking is considered a complementary tool to help address a worrying problem undermining livelihoods and economic potential in rural Canada.

Making sure that Canada is a top destination for businesses to invest, grow and create jobs and prosperity for Canadians is one of the Government's top priorities. The Strategic Innovation Fund's (SIF) objective is to spur innovation for a better Canada by providing funding to support innovative, intellectual property-rich firms (targeted $250M investment over five years). Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to ask the Government Representative of the Senate when Canadian companies will start to receive funding on equal terms with foreign companies, incentivizing them to strengthen their IP portfolio, which is crucial to their global competitiveness.

Prepaid solutions can quickly, securely, and equitably serve all Canadians better and more cost-effectively. Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to suggest Senator Yussuff, sponsor of Bill C-31, consider the prepaid payments solutions to boost the rollout of Canada's new dental care benefit.