Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm delighted to be here today to discuss this legislation with you.
You've already asked me probably the afternoon's toughest question. The answer is that we call the bill “PIPEDA”, but I too have heard all kinds of variations. Whether or not you want to adopt our pronunciation is up to you.
You may wonder why Industry Canada is responsible for this particular piece of legislation. Let me tell you that we started worrying about the digital economy long ago. We anticipated the creation of databases and electronic commerce, the whole digital economy that goes with the Internet. We thought there should be pretty reasonable and clear rules of engagement in the marketplace in the so-called digital economy, particularly online. That's why we introduced this bill way back, after many years of trying to get consensus on what the provisions of this particular legislation might be.
As you know, a lot of people on the outside are very eager to appear in front of you to share with you their advice on how this legislation has been performing, and perhaps to give you their suggestions for improvement; you can always improve things.
With your permission, then, I would like to have Richard Simpson take you through a slide deck. I believe you all have copies of this particular deck. It tries to lay out what this act is about and the provisions in it. After that, maybe we can open up the discussion.