Thank you for your question. As regards a comparison between the ridings of Beauce and Portneuf, you are right that we represent people who are entrepreneurs, people who believe in their success and in themselves. I am very proud to represent the Beauce region, and I am certain that you are just as proud to represent your riding. People from the Beauce may not benefit from the deregulation of telephone services quite as quickly as we would have liked, but I do hope that one day, they will derive the same benefits as people living in the major urban centres across the country.
I have confidence in the Competition Bureau; I believe the Commissioner is doing a fantastic job. She told the Committee that when there are serious problems, they address them and allocate the necessary resources to carry out studies as quickly as possible and issue injunctions, when necessary.
The Competition Bureau has all the resources it needs to be in a position to take action and sanction anti-competitive behaviour or an industry player that abuses its dominant position. It has all the necessary resources to do that. But we would like to provide it with an additional tool to counter this kind of behaviour. That's why I'm asking the Committee to look at Bill C-41, a bill that is in the interests of consumers, since it will ultimately give the Competition Bureau more teeth, by enabling it to impose administrative monetary penalties of as much as $15 million and issue injunctions after conducting a comprehensive, but expeditious, study of a given situation.
The Competition Bureau has a role to play. It is an independent government organization, as you know. I believe the new power related to administrative monetary penalties that would be given to the Competition Bureau once Bill C-41 has been passed into law, is in the interests of consumers and Canadians as a whole. I am confident that the Bureau will act expeditiously if this bill is passed and if a situation arises in the market place which shows that a company is not abiding by the rules laid out in the Competition Act.
Thank you for your interest in Bill C-41 and I hope that this bill can receive appropriate consideration at second and third readings as soon as possible.