Mr. Speaker, I think it is important today to put this whole debate into context. First of all, the hon. member moved:
That, in the opinion of this House, the government should consider repealing the Patent Act Amendment Act, Chapter 2,-
This is all very well but what will we replace it with? You know as well as I do how difficult if not utterly impossible it is to undo an omelet. This debate reminds me a little of the one we had on free trade a few years back. Even though I was one of those who voted against the free trade agreement then, I think it is impossible to go back, considering the investment decisions that have been made since. Going on with the free trade analogy, I think we should undoubtedly take into consideration, for example, the fact that plants that have closed in my riding because of free trade would not reopen if the agreement were cancelled. And those that opened since would surely close their doors. As you can see, when the eggs are broken, that's it! This is what I am trying to explain to this House.
Today we are faced with almost the same situation. An hon. member tells us we should cancel a measure which was approved a year ago. And with what would we replace it? What is the point now that investment decisions have already been made? Will that lower the price of drugs? We do not know. There is no proof of that. Will that encourage other industries? Probably not. Will this make us lose investments which could or should have been announced? This is quite possible. The problem with that kind of motion is that it does not take into account the constant evolution of things. Situations change. Moreover, as parliamentarians, we must realize that the situation changes not only in our country but all over the world.
I must say that, when we were debating Bill C-22 in this House seven years ago, I did not give much thought to the possibility that a GATT agreement would be signed in Marrakesh on April 15, 1994, and even less to the provisions of such an agreement. The same thing is true of Bill C-91.
I come back to Bill C-91 because there is something important about it. A little earlier today, during Question Period, the hon. members opposite said, and that is the other extreme: How dare you say that there will be a review of Bill C-91? You do not have to be a lawyer from Baie-Comeau-to use one of my favourite expressions-to understand that under, section 14 of Bill C-91, the present Act, there must be such a review. It is not optional, it is compulsory, it is written into the law. And guess who voted in favour of that bill? The hon. members of the Bloc who where here during the previous Parliament. They never proposed any amendment to remove that provision from the bill. So I say to them: Do not get carried away.
Do not tell me that this legislation will never be reviewed. You voted for a bill that provided for such a review without proposing an amendment to delete this provision. I have here a copy of Hansard for December 10, 1992. I have looked at it carefully. No such amendment was moved by members of the Bloc in 1992.
Members opposite, do not come and tell me that you are against a review of the act in 1997. If you do, you are a little late, like the rainbow. The rain has already fallen.
So, the act provides for a review to be conducted no later than in 1997. That is reality. Since the members opposite voted for the bill without moving an amendment to delete this provision, we can assume that they were not against it.
Of course, members of my party, including myself, proposed a series of amendments at the time. My amendments were rejected, but that is unimportant. It is water under the Perley Bridge, as they would say in Hawkesbury.
Nevertheless, Bill C-91 became law and that law still exists today. It is unreasonable to suggest that we should repeal it
completely, as the hon. member for Regina-Lumsden does in his motion, without offering any alternative to replace it.
I wonder what the hon. member would do if, God forbid, we had to vote on this. It is almost like watching a dog running after a tire, and wondering what would happen if it caught it.
Would he vote for it, knowing what the result would be the day after the vote? It is all very well to propose something, but one should always consider any proposal in the light of the following question: What will happen if it is agreed to? Because, should what he is proposing today get agreed to, the members opposite might face a deplorable situation.
It is easier to propose something, knowing very well that it has no chance of getting agreed to, than to propose something that just might be agreed to by other members of the House. Fortunately, the chances of the motion put forward by the hon. member for Regina-Lumsden being agreed to are almost nil. I think I have clearly shown why a little earlier.
In 1992 we had a full debate here in this House of Commons on that piece of legislation. At that time, members of various political parties publicly stated their point of view on the bill, and then Parliament, in its wisdom, no matter whether I agree or not with what it did, passed the legislation, but with a provision for a review which must take place in or before 1997. This was provided for in subsections 14(1) and 14(2) of the bill. I am sure you remember this clause very well, Mr. Speaker. You must have read it very carefully yourself.
Repealing this act today is not a solution to be considered, because it does not give us any assurance that prices would drop, that jobs would be created, or that research needed to find new drugs for various illnesses would be conducted.
Mr. Speaker, you know my 16-year-old daughter Julie, who is asthmatic. She must use a pump made by one of the large pharmaceutical companies based in Kirkland. Other similar products, albeit generic products, were recommended to her at one point. In her case, and I do not consider this trivial, the supposedly equivalent generic product did not prove to be effective. Her condition deteriorated. She leads a normal adolescent life, very active, but when she has a bronchitis attack, the situation is quite alarming at home. We must then immediately fetch one of these pumps. As expected, there is one pump in her school bag, and others scattered around the house. When we come across a pump that does not have a well known brand name, we avoid it, because we know the results, or rather, the lack of results that we can expect to have.
Research is crucial. I say this personally, based on my own experience. The member's initiative does not guarantee any improvement, any research, and any reduction in prices. Again, when the eggs are broken, that's it.