Mr. Speaker, I realized there were some hazards when I got into the political business, but I did not realize I would be interrupted for 349 days, almost a year, on an
important statement that I was making. Because I have so little time left I want to get right to the statement.
Bill C-52 would put into action a decision made by the previous government to establish the department and we are dealing with some amendments to the bill. I go on record as reviewing what I said almost a year ago and emphasizing as strongly as I can that I think we would make a gross error in approving some of the items in the bill unless we accept the amendment proposed by the Bloc to delete clause 16.
We run the risk of actually losing the very foundation of the economic system of the country, namely free enterprise or the private initiative to go out and get it. The government has taken it upon itself to tax everyone to death and use that money to subsidize activities that should properly take place in the private sector and, most important, to compete unfairly with it.
It is unjustifiable to force businesses to pay taxes and then use that money to provide the services the companies are in the business of providing. It is a contradiction that will destroy the economic basis of the country if we proceed. I emphasize as strongly as possible that we should not do what the bill proposes, which is to give the Minister of Public Works and Government Services carte blanche to do anything for anyone as the bill proposes, just anything that he decides, using government departments to provide engineering services, printing services, advertising services, all the services which many businesses depend on in order to provide for their employees for their very survival.
Instead, we have this move by the government to give the minister unbridled ability to do whatever he or she wants in terms of competing with private enterprise. That is a wrong principle.
Let us ask for some careful thought on the part of the government. Let us not wait until the other place has to be the Chamber of sober second thought. Let us do some sober thinking in this Chamber and defeat this bill unless we can get the amendments for which we asked.