Mr. Speaker, the hon. member who has just spoken really was discussing section 16 of the act rather than the amendment he has put before the House regarding advertising in newspapers.
While there may be some relevance and I am not arguing that, I think he has misunderstood the thrust of the amendment that has already been proposed and which is subject to a vote. Also, I think he will be well satisfied with this bill and the Canadian public will be well satisfied when we have completed the amendments that have been proposed in the House today. I think the hon. member for Québec-Est knows that perfectly well.
I would like to speak in support of the amendment I proposed to clause 17 of this bill. Clause 17 deals with the powers of the minister to fix certain charges that may apply to the various services provided by the minister's department.
The government's original intent was that the legislation dealing with the departments of public works and government services, industry, and heritage would all include an identical clause dealing with fees for the sake of consistency and uniformity. However it is recognized that public works and government services differs from the other two departments in that the focus of its mandate is internal to government as opposed to delivering government programs to the Canadian public which is the case in the other departments I listed.
The vast majority of contractual arrangements that the minister signs and that involve charging for goods or services are made with other federal agencies. Generally speaking, the department delivers common services to some 150 federal departments and agencies. These services cover a wide range of activities.
They include: providing office furnishings and supplies; consulting services; real property and realty services; architectural and engineering services; communications and telecommunications services; and many more. The important point is that these are essentially intergovernmental arrangements that do not impinge directly on the department's relations with outside interests.
As a result and subsequent to debate on this clause, I put forward an amendment to its wording. Under the proposed amendment, the full wording of the clause would be as follows:
- The minister may, subject to any regulations that the Treasury Board may make for the purposes of this section, charge for services provided by the department pursuant to this act or any other act in force at the time this section comes into force.
Not only does this revised wording simplify the description of the minister's power in this area, it also more accurately describes the nature of the department and its functions. The use of the words "charging for services" rather than the original wording "fixing fees and charges" reflects the reality of the service nature of the department. It is in line with the wording found in the existing Supply and Services Act. For this reason I ask hon. members to support this amendment.
Clause 17 of this bill as amended establishes a clear, relatively simple and unbureaucratic regime for establishing charges for services made by the department. It is in line with the general thrust of the bill, which is to streamline government operations, reduce red tape and make the delivery of common services more cost effective.
However, the minister's powers in this area are by no means unlimited. One of the major constraints is that many of the services his department provides to the government are optional; that is, the client may accept them or look elsewhere for better value. This in itself is a powerful incentive to make sure the department's schedule of charges is well thought out and competitive with outside sources. Of course in establishing charges the minister must take into account the rules and guidelines of his own department, the Treasury Board, and other government bodies.
By giving the power to set charges to the minister rather than the department, clause 17 ensures the minister will be ultimately responsible to Parliament to answer any questions that may arise with regard to charges.