Mr. Speaker, the general thrust of Bill C-52 is to allow the Minister of Public Works and Government Services the opportunity within existing laws and regulations to develop the most efficient possible system for delivering common services to the government.
An amendment has been put forward by the member for Kingston and the Islands to clause 17 of the bill, which will allow the minister, subject to Treasury Board regulations, to charge for services provided by his department.
This is a simple and direct approach to price and fee setting and determination.
This approach reduces to a minimum the administrative time and costs involved, both to the department and to its client departments.
Another amendment to clause 17 proposed by the hon. member for Québec-Est would have exactly the opposite effect. Adopting this motion would result in substantial additional costs, a heavier bureaucratic structure and considerable delay in the price setting process for the department's services.
This goes directly against the grain of what the government and most members want to see; namely, more efficiency and economy in government operations and less red tape.
There is already a framework within government that ensures that any authorities granted are being executed to safeguard the interests of Canadian taxpayers. It should also be noted that the services provided by the Department of Public Works and Government Services are offered to other departments on an optional basis and not to the general public.
This means that client departments and interested agencies may either accept the department's rates or look for other ways of satisfying their requirements.
This in itself is a very strong incentive to the minister and the department to ensure that the rates they charge are fair and competitive with others in the marketplace.
The wording proposed by the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands is better suited to the realities of Public Works and Government Services Canada. The amendment proposed by the hon. member for Québec-Est would just create a heavier bureaucratic structure, result in higher costs and not protect the public interest any better.
The motion being put forward by the member for Kingston and the Islands more appropriately reflects the approach to be taken in this instance. I ask all members of the House to support it.
We must show the taxpayers that we can operate more effectively and serve them better with fewer people and less money.
This is essentially what Bill C-52 is all about. The new department has already demonstrated its value in cutting costs and eliminating duplication.