Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on Bill C-323, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
It has been two weeks since the Minister of Industry introduced Bill C-109, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Income Tax Act.
The bill contains more than 70 amendments to the BIA. The amendments fine tune the laws regarding commercial bankruptcy and introduce new features involving consumer bankruptcy. The legislation has been designed to assist Parliament in its three-year review of the BIA.
The House welcomed the opportunity to look at the bankruptcy laws in more detail. After all, Canada's bankruptcy laws must protect the interests of borrowers, lenders, insolvent practitioners and government. These interests are so varied and complex that over the decades bankruptcy laws have been very difficult to reform.
Bankruptcy laws are an integral part of the framework legislation that established the rules of the marketplace in which buyers, sellers, lenders and borrowers can make transactions with confidence that the law will treat them fairly.
Among the issues covered in Bill C-109 was the treatment of court fines in assault cases in the event of bankruptcy. The government proposed that people who had been accused of sexual or physical assault should not be able to turn to bankruptcy as a way of avoiding penalties imposed by the civil courts. Fines for physical or sexual assaults become non-dischargeable in the event of bankruptcy under Bill C-109.
The legislation is now before the House and when it is in front of the committee, the committee will have the opportunity to study it in detail and to make appropriate amendments.
One such amendment should be the proposal before us today, that section 178 which lists non-dischargeable debts also includes the following:
-any damages in respect of an assault or battery awarded by a court pursuant to a judgment rendered in a civil proceeding and interest on the damages before or after judgment ordered by the court or payable by law.
The key difference between Bill C-109 and Bill C-323 is the addition in the hon. member's bill of including interest on damages as part of the non-dischargeable portion of a bankruptcy debt. This is an excellent amendment. I commend the hon. member for New Westminster-Burnaby for it.
I would like to see the same principle applied to all categories listed in section 178, not just the assault cases. I would prefer to see the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act amended so that either the interest issue is addressed specifically in each category or, conversely, have it addressed generically so that it is clear that it applies to all categories listed in section 178.
I do not believe debate on a private member's bill is the most appropriate place to make these changes. All of us are concerned about the efficient allocation of House time and I would rather see the issue discussed in committee when it reviews Bill C-109. That being said, I congratulate the hon. member for his worthwhile contribution to the amendment of Canada's bankruptcy laws.
Too often in the House we fail to acknowledge the perceptiveness and integrity of suggestions that come from the other side of the floor. Perhaps this is one reason Canadians have become impatient and cynical about politicians. They see us perform during question period. They are witness to the bickering and sniping that show politics at its worst.
What Canadians do not see in the clips from question period that make the nightly TV news is that behind the scenes and in committee there is a common purpose among members of the House. We are working hard to make things better for Canadians.
Perhaps we ought to make more of an effort to congratulate one another in public. Behind the curtains we often have a kind word for our colleagues on the other side of the floor. Sometimes we will ruefully congratulate them on a political point well scored. The time has come for us to acknowledge without shame when members across the floor come up with good ideas that ought to be a part of government policy.
This is one such occasion. I commend the hon. member for his work on bankruptcy reform. I look forward to hearing what he will have to say to the committee if he agrees the committee is a more suitable forum for his ideas to be discussed.