Madam Speaker, I have a few comments to make to the hon. member's submission.
I invite the hon. member to point out where the government would find the authority to freeze any acquisitions that do not violate the provisions of any statute enacted by this Parliament.
The government has no authority to freeze or block commercial transactions as he may be suggesting. In fact, he knows very well that his remedy is to go to his friends in the NDP in Saskatchewan. They are the ones who can remedy any matter about which he has complaints. But he will not go to those friends. He is trying to make this a political issue for the next election by simply running a smear campaign on what has been done thus far.
Second, freedom of speech is guaranteed under the charter of rights and freedoms.
Third, there are fundamental changes under way in methods of communications. Radio, television and now the Internet provide excellent vehicles for the exchange of information and opinion.
The hon. member made reference to certain political donations. It is interesting that he never makes any comment about the political donations being made by the Bank of Nova Scotia to the NDP. The donations being made by others pale in comparison to what the Saskatchewan NDP has received from the bank and he makes these comments in the House, which are very surprising.
The enforcement of the Competition Act is entrusted to the director of investigation and research who is an independent law enforcement official. His role under the merger provisions of the Competition Act is to review the economic implication and concentration of ownership. The director is not mandated to look at social issues such as editorial diversity which the NDP is pushing.