Mr. Speaker, I will try to observe your request.
I would like to commend the intent which the hon. member for Lambton-Middlesex has presented in Bill C-221. The intent of trying to create more competition and providing a more competitive marketplace is a good idea. Some of the things which the hon. member is trying to achieve are laudable and worthwhile.
I certainly agree with the previous speaker that this is not a partisan issue. It is a good idea to observe that, especially when we are debating Private Members' Business.
I would like to look at this from the perspective of the principle of legislation. The legislation should be supported by principle. The principle which is involved in this legislation is that it should encourage and maintain competition and entrepreneurship, as well as providing a level playing field.
Another characteristic is that it should be enforceable. That means it has to be clear, it has to be reasonable and, of course, it has to enjoy general public support. Those are rather significant matters of principle which any bill should have.
I would like to briefly refer to the provisions in the current legislation. It is very interesting what section 77(2) states. It states that the the director of investigation and research can apply to the tribunal for an order prohibiting a supplier from continuing to engage in exclusive dealings, if the supplier is a major supplier or if the practice is widespread in the market, and if the practice of exclusive dealing is likely to impede entry into or expansion of a firm in a market, or to impede the introduction of a product into or expansion of a product sales in the market, or to have any other exclusionary effect on the market, and if as a result of the practice of exclusive dealing competition is or is likely to be lessened substantially, that is, in a major way.
I would respectfully suggest that the provisions in the current legislation are adequate. Their enforcement however is very inadequate. The hon. member in this legislation is trying to find a way to
have the provisions that are contained in the existing legislation enforced more equitably and a little more easily.
If that is the issue, then the bill goes too far. It applies exactly the same way as the bill is being proposed to urban situations where there are very dense centres of population and to areas where there is sparse population. The problems of doing business are different in a highly concentrated population centre as compared with a sparsely settled area.
The intent of her legislation would definitely appeal and apply to the sparsely settled population centre. I could not agree more. I am not sure however that the same universal application would be equally well supported in large cities like Edmonton, or Toronto, or Ottawa for that matter.
Perhaps the question is, should we not provide for a more effective enforcement mechanism of the current legislation? I do believe, and the hon. member for Huron-Bruce indicated this, that Mazda had recognized that they should allow dual lines to boost the sales of their Mazda line. It is great. It is wonderful. That is the kind of line that the market will provide.
The legislation should allow for that freedom to exist. Where that freedom is interfered with, the director under the existing Competition Act should be allowed to interfere. The reason why he does not interfere is not totally clear to me. In the background information the indication was made that resources are inadequate for the director to actually pursue these kinds of deviations from the intent of the law.
I would respectfully suggest to the House that the appropriate resources be made available to the director so that he or she can prosecute those people who are not meeting the intent of the legislation. We need to be very careful about that sort of thing.
Something else exists in the current legislation which I believe is very inadequate. I would like to refer to some of the notes that the hon. member did make available to my office, which I really appreciate. I would like to read this into the record: "The exclusive dealing provision of the act gives exclusive jurisdiction to the director to move against restrictions on competition such as those inherent in anti-dualing provisions".
That is correct. That exclusive prosecution capability ought to be included in the dealer's ability to go to the tribunal and alert them that there is a problem. I would agree.
Perhaps the amendment includes that. But the amendment would have been more appropriate if that could have been expanded so that dealers could do that.
The next paragraph goes on: "Therefore individual dealers whose businesses are injured by the restrictions contained in anti-dualing simply do not have the right to instigate proceedings". That is the point and I agree completely with it. I know the hon. member said the amendment does that but I am not quite convinced that it does. Section 77(2) or earlier sections which give the director that exclusive right have not been eliminated. Therefore a different set of litigation laws has to be appealed to in order to make happen what the hon. member suggested would happen.
Finally, to be really effective and fair, an amendment to the act should not only allow for enforcement action against anti-dualing provisions in franchise agreements but also should be framed in such a way that a dealer or a member of the public-we are adding the member of the public now-who is injured by the existence or enforcement of such provisions will have the right to take private action against the restrictive provisions.
Those are the kinds of things that I believe should be included in the amendment to the current Competition Act. I agree with that and support it.
I find myself not in opposition to the bill but suggesting that some changes could be made that would make it a little more effective and that would make a distinction between the sparsely populated centre versus the densely populated centre because the problems are different. I know the sparsely populated centres are the ones where the current anti-dualling provisions handicap the dealers tremendously. They do not do the kinds of things the member is trying to do with this bill. I agree completely with that.
Perhaps this will improve it a little. Maybe the next time we come at this we will have it put together the way we need it.