Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of Bill C-216.
Negative option billing has been used by cable companies in the past to the consternation of tens of thousands of Canadians. As parliamentarians we face a clear choice on this issue. We can lead Canadians into the 21st century by creating laws to regulate the manner in which cable companies market their increasingly vast array of channels or we can leave it to the industry to formulate these policies.
Parliamentarians are accountable to citizens. The industry is accountable to its shareholders. It is up to us to determine whose interests are paramount. We must take a leadership role and ensure Canadians are presented with clear choices from cable companies. Our decision on this matter will send a clear signal on the manner in which parliamentarians view the role of government in the large communications revolution sweeping Canada and the world. The cable industry is part of this phenomenon, which includes the Internet and soon direct to home satellite television.
The emergence of these new technologies has evolved to a level where we can truly say we are witnessing the evolution of a new frontier. It is a frontier without political or geographic boundaries, a frontier which offers infinite choices to consumers and a frontier where entertainment and productivity share the same medium.
We must be mindful that it is also a frontier in which the roles of government and large corporations remain largely undefined. We are faced with the choice of how to approach this frontier. We have demonstrated we are not afraid to act in the best interests of Canadians with respect to the Internet.
The Minister of Justice has indicated that he intends to introduce legislation to deter the promotion of hate propaganda in cyberspace. I applaud the minister for this initiative which reinforces the principle that government should become involved in an issue when it is in the best interests of Canadians.
From an ethical perspective this is certainly the case with respect to negative option billing. The notion that a consumer can be charged for a product which they have not explicitly indicated they wish to purchase contradicts the principles of the free marketplace. Specifically, the principle of consumer choice which is central to our economy is threatened by such schemes.
The unprecedented consumer protests of early 1995 against negative option billing strongly suggest Canadians support the salience of consumer choice. Bill C-216 recognizes this reality. Canadians joined together to protest negative option billing. Now is not the time for parliamentarians to abandon them to cable companies.
There is certainly a great need for clarity among the billing practices in the cable industry. A poll by Compass Research in 1993 found that 66 per cent of cable subscriber recipients believed they are receiving basic cable service, the lowest priced channel package. The reality was that only 8 per cent of the subscribers actually received basic services. Ninety-two per cent of cable subscribers received extended services of some kind but only 34 per cent were aware they were paying more than the basic rate. This is unacceptable.
I am confident it would have been remedied if we had been dealing with any other industry. In all fairness to the cable industry, there is currently a lag between the technology available to allow consumers to pay for only those channels they want and the technology which offers a virtual universe of channels.
Cable companies are feeling pressure from consumers to expand the choices available to them. In response to these demands they have assembled packages of specialty channels. The element of choice which cable companies are trying to promote through this scheme is lost with negative option billing.
The president of Rogers Cablesystems stated that without negative option billing subscriber acceptance rates would be cut and new channels would have difficulty surviving. While I have only the best wishes for new speciality channels, this cable company is pinning its survival on successfully deceiving Canadians into make a purchase they otherwise would have refused.
It is time for a new plan. It is not acceptable to implement a billing regime whose purpose is to deceive consumers into making a purchase. The cable industry has admitted this the main appeal and function of negative option billing. In the interests of Canadian consumers it is time we put an end to this practice.
I congratulate the member for Sarnia-Lambton for introducing this much needed legislation.