Madam Speaker, my remarks in this debate at the second reading stage of Bill C-38 are essentially based on ethical and philosophical considerations as a result of my parliamentary obligations as agriculture and agri-food critic for the official opposition.
This statement may seem a bit obscure, but you will soon understand my point of view in light of the information I will give you.
Bill C-38 to provide for mediation between insolvent farmers and their creditors will provide an important legal base for resolving conflicts of a financial nature. This new act will repeal and replace the Farm Debt Review Act, making administrative procedures easier for farmers and providing for a more equitable settlement for creditors.
At first glance, we have to salute this initiative by the department which seems to show greater concern for all agricultural producers. Several agricultural groups, through their executive committees, have supported this piece of legislation. The Bloc Quebecois will probably do the same when Bill C-38 is sent to committee for clause by clause study.
There are, however, some apprehensions on the part of producers who will inevitably find themselves in financial difficulty some day. Bill C-38 will replace the Farm Debt Review Act, which gave producers having financial problems the opportunity to benefit from the economic expertise of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food in order to avoid even more serious problems. In other words, the department offered an indebtedness prevention service, as well as the technical tools and the support needed to recover from these difficult situations.
In this perspective, it looks like producers will benefit from a more complete support from the department, but only in cases where the producer will no longer be able to call the shots. In other words, the farmer using the provisions of Bill C-38 will be at the mercy of his creditors.
To put it another way, in order for a farmer to benefit from this new bill, he will, to all intents and purposes, have to have his neck in a noose. At that point, he will be at the end of the road, whereas before he could start to look at the possibilities before being in debt up to his ears.
This, then, is the ethical and philosophical dimension I was mentioning at the beginning of my speech. How can the government refuse, or at least limit, the recourse open to an individual faced with a potential crisis? It would perhaps be an idea to look more closely at this aspect of the bill, which on the whole is innovative and in line with the modern current that has characterized the agricultural sector in this country for a number of years now.
We know for a fact that the government's initiatives to reform this sector of agricultural legislation are part of a move to put its fiscal house in order.
In fact, this amendment will permit savings of a million dollars. This is a huge amount, given that in 1995-96 the government invested $3.2 million in this regard. One million over three million, or 33 per cent, represents a huge amount percentage- wise. For the size of the country, one million is not such a large amount, but still it is a beginning. It is a step in the right direction.
However, it is vital to ensure that this savings is not achieved at the expense of citizens in dire financial straits. For if that were the case, this measure would no longer be laudable or profitable. In fact, one may wonder if the social costs of this measure would not be greater than the resulting savings.
On another point, Bill C-38 calls for abolition of the offices responsible for mediating between the producer and his debtors, replacing them by a similar body of another organization. Looking at this in the precise terms of the bill, the mediator's responsibility would in future fall to a single individual appointed by a regional administrator, himself appointed by the department and responsible for implementation of the act at the regional level.
Needless to say, this alternative opens up the possibility of another ethical problem of considerable scope, relating to the appointment of a public servant responsible for default mediation, and leaves the door wide open to a sort of latent patronage. It is logical to assume that certain hiring criteria might be formulated so as to work around the requirements of the Public Service Employment Act.
In this connection, it is vital for there to be a public debate on the appointment of these administrators, so as to ensure that no advantage may be taken of the appointment. There must also be assurance that there will be a pool of mediators, to avoid the same people being used every time.
The same logic applies to the designation of the appeal committees, also to be set up by the minister. Without becoming totally paranoid, the official opposition is entitled to call for more details on these specific aspects of the bill. We support the principle according to which Bill C-38 will give more responsibility to producers in managing their own affairs, particularly since this legislative measure will have the effect of generating a million dollars worth of savings.
In closing, I would like to draw your attention to the way the mediator is appointed. Care would have to be taken to avoid repetition-and with this I shall close-of the often disgraceful actions taken in the Canada Employment Centres, particularly when it comes to appointing the chair and the members of an arbitration committee. Often people are appointed merely on the basis of their political opinions, people who have never been near a real live unemployed person.
I trust that the mediator will have a better idea of what a producer is, what indebtedness is.