Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak today on the bill by the hon. member.
First of all, I would like to thank the members of my riding of Bruce—Grey for returning me to Parliament. I came to this country in 1966 with my family, my wife Verona, my daughter Sonja, who was six months old at the time, and my son Andrew. I knew it was one of the best countries in the world. It has certainly proven itself to be so.
I was a high school teacher and in 1968 I moved to Owen Sound and entered public life. I did so because I wanted to make a difference, to make the community better. I became a Liberal member because of the the programs of the Liberal Party of caring for the aged, the young, health care and education.
There is no question that sometimes when I am sitting in the House I am reminded of my old classroom days. I taught auto mechanics to a young man named John Garvey who is now one of the best mechanics we have in our city. I had many conversations with him about his future and his career. I had conversations with many young men in the locker room after a basketball game, such as Kevin Belbeck who is now a veterinarian and has a good life.
On June 2, I was reminded by the arrival of my grand-daughter, Haley Jackson Bruin, a member of the next generation of the Jackson family of this great country of ours. I know her future will be sustained because we in the House, the highest court in the land, do a good job with our human and material resources.
Bill C-216 tabled by the hon. member for Nanaimo—Alberni is one that I cannot support. The hon. member's bill will redefine the current definition of government institution in section 3 of the Access to Information Act to mean any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada listed on schedule I, any body or office listed on schedule I, or any crown corporation as defined in the Financial Administration Act.
In effect the bill would redefine government institution in the Access to Information Act to include all crown corporations. A weighty proposal, indeed, and one which warrants thorough examination.
Passed in 1983, the act gave Canadians a broad legal right to information recorded in any form under the control of most federal institutions. Access rights are not absolute. They are subject to specific and limited exemptions, balancing the freedom of information against individual privacy, commercial confidentiality and national security. The hon. member's bill would alter that balance.
Some 27 crown corporations are already subject to the act. We recognize in principle that crown corporations can be subject to the act. For example, the Bank of Canada and Canada Post are subject to the act, while Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is not.
Bill C-216 would snare all crown corporations under the Access to Information Act. It assumes no difference in purpose among crown corporations. It does not consider the different environments in which they operate and it makes no allowances for the different demands placed upon crown corporations.
Canada's crown corporations operate at arm's length from the government in providing services to Canadians. They do so within the market in competition with private interests as the sole actor in a given area. Therefore not all crown corporations operate in the same environment or under the same conditions.
Those crown corporations that operate within the market do so in a competitive setting. The market is useful in allocating certain goods and services, but it is not perfect. A public presences helps ensure the delivery of goods and services to Canadians where delivery through private sector alone is found wanting.
We must ask ourselves how Bill C-216 would affect crown corporations operating in the market. By placing all crown corporations without exception under the Access to Information Act, the bill would put requirements on crown corporations that are not placed on private sector competitors.
Bill C-216 will place crown corporations at a competitive disadvantage. The Access to Information Act requires that government institutions respond to access to information requests within 30 days. Time, personnel and other resources will be devoted in order to comply. This is understood. However the free market operates within a slim market for its expenses. Bill C-216 would force crown corporations to spend time, money and energy answering questions that their competitors are not required to answer.
Canadians want crown corporations to compete under fair and equitable conditions. Under the bill a competitor could bind a crown corporation in endless requests for information, putting a drain on time, people and finances that no private competitor would have to endure. Under Bill C-216 a competitor could obtain vital business information about a crown corporation with no obligation to reciprocate by disclosing similar material in return.
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is an example of a crown corporation that operates in a highly competitive environment. It competes on a commercial basis in the marketplace and should be treated the same as its competitors. AECL is thus able to protect its sensitive commercial information as well as commercial information received from global customers and partner companies. If AECL or Canada Post were unable to protect confidential commercial information from competitors, its ability to compete could be seriously affected.
The hon. member's Bill C-216 would jeopardize equal treatment in the marketplace for AECL, Canada Post and other crown corporations. Has the hon. member consulted crown corporations on the bill? Does he not believe in fair and equal treatment in the marketplace, or would he prefer that all crown corporations simply withdraw altogether from the market?
Those who speak on behalf of Bill C-216 may use the language of accountability and transparency, but by putting conditions on crown corporations that are not placed on private companies they show disdain for or at least misunderstanding of the idea of a public presence in the marketplace.
This is a great House where we can debate and discuss ideas. The hon. member must have felt some things could be changed when he drafted the bill. These things could happen if the government wanted to do so. However, as I have explained, his bill would jeopardize a lot of the business the Government of Canada is trying to do for people. We already have built-in mechanisms and ministers report to the House on these matters.