Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak to Bloc Motion No. 20 concerning commissions of inquiry. I listened with great interest to the remarks of the member for Berthier—Montcalm.
Inquiries of various sorts are a fundamental concern for both Parliament itself, this House, and for the government. Such inquiries are important tools which both Parliament and the government can use to deal with special issues, special problems, special concerns of particular times in our history. Parliament itself has extensive authority in this area.
In addition to the inquiries which we are discussing under this motion, which are set up under the Inquiries Act, Parliament has extensive authority to set up a committee or committees to conduct inquiries into any area of concern to members. These committees have the usual full control of the House.
Recently there was the special joint committee on the constitution which was chaired by the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. That is an example of a committee which was set up as a national base for an inquiry.
In addition, as the member has said, under the Inquiries Act the government, as distinct from Parliament, has the authority to establish commissions of inquiry. In this case a commission of inquiry is created by an order in council under the statutory authority of the governor in council. This provides the terms of reference, the names of the commissioner or commissioners, and establishes the timeframe for the work of the commission.
That is important. The government of the day, under the Inquiries Act, sets up an inquiry. It gives it its terms of reference and, as the member said, appoints the commissioners.
From that point the inquiry runs as an autonomous, quasi-judicial body. It is the arm's length characteristic of these inquiries which is a very important feature.
The member rightly pointed out, and described extremely well, the great powers which commissioners have once such a commission of inquiry is set up and running.
Therefore, these are arm's length bodies which the government of the day uses to look at special matters in the public interest. They are set up by law in a very particular way. Any change to the overall mandate of such a commission requires a new order in council.
The Inquiries Act recognizes that the government has a role in ensuring that the operation of a commission of inquiry is consistent with its mandate. Commissions of inquiry have been widely used by governments throughout the history of this Parliament and have been an important source of information and policy development.
I notice that the hon. member mentioned just two or three commissions of inquiry, but since Confederation there have been over 350 public inquiries under part I of the Inquiries Act. A considerable number of these have had major impacts on Canadian public policy.
I would mention the Rowell-Sirois commission on dominion-provincial relations,the MacMillan inquiry into banking and currency, the famous Laurendeau-Dunton commission on bilingualism and biculturalism which has had such an important effect ever since and that was in the 1960s on the way this government operates in a bilingual and bicultural way.
I could also mention the McDonald commission into certain activities of the RCMP. Another in the late sixties was the Bird commission on the status of women. That for the government of the day was a conscious effort to look into gender issues, into issues of equality. Again, right through debates in this Chamber to this very day I think we have seen the impact of the Bird commission and the way the government of the day took the time in the sixties to look at gender issues in a broad way really for the first time in our society.
Another I would mention is the Donald S. MacDonald commission on the economic union in the 1980s.
All of those commissions are examples, as I mentioned, from 350 which have had a considerable impact on public policy in Canada since Confederation.
This government is committed to making sure that the terms of reference, the budget and the time limits for completion are made as clear as possible for any commission of inquiry to reduce the risk of undue delays and expenses.
To conclude, I would like to thank the hon. member for Berthier—Montcalm for his interest in this important matter. Commissions of inquiry are an important matter. It is a very important aspect of life in this country.
I would suggest in considering this motion members should take note of the need to maintain the balance which exists in the Inquiries Act that provides the government with the ability to establish inquiries into public policy matters and not just with that power to establish them, but with the responsibility to ensure the efficient conduct of these inquiries.