Mr. Speaker, I am always pleased and this time somewhat surprised to rise to speak to the bill before us.
I heard the Liberal member who spoke before me say that the protection of personal information is one of the most pressing issues in our country. I agree with him on that point. In this electronic age where Canadians and Quebeckers are linked through computer systems at the office and in their home, it is indeed a fundamental issue.
However, contrary to the member opposite, I do think that what's worth doing is worth doing right. It so happens that the bill put forward by the government is ill conceived is a botched job, which contradicts what has already been done in that area, and I would add what has already been done right.
In the year and a half that I have been here, I have grown accustomed to seeing the House of Commons ignore what exists in the provinces, particularly in Quebec. I must remind members that there is a law in Quebec that has been widely praised, entitled an Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector. Support for this legislation is almost unanimous, and many people around the world have expressed their admiration for this initiative.
It must also be noted that the Quebec government is the only administration in North America that has a law to protect personal information in the private sector, and it has had it for four years. With this bill, it seems that the government has completely ignored that fact. The legislation is effective, but this does not matter. Since it is in Quebec, the federal government chooses to ignore it.
The bill put forward by the government is aimed at promoting electronic commerce, giving second billing to the protection of privacy in the public sector. The government can make all the philosophical speeches it wants saying in the most dramatic way how important the protection of personal information is, the fact remains that the main purpose of this bill is not to protect privacy, but to promote electronic commerce. Let us not kid ourselves, that is the objective of the bill.
Speaking of the bill, it would be interesting to look at some of its provisions, in particularly clause 27, which deals with regulations.
Section 27(2)(b) reads:
27.(2) The Governor in Council may, by order, b ) amend Schedule I to reflect revisions to the National Standard of Canada entitled Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, CAN/CSA-Q830-96;
This is gibberish. Anyone listening might well wonder what I am talking about, why it is so complicated. What it means is that the government can amend this legislation without bringing it back before the House, and this is quite serious. Without consulting Parliament, the government can amend something that the hon. member opposite might consider crucial in Canada, which is the protection of personal information.
Section 27(2)( d ) reads: “The Governor in Council”—meaning the government—“may”: d ) if satisfied that legislation of a province—
I remind the House that we already have in Quebec a piece of legislation which is working very well. Why leave it to the government to decide when it would have been easy to say: “There is already an act in effect in Quebec. Let us leave it be and not enforce Bill C-54 in Quebec”.
Let me also quote the 1996-97 annual report of Quebec's Commission d'accès à l'information. I want to quote some excerpts because this is a very important document. This is an independent, non partisan organization that has a high credibility in Quebec.
The annual report says:
The commission has examined the consequences of introducing Canada-wide standards and legal principles regarding privacy on the information highway. Under the terms of a proposal submitted to the ministers responsible for setting up this highway, this protection would be based on the voluntary code of practice developed by the Canadian Standards Association.
It is the commission's contention that, if implemented, this proposal would represent a setback on the privacy issue in Quebec.
This contention is based on a comprehensive review of the CSA code. There is good reason to be pleased with the Canadian industry adopting such a code. This marks quite a breakthrough, stemming from an interesting analysis of the OECD guidelines on privacy. However, the CSA code does not meet the objectives of the personal information protection system established under the two Quebec laws, namely to guarantee to all citizens an impartial and fair solution to any problem or conflict that may arise with regard to the protection of this most important aspect of one's privacy. Therefore, the Commission suggested to the Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications that she remind her counterparts that Quebec has such a statutory system in place. According to the Commission—
—the Quebec system is the only response to the challenges of the information highway that respects the rights of citizens.
This is in Quebec. We must realize, of course, that the federal government often pays little attention to what Quebec organizations have to say. Therefore I will quote the federal privacy commissioner, Mr. Bruce Phillips. I will read the
“Building Canada's Information Economy and Society” is revealing in that it lends priority to economic issues over social issues. As such, the focus on electronic commerce precedes the goal of protecting personal information; the paper also indicates that the federal government wants to engage Canadians in a variety of network activities first and then develop protection of privacy later.
After quoting all these authorities in the area of protection of privacy, the Bloc Quebecois can only represent the consensus that exists in Quebec and vote against Bill C-54.