Mr. Speaker, I am sure the minister can debate that point when he gets the opportunity. I can also suggest that there is a lawsuit outstanding which is factual. There are infringements being suggested against Westaim at this point.
So let us listen again. A plant is being built yet it does not have the patent opportunity to develop the blanks it wants to produce for the world market. Yet the plant is being constructed as we speak right now. If this were a business it would have been bankrupt a long time ago, but it is a crown corporation.
Getting government right is a Liberal government policy that has been in place since 1993. Among other things it stipulates that where the private sector can provide a service equal or superior to a government department or agency, then government should not be in the business. This venture violates the Liberal government policy. This government has said on many occasions that if the private sector can provide the service then government should stay out of it. It is unfortunate that the government does not follow its own rules or its own policy in this situation.
The only reason this is being allowed to happen is that this is a patronage plum in Manitoba. I am from Manitoba and I would love to see as many things happen in Manitoba as possible. But I wish to see them happen only according to good business practice. This is not one of those. I suggest very strongly that this change to the legislation is simply trying to assist a business practice that should not have gone ahead in the first place.
One does not have to look any further than the fiasco the Liberal government created in the oil industry in the 1970s to know that it does not make any sense for the government to take over part of an existing industry and to compete with private companies. Back then the Liberals nationalized Petrofina and created the national energy program. This hurt the industry, cost jobs and taxpayers ended up paying out millions of dollars unnecessarily. To a lesser degree this same problem will happen with the Royal Canadian Mint competing against the private sector.
As I have indicated, every bit of information we have seen reinforces our view that this scheme of the mint will put Westaim and its employees out of business and cost Canadians millions of dollars. This bill would take away from parliament and by extension Canadians the opportunity for a full and public discussion on any proposed changes to Canada's coinage. It would be left up to cabinet to be approved in secret, behind closed doors. The bill would require that parliament be informed of the changes but it would not be the decision of the people or their representatives. The decision would be solely that of cabinet. Neither would there be any requirement that Canadians be consulted before any changes are implemented.
In the near future it is quite possible that parliament may be asked to consider replacing a five dollar bill with a five dollar coin. It is also possible that this House may be asked to remove the penny from circulation. Because we all use these coins, these changes would affect all Canadians. At the present time under the Royal Canadian Mint Act coins can only be introduced into or removed from circulation by an act of parliament. The minister said today in the House that it will be elected representatives, that it will be the ministers of the government, that it will be an order in council, that it will not be an act of this parliament. That is not only a shame, it is very dangerous in my opinion.
Under the Royal Canadian Mint Act coins can only be introduced or removed by parliament. That is the where that decision should remain. That will be one of the amendments when the bill goes before committee. The government will have to look at that amendment very seriously as it considers changing this proposed legislation.
Based on our experience with the introduction of the one dollar and two dollar coins in the last decade, we can expect that Canadians would want an opportunity for a full and public debate on any proposed changes to their money, not cabinet's money, not government's money, their money. By requiring that parliament pass a law to implement such changes, the present legislation process allows for this. Any bill to introduce or remove a coin would have to receive three readings in both the Commons and the Senate. It would have to pass through two committees that could interview witnesses or hold public hearings before they give approval. This would not be the case if this legislation were to pass.
I will give the government three reasons why this bill should not pass in the form in which it has been presented. It violates the existing government policy of getting government right. I hope the government is listening. That policy was first launched in 1994 by Treasury Board. That initiative examines how existing government services can best be delivered to Canadians.
Government services that can best be delivered by the provinces, by the private sectors or that no longer have public policy purpose are divested. Building a new plating facility would put the Government of Canada in competition against its own current policy.
Second, it exposes scarce tax dollars to needless risk. The venture would put the Canadian government into a start-up business in a sunset industry where there is already a substantial oversupply in the market. Take business risks but we do so in a planned, orderly fashion. Look at the marketplace. Look at the cost of operation. Look at the capital requirements. Then say can we make money at this or not. In this particular business it is our opinion that the Canadian mint will be hard pressed to make this a paying operation of the business.
Last and probably most important, and even my colleagues in the NDP would agree with me, this particular operation puts in jeopardy 110 to 120 jobs at Westaim. I suspect putting any job in jeopardy would not be supported by any party of this House.