Mr. Speaker, there is surely no doubt that electronic commerce is here. Ensuring increased confidence in this process is, without question, a good idea.
However, is it not of equal importance that all Canadians have the same opportunity to this wonderful new technology? The government is forever talking about advancement in technology and computer training, how we will not keep up with the rest of the world if we do not support these efforts. I agree.
I and my colleagues in the New Democratic Party believe that all Canadians should have that opportunity. Seventy per cent of Canadians are without Internet access. One of the greatest barriers is cost to the individual.
My colleague from Churchill River during question period today raised the concern that in northern communities we do not even have adequate road access.
In my riding there are communities that are just now getting single line phone access. There is one community where there are three phone lines: one in the school, one in the council office and one in the health centre. There was one pay phone which was removed when those three phone lines went in.
I have spoken before of the town of Lynn Lake which lost banking services and had to fight for an ATM. I know this same situation will apply in rural as well as northern remote communities.
As a former school trustee I recognize that districts, with the huge cuts that governments have made in education and transfer payments, are fighting to keep technology within the schools. Tech costs and the Internet on-line costs are very prohibitive.
When we had a publicly owned telephone service in Manitoba, I at least felt that we all had relatively equal access. Of course, that is no longer the case.
Larger centres may benefit, but rural remote areas are paying the price. Smaller businesses will be hard pressed to survive because of the prohibitive cost.
I was just in Chile and I can say that the majority of its citizens cannot afford what should be a basic service, let alone electronic commercial banking. Is this what we want in Canada?
If government is not willing to ensure that access is available to the majority of Canadians, it is not acceptable. What it is doing is putting in place the foundation for greater disparity between the rich and the poor.
Another aspect, of course, is job loss. There must be consideration given to alternative training, job opportunity and support for affected workers.
I do not think there are very many Canadian workers or businesses who trust the employment insurance and human resources department to be there on their behalf. Most believe it is only the finance minister who controls those dollars. Do we need more unemployed in Canada?
The privacy of health information is, without question, another concern to many Canadians.
As we hear of computer hacks breaking into all types of programs, it is not unreasonable to worry about other personal information being made available to outside interests: banks, insurance companies, employers or the man or woman down the street.
This bill fails to protect the privacy of Canadians and it fails to ensure equal opportunity for all Canadians. I will not be supporting it.