Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak this afternoon on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois in the debate made necessary by the amendment introduced by our colleague from the New Democratic Party, the hon. member for Winnipeg North Centre.
I am even more pleased because my riding—the people of which I take this opportunity to greet—is the home not only of well organized anti-tobacco groups raising awareness in the schools about the dangers of smoking, but also of the organizers of major sporting events, like the Valleyfield Regatta, which the Bloc Quebecois has always wanted to see protected to some extent, at least for a transition period to be included in any anti-tobacco legislation.
The amendment proposed by the New Democratic Party reads as follows:
That Bill C-42, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 27 and 28 on page 1 with the following:
“peared on the facility on June 3, 1998”.
The purpose of this amendment is to reduce the grace period during which permanent facilities already using a name referring to a tobacco company may retain it until the total ban scheduled for the year 2003.
It will be recalled, moreover, that the current Tobacco Act allows a tobacco product-related brand element or the name of a manufacturer to be used on such facilities.
Bill C-42 goes much further than the present legislation in a number of aspects. For example, clause 2 prohibits the use of a tobacco product-related brand element or the name of a tobacco manufacturer on promotional material, whether the promotion is of an individual, an entity, an event, an activity or a permanent facility.
This clause will take full effect, under the current bill, in October 2003. In the meantime, Bill C-42 provides that permanent facilities already using a name containing a reference to tobacco companies can keep it, on condition that the name be in use when Bill C-42 is passed. This is where the amendment under consideration comes in.
In order to benefit from the grace period, permanent facilities should already be using the reference to tobacco companies, not when Bill C-42 takes effect, as provided, but in fact when it was tabled for first reading—on June 3.
The amendment would therefore reduce the grandfathering period for permanent facilities by a little less than six months.
Overall, Bill C-42 delays the implementation of certain sections of the Tobacco Act, Bill C-71, concerning tobacco sponsorships. So the amendments introduce a two-year moratorium on the restrictions governing sponsorships by tobacco companies until October 2000.
From the third to the fifth year, the restrictions will apply as initially provided in Bill C-71, that is to say, the name of the company may appear on only 10% or less of the advertising poster. A total sponsorship ban will come into effect on October 1, 2003.
This initiative was in response to a request from the Bloc Quebecois and promoters of sports and cultural events, asking that these organizers be given some time to find new sources of financing.
The measures affecting sponsorship were going to have very serious consequences on sports and cultural events. This is why the Bloc Quebecois called on the Minister of Health and the Minister of Canadian Heritage to provide for financial compensation and to act like politicians responsible for their actions.
However, the minister at the time, David Dingwall, failed to assume his responsibilities and refused categorically to follow up on all such requests from the Bloc and from witnesses.
Bill C-42 is thus a little more realistic—as was strongly suggested—in its approach to sponsorships, while being significantly more rigid on other issues, including the use of a manufacturer's name on permanent facilities.
However, the fight against smoking is a long term battle and the Quebec government—as the Reform Party member pointed out—also got involved by adopting legislation that is among the most progressive in the world.
One wonders whether the amendment before us, which shortens the timeframe by a few months, can make a difference. The Bloc Quebecois doubts it will. Bill C-42 must be taken as a whole. The fight against smoking is one that must be waged by all of society. A habit that has been around for many generations will not be easily changed.
However, thanks to Bill C-42 and to the Quebec legislation on tobacco, authorities will now have better weapons against the serious public health problem that smoking represents.