Madam Speaker, I am happy to rise today to join the debate on Bill C-20.
As members will know, this is a bill which seeks to modernize the Competition Act to respond to a changing business environment by increasing flexibility in the administration of the act and efficiency in its enforcement.
I would like to focus my speech today on what New Democrats see as the two main parts of Bill C-20. The first part of my speech will deal with the aspects of Bill C-20 which are aimed at getting tough on telemarketing fraud. New Democrats support this part of Bill C-20 without any reservation.
In the second part of my speech I will talk about Bill C-20 as it changes the administration of the merger notification process. This is where New Democrats have reservations with Bill C-20.
I want to begin by talking about the serious problems of telemarketing fraud in Canada. We know that it is a $4 billion industry in Canada and it is growing. We know that after being chased out of the U.S. by aggressive law enforcement efforts, the scam artists started moving north to Canada. Offering prizes, cheques, trips and more, these silver tongued artists have targeted Canada in their latest wave of greed. Victims are usually people in a vulnerable position, most often seniors and even sometimes people suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
I point out that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Colchester.
While we should all applaud and encourage the efforts of our police to catch and prosecute these offenders, I believe it is important that we also try to make members of our communities aware.
I may have been a victim if I had not caught on. I got a phone call at 11 o'clock at night to say I had won a trip to Florida. All they needed was my cheque number so they could get some money. During that same week people unfortunately did get caught in that scam. We have to make sure people are phone smart so that they are no longer in danger of being victimized.
This time last year New Democrats launched a public information campaign in our ridings to educate the most vulnerable members of constituencies about telephone fraud. New Democrats included in their householders a quick reference card entitled be on guard which could be hung by the telephone. New Democrats also went around to senior residences in our ridings and handed these cards out personally.
A few minutes ago I said that I would talk more about the efforts of the police in tackling this awful crime. I want to single out a certain OPP force which is dealing specifically with the crime of telemarketing fraud. It is called Operation Phonebusters and is a joint OPP-RCMP clearing house.
Several New Democrats have had the opportunity to work with Mr. Bob Elliot, the OPP officer heading up this effort called Operation Phonebusters. I want to express to the House the tremendous job Mr. Elliot is doing, and with limited resources I might add.
The hard work of Mr. Elliot can be seen directly in Bill C-20 and the changes which will make it easier to prosecute these con artists. I do however feel the need to express to the House and all hon. members the concern that Operation Phonebusters has become virtually a one person operation. While its prosecution record is impressive, its limited resources means that there is a serious delay between the reporting of a crime and the laying of charges. In some cases this allows the offending operation to bilk seniors, close its doors and move on before prosecutions can be undertaken.
I encourage the solicitor general to provide the much needed policing support by bolstering the federal government's commitment to Operation Phonebusters.
I also encourage the solicitor general to instruct the RCMP to take a leadership role in fighting this fraud on a national level. We cannot tackle this problem on a city by city basis because these guys will just pick up their shop and move to the next city. With just a handful more full time RCMP officers, we can send a clear message to the con artists and those who would steal from the innocent, that Canada is not open for that kind of business and is working hard to pull the plug on phone fraud.
There is some urgency in taking a hard line on this type of crime. In fact, it seems kind of silly to me that it has taken the government so long to realize that this is a serious crime. The problem in my mind has been very serious since the 1980s when lower cost telecommunications offered crooks a cheap, effective way of picking pockets.
The victims with whom I have met in my riding are truly the honest and the innocent. They should be able to answer their phones with the confidence of knowing that they are protected by law, especially since the laws are in place to protect them.
New Democrats support any effort which leads to a harder line approach against this type of crime. Canada has been without a national strategy to fight telemarketing fraud for too long. New Democrats are willing to work together with the government to achieve this.
Before I finish, I want to stress that telemarketing fraud is a very important part of the bill. It is a serious problem. I think we all know somebody who has either been or almost been a victim. We can also relate that to where one lives.
At a time when I was a seasonal worker I was told I had won a trip to Florida and thought is was great. They target areas where people are vulnerable and will go for it. It is very easy for some people to get access to phone numbers, even private phone numbers. It is scary how easily some groups access such information.