Mr. Speaker, as one of the final speakers to Bill C-20 I want to approach this from a different perspective.
I appreciate the intent of the amendment put forward by the hon. member from the Bloc. As I understand it his intent is to make it easier for people to bring their concerns and complaints before the commissioner and the competition bureau. We have to look at this in a larger context to really understand the impact and to see if that is really achieving the goal that we were trying to do in the first place with this bill.
If we look at the thrust of the bill we can see that the key things this bill is trying to do is to make sure that telemarketers give fair and reasonable disclosure of information at the beginning of each call, including the identity of the company, the purpose of the communication, the nature of the product, business or interest, the price, material restrictions and any terms and conditions applicable to delivery. The key thing in summary is that those who are involved in this kind of business are forthright, totally honest, provide all the information to the consumer and that there is no misrepresentation.
That is what the bill is trying to do. It is trying to protect those who have been abused by those who have not followed the rules in the past. If that is what we are trying to do, then maybe it is good that we have it clearly laid out in the legislation. For those who violate those criteria or cross the line, perhaps it is better that we have the tools in place to bring swift conviction and have appropriate penalties to serve as a deterrent.
The goal here is to have people adhere to the principles of honest business. The answer, I propose, is not to make it easier to complain and grow the regulatory quagmire and cost all Canadians more, including the consumers, to deal with all these complaints. Instead, the more cost-effective answer would be to have clear guidelines with a clear process for penalties for those who breach the guidelines and when warranted, significant penalties that serve as a deterrent.
This kind of approach results in less abuses and a lower cost to the consumer and the marketplace in general. I think it is prudent upon all of us here as we face the debt we have and the taxes we have not just to cut taxes and not just to pay down the debt, but even before all that to ask ourselves in every piece of legislation that comes before the House, are we doing it in the most cost-effective manner? Are we approaching it in a way that achieves the results with the minimal regulatory and bureaucratic quagmire that can result? Are we driving it home and achieving the results in the most cost-effective manner?
That is what we have to be asking ourselves today with the state of our national economy and the taxes that Canadians are paying. That is what they are expecting us to be asking here and that is the reflective position the Reform Party is taking on these particular amendments. We do not think it is a move in the right direction. It is not serving the Canadian taxpayer. Let us make sure the rules are clear and that if the rules are broken there is a significant enough penalty to serve as a deterrent.