Mr. Speaker, I rise to address Motions Nos. 9, 10 and 11. These motions as they pertain to Bill C-20 deal with the director of the competition bureau and what constitutes a reviewable matter.
At present we have a system in Canada whereby any six Canadians can petition the director of the competition bureau to begin an inquiry that he can then forward to the competition tribunal. These motions would effectively change this provision to allow any one Canadian to petition the director and force him to begin an inquiry.
I fail to see how this can in any way be perceived as fair or reasonable. The opportunity for abuse by a corporation with an axe to grind is brazenly apparent. The present provision requiring six signatories is a reasonable approach designed to avoid such abuse. If the potential for abuse does not scare us off, the potential backlog that this would create within the director's office should.
The hon. member seems to be aware of the need to guard against such abuses when she includes the wording “frivolous or vexatious”. If this is the case, then it should be self-evident that the present provisions need not to be tampered with.
As for Motion No. 11, this deals with private access to the tribunal resolution process. In the early rounds of public input on Bill C-20, in fact while it was still known as Bill C-67, it was decided that this issue should be put off until the next round of public consultations.
There are many submissions that lead to this decision and as a result different parties with vested interests in such a move have acted accordingly. To change this now would be the equivalent of the unseemly marketing practice known as bait and switch. As law makers we need to be setting an example here. Toward that end the Progressive Conservative Party will be voting no to these motions.