Mr. Speaker, I would like to preface my remarks today by commending the hon. member for Kelowna for the job he did as the chief industry critic in our last session. I would also like to congratulate the hon. member for Edmonton—Strathcona who took over where the hon. member left off as the chief industry critic. I am sure he will do just as good a job. I look forward to working with him over the course of the next year.
In keeping with the request of the hon. member for Markham, I will restrict my comments to the group 1 amendments. All I really have to say is that I oppose the amendments.
This bill will maintain the criminal prosecution of deceptive marketing practices, but in less serious cases, for example where an individual or a corporation is unaware of the law, there will be an opportunity to deal with those cases through fines, through cease and desist orders or by means of information notices. That is preferable because it just provides much more flexibility in dealing with those types of cases.