Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to speak on Bill C-42. My approach will be somewhat different from those of my colleagues who have already spoken. I would particularly like to address it from a more technical point of view, perhaps a little more difficult one as a result. I would, however, like my view of the bill to still be clear enough to be interesting.
Bill C-42 defers certain provisions of the Tobacco Act, the current act concerning tobacco company sponsorships. The amendments bring in a two-year moratorium on the prohibition of tobacco sponsorship promotions, i.e. until October 2000. Between the third and the fifth year, the restrictions will apply as initially set out in the current act, which is that 10% of sign advertising will be allowed, until the total ban kicks in on October 1, 2003. At that time, in other words, all tobacco company sponsorship signs will be totally banned.
This initiative is in response to a request made by the Bloc Quebecois and by all organizers of sports or cultural events, to give time to these organizers to find other sources of funding. It is, however, deplorable that the government is backtracking and refusing to contribute to the compensation fund that has been set up in Quebec.
In order to understand what Bill C-42 is all about, it is important to keep its origins in mind as well as the grounds for the government's decision to re-examine the conditions the current act had set for sponsorships.
We will recall that, in September 1995, a decision by the supreme court invalidated the provisions of the Tobacco Products Control Act pertaining to advertising, thus creating a legal void on the issue and enabling the tobacco industry to resume its advertising.
It is true, the industry voluntarily set up a code of ethics for itself, but, once again, as with the voluntary moratorium on medically assisted human reproductive technologies, this voluntary code was, to all intents and purposes, never really enforced.
The Minister of Health at the time tabled in December 1995 the outline of the anti smoking strategy the government intended to introduce.
It contained restrictions on advertising and on tobacco sponsorships, standards for young people's access to tobacco, packaging and labelling requirements, reporting requirements for the companies and, finally, restrictions on points of sale.
In short, this master plan provided for total regulation of tobacco products at all stages, from their manufacture to their points of sale.
Only one thing was missing, provision for compensation of the groups that had been sponsored by the tobacco companies. This sponsorship would be significantly reduced, if not eliminated.
More than a year after the Supreme Court decision, which overturned a number of the provisions in the Tobacco Products Control Act, more than a year after the master plan of the former Health Minister was tabled, the government finally introduced some measures to counteract the ill effects of smoking.
The Bloc Quebecois has always been in favour of the principle of protecting public health, which is why we voted in favour of the bill at second reading. Far be it from me to disagree with the harmful effects of smoking my colleagues in the Reform Party have listed. Who could be against everything possible being done to do away with smoking? Certainly not the Bloc Quebecois.
Although we voted in favour of the bill at second reading, the feeling that we have acted on principle ought not to prevent us from seeing the impact of our actions on society. Unfortunately, the tobacco bill, its good measures notwithstanding, swept under the rug the whole issue of sports and cultural events. These were, unavoidably, going to feel the impact of the bill, mainly because of the de facto ban on tobacco company sponsorship without any plan for compensation, as we know.
The Bloc Quebecois therefore voted against Bill C-71 at third reading, and I will explain why we did so.
The measures relating to sponsorships impacted in a very serious way on sports and cultural events. The Bloc Quebecois called upon the ministers of health and of heritage to offer 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.
Bill C-71 was constructed in such a way that a number of clauses simply gave the minister the power to regulate in various areas, without defining the scope of these regulations. In fact, all of the clauses in Bill C-71 referred to future regulations. This was tantamount to giving the Minister of Health a blank cheque and seriously complicated our work as elected officials.
I do not wish to accuse anyone of bad faith, but the government must not get into the habit of introducing this sort of bill, much of which cannot be debated in the House or in committee.
We cannot let the accelerated passage of this bill go unnoticed. At second reading, debate was limited to a single speaker from the Bloc Quebecois. During committee deliberations, the Bloc Quebecois had to fight for an additional half day to hear witnesses. Originally, barely a day and a half had been set aside for this stage. This was really ridiculous. We wait nearly two years for the government to decide to introduce a bill and in committee we are asked to debate it in a day and a half at breakneck speed. This is really unusual, and I hope the government will stop this practice, because it really does not respect the members' work.
Finally, although we agree completely with the protection of health, as I mentioned earlier, we have not forgotten that this is a provincial jurisdiction and that Bill C-71 allowed the federal government once again to interfere in a sector that the provinces are quite capable of managing on their own, as evidenced by the recent tobacco legislation passed in Quebec City.
Bill C-42, however, was introduced by the federal Minister of Health on June 3, one year after the promise made by the Prime Minister on the eve of the last federal election. Faced with the outcry that greeted Bill C-71 in Quebec, primarily among organizers of sports and cultural events, the Prime Minister made a promise during the election campaign to amend his anti-smoking legislation, obviously in order to win a few votes in Quebec.
Although the primary goal of this amendment was to repair the damage done by the federal government's error, Bill C-42 also refers to several draft regulations, the effect of which will be to clamp down even harder on the production methods and products of tobacco companies.
Before the Tobacco Act took effect on April 25, 1997, manufacturers and importers were required to provide certain information regarding tobacco sales, ingredients and advertising. What I wanted to focus on here are the measures and regulations that place greater restrictions on tobacco companies, and their effect on those companies.
Under the new regulations, better information would be obtained from manufacturers on tobacco sales, ingredients, research, as well as the manufacturing, distribution and promotion of tobacco products.
Regarding sales and toxic components, it also proposed to extend current disclosure requirements to include all categories of tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, pipe tobacco, cigars, smokeless tobacco, clove tobacco and the hand-rolled Indian cigarettes called bidis.
Studies are also covered. Under the proposed regulations, tobacco manufacturers would be required to disclose and list any study on the toxicity or health effects of their products, the taste and aroma of tobacco products, the improvement or development of tobacco products, as well as the ingredients they contain.
This information would promote a better understanding of how tobacco products are modified so that regulations can eventually be proposed to reduce the impact of smoking.
With respect to promotional activities, manufacturers and importers of all types of tobacco products would be required to disclose promotional activities and sponsorship promotions by brand name and province for any event, activity or facility.
The main thrust of Bill C-42 is to amend the existing Tobacco Act to extend the transition period before the restrictions already provided for in the act come into effect. This is the kind of common sense the Bloc Quebecois tried to inject into the debate when Bill C-71 was introduced over a year ago.
The first phase, spanning two years after the amendment is enacted, will extend the status quo regarding promotion both on and off the site of events and activities sponsored by a tobacco company before April 25, 1997. Tobacco sponsorship promotions will not be subject to any restriction under federal legislation.
The second phase, lasting three years after the two years of transition, will again extend the status quo for promotions at the site of sponsored events and activities, by permitting the display of product-related brand elements in promotional material throughout the site of events; permit sponsorship promotions on the site of an event as it unfolds or according to other regulatory provisions; and apply the existing 90/10 restriction—10% advertising at the bottom of a sign—to sponsorship promotions off site. These promotions will be permitted in mailings sent directly to adults who are identified by name, in publications whose readership is essentially adult and in bars and taverns where minors are denied access by law.
The third aspect of the amendment is the considerable toughening up of the Tobacco Act in relation to the bill passed in April. Where some might have interpreted the 10% rule as a breach, there is no longer any doubt. We are talking zero tolerance.
This total prohibition will take effect immediately following the five year transition period. At that point, the Tobacco Act will prohibit all promotional sponsorship by tobacco companies. It will also prohibit the appearance of brand elements on permanent facilities or in them.
With such measures, Canada is following the worldwide trend to set more and more restrictions on the sponsorship and promotional activities of tobacco companies. The European Union intends to prohibit all industry sponsorship by 2006. A number of signatory countries have already prohibited all tobacco advertising and sponsorship within their borders. New Zealand, Australia and the United States have—or are heading toward—a total ban.
The total ban after October 1, 2003 is therefore ahead of a number of countries, but the extended deadline makes it possible to take a sensible approach which will avoid numerous problems at the international level, for Formula I in particular, as well as on the economic level.
The problem with Bill C-42 is the lack of any transition fund, any compensation. The Bloc Quebecois feels that jurisdiction over health ought to be left to the provinces. Health is a provincial jurisdiction—a Quebec jurisdiction, in our case—and we denounce the current situation.
It must be kept in mind that health is, as I have said, a provincial area of jurisdiction, although the numerous federal incursions into it tend to make some people lose sight of that fact. The provincial level is therefore the main one on which health protection initiatives need to be designed and implemented.
I would like to give you an overview of the tobacco legislation Quebec has just implemented, which will perhaps give you a more informed view of a bill we feel is a very intelligent one.
The bill of Quebec's Minister of Health Jean Rochon was introduced on May 14, 1998 and passed unanimously on June 17, 1998. The bill received a favourable reception from the media, the health organizations, the organizers of sporting and cultural events, and the general public. The Quebec Minister of Health avoided the pitfalls of the federal Liberals by adopting an approach that was far more attuned to reality, while at the same time bringing in new standards for the anti-smoking campaign. His bill is bolder as far as content is concerned, yet more flexible as far as application is concerned.
Regarding the prohibition of sponsorships, the provincial legislation gives organizers of events a choice between two types of transition: they either discontinue all tobacco sponsorship activities by October 1, 2000, and have access to a financial assistance program running until October 1, 2003, which is the Quebec government solution, or they will be subject to a five-year transition with restrictions after October 1, 2000, and forfeit the financial assistance, as provided for in the bill before us.
Under this bill, sponsorship contracts already signed with tobacco companies can be honoured and renewed up to October 1, 2000. However, the Quebec legislation imposes as ceiling on the value of such contracts the maximum contracted amount as of June 11, 1998.
Organisers have until October 1, 2000, to make a choice. For those who choose the second transition option, the amendment states that sponsorship promotion may continue on the site where an activity is held and during this activity for three more years after October 1, 2000.
Being able to choose between two options, each having its advantages and drawbacks, is another example of a balance between laxity and rigidity. To achieve this balance, Quebec finance minister Bernard Landry agreed to use part of the extra income generated by the recent tax increase imposed on tobacco products to compensate organizations that will discontinue tobacco sponsorship in the year 2000.
According to the Constitution, anti-smoking efforts, like any health initiative, should come from the provinces, not the federal government. If Quebec and the other provinces did not have to hand over more than $30 billion in taxes every year, if we could hang on to that money, we could invest more in these prevention and awareness initiatives.
But hand it over we must and, in the last 30 years or so, federal transfer payments have dropped from 28% to 14% of Quebec's budget. In Quebec's health sector alone, the federal government's contribution has dropped from 39% to 30% in the last 10 years.
For 1997-98 alone, the Government of Quebec estimates that the $590 million cut by the federal government represents 80% of the total $760 million budgeted by Quebec for the entire health and social services sector.
Far from giving the provinces more room to manoeuvre, Ottawa is unilaterally cutting transfer payments, and then spending the money itself. The entire issue of federal government health funding must be reviewed and overhauled.
In the meantime, it is important that the federal government assume its responsibilities and contribute to the compensation fund set up by Quebec, and by the other provinces if they so wished. The government is benefiting from the hundreds of millions of dollars in spinoffs from sports and cultural events.
The federal Minister of Health must support efforts to offset the negative effects of anti-smoking measures. This is an investment in the economies of Montreal, Quebec and Canada.
The Bloc Quebecois is pleased to see that Bill C-42 takes a much more balanced approach to the provisions of the Tobacco Act since the adoption of Bill C-71. It is deplorable, however, that it has taken the Liberals over one year to understand what we have been saying from the beginning of this debate: it is possible to mount an effective campaign against the dangers of smoking without unduly penalizing any one group.
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. But authorities will now have better weapons against the serious public health problem it represents.