Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise after my colleague from Frontenac—Mégantic. I hope to be as eloquent as he was on the subject.
Like my other colleagues in the Bloc, I am somewhat perplexed and concerned by Bill C-6. It concerns me because, as we all know very well—and my colleagues have mentioned this amply today—we already have in Quebec a law governing personal information, a law that has been enacted, works very well and covers the entire field, to the full extent of the law and the powers of the national assembly.
So, the law covers all areas of personal information, and now we have the federal government with another law, Bill C-6, which, in legal terms, is inadequate as it fails to cover all it should. In addition, it causes serious confusion in business and does not even protect individuals.
My colleagues have spoken at length of various aspects of the bill. I would like to focus for a few minutes only on the presentation made by the Quebec Conseil du patronat in March.
It is not a sovereignist organization. It in fact is known to represent primarily big business in Quebec and has traditionally been federalist in its political views.
However, in the case of Bill C-6, formerly Bill C-54, they came up with a very detailed report to show that this bill was totally unacceptable for Quebec businesses because, once again, it creates confusion.
Bill C-6 does not at all take into account the Quebec act, with the result that Quebec businesses will be subjected to two different legal systems.
In its presentation, the Conseil du patronat says that for information collected, used and transmitted in the province, the personal information protection act that will apply in the private sector will be the Quebec act, while the federal legislation will apply to information transmitted outside the province. This is only one of many factors that will generate confusion among businesses.
The Conseil du patronat provides a few examples. For instance, Quebec companies that come under federal jurisdiction and that do business outside Quebec, or that are governed by a Canadian act, will not know which legislation applies. Indeed, there will be two acts that will put contradictory demands on them and, moreover, that will not adequately protect people.
There is a jurisdictional conflict, with the result that Quebec consumers will not be properly protected, while businesses will have two types of remedy. This is a total contradiction. And these are only two examples provided by the Conseil du patronat du Québec.
Consent is extremely important when we are dealing with personal information. However, the provisions in bill C-6, which is the federal legislation, and in the Quebec act are different.
Under the Quebec legislation, consent must be express, specific and clear. On the other hand, according to the principle set out in section 4, schedule 1 of Bill C-6, consent is required. There is one contradiction.
There are others, for instance the one concerning the collection of information. The Quebec legislation states that the collection of information from a third party cannot be done without the consent of the individual, except in certain very specific exceptional circumstances. Bill C-6 on the other hand states that an organization may collect information without the knowledge and consent of the individual.
How can anyone see his way clear through two pieces of contradictory legislation that are complete opposites in their vision and their application? It is certain that this does not protect the Quebec consumer but, worse still, it places Quebec businesses in an extremely unfortunate position, because they are incapable of knowing whether they should be treating their customers according to federal or provincial legislation. Things will be even more complicated for companies carrying on business with out-of-province companies or those coming under federal legislation.
There are many examples of these. However, I would conclude with a quote from the submission by the Conseil du patronat du Québec:
These are all questions for which we find no answers at this time, and if Bill C-6 is passed as is, they will mean huge problems for businesses.
This is one of the conclusions by a council that, I would remind you, is not a sovereignist organization. It is one that defends the interests of Quebec business people and often comes across as federalist.
There are so many questions raised by Bill C-6. That is, moreover, the reason I am so concerned. If the Conseil du patronat raises so many questions on Bill C-6, one may well wonder, given the potential conflicts and obvious contradictions, whether this bill is just an unplanned accident or a deliberate act by the federal government.
Does the federal government have the deliberate intention of adversely affecting Quebec with Bill C-6, not only in its law-making powers, but also by harming Quebec businesses? Is this a possibility? I ask you. Does the government deliberately wish to harm Quebec?
In the case of Bill C-6, we are justified to ask this question because it is big and obvious and because the contradiction is also obvious. I wonder if, basically, it could be deliberate. There is no lack of recent examples regarding the federal government and its actions against Quebec, whether against the social union or the provincial powers. We have seen it in the health sector; we have also seen it recently in the education sector with the creation of the millennium fund. What an insult for Quebec. The only thing that could be worst could probably be Bill C-6.
The federal government directly addresses the students on the issue of the millennium fund and even they are outraged to see how it shamelessly holds them hostage.
It does not try to harm Quebec in a hypocrite and hidden way. No, it does it in broad daylight. Once again, Bill C-6 is an example.
Bill C-6 is a good example of this attempt which is probably part of plan B, which is to despise everything that maintains the distinct character of Quebec, that is the privacy legislation for example.
In conclusion, as all my colleagues, I wish that the minister will finally wake up and have the good sense to withdraw this bill.