Madam Speaker, before I commence speaking I would like to take this opportunity, as a newly appointed parliamentary secretary, to express my thanks to the Prime Minister for giving me the opportunity to engage in this level of our government.
We on the government side oppose the motions in Group No. 1. These motions, tabled by the Bloc, strike at the heart of Bill C-6 and indeed undermine the government's ability to introduce a national law that will protect the privacy rights of all Canadians, and I stress, all Canadians. These motions attack the government's competence to deal with federal laws that impede electronic government and electronic services delivered to all Canadians.
In our consultations at the industry committee, consumer groups and industry expressed the view that the government has achieved the right balance in Bill C-6 between the right of individuals to have some control over their personal information and to have access to avenues for effective redress, and the need of industry to collect and use personal information as a vital component of success in the information economy.
For these reasons, consumer groups like the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Consumers' Association of Canada, and industry groups like the Information Technology Association of Canada, the Canadian Marketing Association and the cable and telephone companies have all called for rapid passage of Bill C-6.
Swift passage of Bill C-6 will help build the consumer trust and market certainty needed to ensure that Canada is a world leader in electronic commerce and the global information economy.
The motions tabled by the Bloc are unacceptable and must be rejected. With the passage of Bill C-6 Quebec citizens will benefit from the best data protection in the country. Bill C-6 will provide all Canadians, and I stress, all Canadians, including those in the province of Quebec, complete and comprehensive privacy coverage across our country.
Quite frankly, I would have expected better of the Bloc than to table amendments which deprive all Canadians, who have no privacy protection in the private sector, of getting the benefits of this national law.