Madam Speaker, it is rare for me not to be pleased to be part of a debate on a bill, as is the case today.
This bill, formerly Bill C-54, which was criticized by most of my colleagues, remains a bill that should be treated as the Bloc Quebecois proposes, that is, it should be set aside. The Minister of Industry should be sent to do his homework so that everyone is satisfied. To this point, one party is totally dissatisfied—Quebec.
It is unanimous in Quebec. Everyone opposes this bill on e-commerce and personal information. Why is everyone opposed?
First, it is as a matter of principle. The federal government has an almost legendary propensity to meddle in jurisdictions other than its own. Every lead taken by Quebec in areas of its jurisdiction is penalized by the federal government with its wall to wall bills.
Over the years, there have been fairly remarkable examples of this. In 1994, for example, we were all newly elected to our first term, and the Minister of Finance started talking about the appropriateness of establishing a Canadian securities commission. Securities are under Quebec's jurisdiction exclusively, and Quebec has worked very hard for the past 30 years to create an effective system with highly interesting areas of jurisdiction that are in fact higher than what is found in most provinces in Canada.
Because Quebec took the lead in the area of securities, in a field the Canadian Constitution recognizes as its own, the federal government decided, because the other provinces were not as well organized as Quebec, to establish a Canadian securities commission, wall to wall, with duplications, overlap and total confusion in this sector so vulnerable to uncertainty. The Minister of Finance paid no attention to the problems this might cause Quebec.
There are other examples, such as that involving provincially chartered insurance companies. Quebec had an inspector general of financial institutions, a Commission des valeurs mobilières to monitor transactions and minimize the risk for shareholders and insured persons. However, that did not stop the Minister of Finance from deciding a few years ago to prevent a provincially chartered insurance company from Quebec, L'Entraide assurances, from acquiring a block of insurance from a federally chartered company. The reason given was that it would create a precedent and other provinces would want to follow suit, although they were not prepared to do so.
Once again, with the levels of protection Quebec has introduced in the financial sector generally, and particularly in the insurance sector, we were penalized because the other Canadian provinces did not show the leadership that Quebec did in this area.
If we go back a little further, we will recall that Bill S-31, in the early 1980s, prevented the Caisse de dépôt et de placement from acquiring a large block of shares in Canadian Pacific. Once again, because Quebec had established an institution like the Caisse de dépôt et de placement starting in the 1960s, which was already a force to be reckoned with in the early 1980s, because Quebec had taken the lead, had opted for modern methods of managing the pension funds of Quebecers, it was penalized. The federal government wanted to stop Quebec from getting ahead, from modernizing.
The millennium scholarships are the same thing all over again. Every time Quebec moves ahead, shows leadership, as we saw with the millennium scholarships, because the other provinces have not put together a system like Quebec's—once again, a coast-to-coast policy—with the millennium scholarships, the federal government is ignoring the consensus in Quebec opposing this project.
In the case before us, it is the same thing. Quebec has had a personal information protection act for five years. That act works well, and everyone is familiar with it now, both the consumers, who can invoke its provisions, and businesses.
Quebec's act protects not only personal information in the province, but also personal information that is sent by a Quebec business, for example, in other Canadian provinces, or personal information that is received in Quebec from other Canadian provinces.
This is such a good act that it enjoys unanimous support in Quebec. It is not perfect. All laws are, in a sense, imperfect. Legislation must adjust to evolving situations. But the Quebec act enjoys the unanimous support of Quebecers. It is a good act with a good middle of the road approach that pleases everyone and that includes provisions to prevent any leak of personal information.
This is so true that, as others have said before me, even the Conseil du patronat finds that it is a good act with which businesses can work, and with which they are now familiar, because it has been in effect for five years. Should Bill C-6 come into effect, it would create total confusion among Quebec businesses.
In fact, the Conseil du patronat refers to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Quebec government in the area of personal information protection, as provided by section 92.13 of the British North America Act. The Conseil recognizes that Quebec has jurisdiction to legislate in that area.
It also feels that this bill will create confusion not only among businesses, but also among consumers, who will not know who to turn to, or to which legislation to refer to protect their rights and the information that concerns them.
In its brief, the Conseil du patronat said “As for Quebec consumers, they would always have to identify which act applies and to choose between two remedies, depending on whether the information is protected under one act or the other”.
This bill would create total confusion. It has been criticized since it was first introduced as Bill C-54. It has been criticized by everyone in Quebec and particularly by those who take an interest in personal information protection and in the civil code.
As others have mentioned before me, even the Barreau du Québec said that the best way to handle the situation—and one must think that nine Canadian provinces do not have personal information protection legislation—the only way to respect Quebec's choice and to avoid any harm to consumers and businesses who have been operating for five years under Quebec's act would be to enshrine in the bill a reference to that act confirming that it replaces the federal act on Quebec's territory and when personal information is exchanged between a Quebec company and a company from another Canadian province.
This proposal was made by the Barreau du Québec. It may be worth considering. As others have said, it is not that we hate the bill. We consider that it could very well be implemented in the nine other provinces but that, in Quebec, the choice made five years ago should be respected. This could be one of the flexibilities that people across the way like so much to boast about, particularly after the Speech from the Throne read by the Governor General.
It seems to me that that could be a good way to prove that the government wants to improve a little bit the functioning of the system. It may also be advisable for the government, after six years in office, to show that it can respect the choices made by Quebec and recognize that it was a pioneer.
Since our first day here, we have been asking the federal government to take action in its own jurisdictions. For example, it was asked to take action in the transportation industry during the debate on Air Canada, Canadian Airlines and Onex. Just recently, we saw another example of the federal government refusing to co-operate in the transportation industry with the way Quebec's finance minister was treated by the Minister of Industry with regard to the restructuring proposal for the GM plant in Boisbriand.
It is being asked to take action in the area of public safety, an area under federal jurisdiction. It is being asked to fight organized crime, reform our tax system, and give middle income Canadians a substantial tax break as early as this year and this fiscal year. But it refuses to take action in these areas.
It always finds a way to interfere in areas under provincial jurisdiction. It creates conflicts, and the opposition always finds itself in an awkward position when it would have been so easy for the federal government to say that this bill will apply to the other provinces, with a reference to the Quebec legislation regarding the protection of personal information for that particular province.
Therefore, for all these reasons, we will vote against this bill.