Madam Speaker, I am very happy to rise on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois to speak to Bill C-6, formerly Bill C-54.
There are some in the Quebec society and elsewhere who are questioning the role of the Bloc Quebecois here in the House. Madam Speaker, as a representative of a Quebec riding, this is the perfect demonstration of the role played by the Bloc Quebecois in this House, which is, in addition to promoting sovereignty, to speak up for Quebec's interests.
Where are the other members from Quebec? Where are they? Let us imagine what would happen if we were still in the days of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, to whom people are still paying homage today. If out of 75 members in this House we had 74 sheep, as was the case for Quebec in those days, what would they be doing faced with a bill on personal information such as Bill C-6?
It is an obvious intrusion, undue and unbridled, on the part of a minister who is displaying a self-serving attitude we did not think he was capable of. As we will recall, he introduced this bill on October 1st 1998, only days before the opening of the OECD meeting on electronic commerce in Ottawa. The then industry minister, who is the same as today, was hosting the meeting.
He probably wanted to look good to his international counterparts, pretending he was concerned about the real issues in his area, probably to raise his profile although this was going against public interest.
There is a consensus in Quebec according to which the federal government should not intervene in the field of personal information, since this issue is quite well covered by Quebec's law. As my colleagues already mentioned it, it is the bar and the Quebec council of employers, among others, and not only us, who are saying it. These organizations asked the Government of Canada where it was heading with its project.
The bar, through its president, Me Jacques Fournier, wrote on February 14, to my colleague of Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, and said:
“First, we are puzzled by the lack of correlation between the title of the act and its contents”.
This is what the president of the bar said. It is normally embarrassing for the government.
Indeed, the bill has more to do with the protection of personal information in the private sector than with the promotion of electronic commerce.
Yet, the subject of the meeting was electronic commerce. But the government wanted to show itself in the best light. The same thing happens when terms are changed, as my colleague from Frontenac—Mégantic said earlier. “Unemployment insurance” was changed by “employment insurance”. They are changing words to show themselves in a better light in front of the people.
The president of the bar continues to denounce the federal project by saying:
Quebec's policy has been applied in Quebec for close to five years now. This policy is well known and businesses are accustomed to it”. Consequently, Quebec's bar essentially subscribes to the recommendation made by the information access commission, and I quote: “In order to prevent all confusion and to ensure that all Quebecers can continue to benefit from a complete policy in matters of personal information protection, we propose that Bill C-54 be amended by providing explicitly that the federal act will not apply to businesses already subjected to the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector”.
Let me continue quoting from the president of the bar:
We would go even further. We think the bill should be incorporated by reference in the Quebec legislation, even in federal areas of jurisdiction, in order to prevent confusion, overlap, and duplication of legislation in Quebec.
We have been condemning for 40 years this duplication between federal and provincial legislation that makes such a mess in our institutions. That is why we are trying to convince more and more people in Quebec that sovereignty is the solution to all these problems. We should get out in order to be in a better position to deal with the rest of Canada as equal partners.
The president said further:
We believe the Quebec plan for the protection of personal information in the private sector is better than the one in Bill C-54, now Bill C-6, particularly as concerns rights of appeal and efficiency.
The merits of the bill cannot withstand the serious examination made by the president of the bar or the Commission d'accès à l'information, which has a mandate to speak out, because we are dealing here with personal information.
However, I have been particularly impressed by what I read from the testimony of the Conseil du patronat. This organization is a legitimate advocate for business interests. It certainly has more ties with the Council for Canadian Unity than it does with the Parti québécois executive, for example.
This organization has written a chapter that is as good as many sovereignist speeches. I will read it to you since I still have a little time left; it is absolutely beautiful because it shows, once again, the Canadian mess which becomes more and more institutionalized.
In the brief it submitted to the Standing Committee on Industry, the Conseil du patronat is critical of the communication of information.
I quote the brief on page 5:
Because of the double jurisdiction, the companies falling under provincial jurisdiction will wonder whether the personal information which is collected from them and consequently protected by Quebec's legislation and which is transmitted to a company falling under federal jurisdiction and carrying business in Quebec will be governed by Quebec's rules or Canada's rules. In addition, within a single file, some information could be subject to both statutes.
It is easy to manage for someone who is in the private sector, who has to do business, who has to deal with a union, who has orders to fill and deadlines to meet—we know how complicated it is—and who is confronted with such legislation that clearly shows the existence of two solitudes.
The fact that nobody on that side of the House nor over there seems to be interested in this bill, with the exception of the Quebec's members, clearly illustrates the Canadian drama, the two solitudes, the fact that something is going wrong.
So, along the lines of Reed Scowen, the government is also addressing Canadians. Maybe the time has come for our country to reflect on where we are all going together. It might be better for each to proceed along its own solidly built road running in the same direction, rather than crashing head on and trying to gain the right of way in an area already governed perfectly well by provinces, and Quebec in particular with an entire culture behind it that is suited to this type of problem.
Now to go on with the disclosure of information, again quoting from the brief submitted by the Conseil du patronat:
What about the organizations whose activities are connected to federal jurisdiction, for instance loan companies and airports? One could even conceive of different rules applying to one and the same file, depending on whether the information collected, used or held is covered by Quebec or federal law.
This is a constant muddle.
Moreover, any Quebec business with a branch in another province—such as an insurance company—that is required to send it information gathered in Quebec would have to know whether to refer to the Quebec or the federal legislation on protection of that information. Similarly, if the information in question is stored in a computerized data bank in Quebec but accessible by another company outside Quebec, which legislation would apply?”
Now, coming to the conclusion of this chapter:
These are all questions for which we find no answers at this time, and ones that will pose huge problems to businesses if the bill is passed in its present form.
This then, is what the business people have to say, the language they use, and these are the ones responsible for added value in our society.
We ought to ask ourselves some questions when people like this speak up so courageously to government. Normally, they are on the same side. It is no secret that these are natural allies. But they are telling the government: “Stop, do not continue with this bill.” This is, moreover, the position of the Bloc Quebecois. It is an indefensible bill.
Instead of spending his time on such a bill, the minister should be focussing more attention on the GM affair. He should quit behaving to the Quebec ministers as if he were an Ontario minister and abandon the scornful tone he uses with Quebec's deputy premier and minister of industry and commerce.