Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-393, an act to amend the Competition Act with respect to the prohibition of negative option billing.
I would like to recognize the work of the member for Sarnia—Lambton on this issue. I know he has worked tirelessly in the interests of consumers. I respect any member of this House who is prepared to champion an issue despite pressures from within his or her own caucus to be a quiet and dutiful backbencher.
This bill is designed to prohibit the practice by federally regulated businesses such as banks, cable companies and telephone companies of implied consent billing. It would restore the traditional buyer-seller relationship that relies on the consumers' explicit consent before they can be billed for a product or service and would prohibit default billing of consumers who do not absolutely decline a product or service. In other words, it would put an end to what has been called negative option billing.
It is clear that this bill has broad support among consumers frustrated by negative option billing. In particular, there is frustration with cable providers that bill automatically for a new program unless the consumer expressly rejects the service.
Consumer groups have cited senior citizens as examples of people who are often unaware that they have the choice of opting out of the new service and are consequently billed for a program they do not want and cannot afford. This is a source of frustration not simply because of the financial costs but because it is deemed to be a violation of an age-old relationship between buyers and sellers.
It is clear that consumers are looking for protection from negative option billing. The questions are simply: How do we provide this protection? Should it come in the form of Bill C-393, or can this be achieved through market based reforms? I think a balance must be struck.
Bill C-393 had its origins as Bill C-288 which would have amended the Broadcasting Act to restrict negative option billing by cable companies. These companies can currently act with relative impunity as they are federally regulated regional monopolies that are free from the normal constraints of a competitive market. This new version of the bill is broader and instead amends competition laws that apply to all federally regulated industries.
The decision by the hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton to use the Competition Act as a means by which to prohibit negative option billing instead of making changes to the legislation that deals directly with the perpetrators of this practice is troubling for me.
Competition laws can profoundly restrict economic freedom and market efficiency. The general move toward strengthening these laws should be approached with caution.
This bill should not be seen as a mechanism by which to restrict attempts made by companies wishing to expand their market share. We must not allow our competition laws to grow steadily more intrusive. We must act vigilantly to create competition through deregulation of our industries in the interest of every Canadian consumer.
The original purpose of this draft legislation in the form of Bill C-288 was to amend the Broadcasting Act. This dealt much more directly with the source of the problem and would be the preferable course by which to protect consumers against negative option billing.
Negative option billing is a practice common to federally regulated industries because they enjoy market protection such that they restrict or limit the consumers' ability to seek alternative providers of a product or service. Therefore the deregulation of federally legislated industries should be the first step to eliminating negative option billing and other practices that do not properly serve consumers.
The Reform Party recognizes the important role of government in creating an economic environment with fair and transparent rules that protect both consumers and businesses. Bill C-393 is a band-aid solution made necessary by policies that assume Canadians will watch anything if it is Canadian, but viewership dictates something else.
Despite the CRTC's pursuing policies which in effect force Canadians to view Canadian productions on cable, viewership for Canadian programs remains about the same. I challenge Canadian producers to offer programming that Canadians and people around the world will want to view.