Mr. Speaker, I have to point out to the House on the limiting of the debate that nearly two dozen Reform members of parliament have already spoken on this bill. Having heard many of them just at this one stage of the bill, I know that the same things have been said nearly two dozen times over. Nothing new is being added to the debate.
I should point out to Canadians who are listening that there was also second reading at which many Reform members spoke. There will also be third reading at which many more Reform members will speak. It is hardly the fault of the government if in all those opportunities, nearly 50 in total, the Reform Party has not been able to get across its message to Canadians.
The other thing I need to correct in the member's speech is the fact that we are trying to limit the choice of Canadians. There is no foreign magazine that will not be allowed in Canada. If having 80% of the magazines on our newsstands that are American magazines is not enough choice for Canadians, I would be extremely surprised.
I want to talk about what it means to me to be Canadian. My father chose to come to this country nearly 70 years ago. He chose Canada. He was very clear about why he did not choose to become an American. He believed in the different values this country has, values that we as Canadians share from coast to coast to coast. Before I could learn to speak, I knew how lucky I was to be a Canadian. That is why I am in this parliament, to follow in the great traditions of the people who sat in this chamber before us and of those who will come after us, to preserve what this country stands for, not only for Canadians but for the world.
I am a believer in competition too. But there is no fair competition when an American magazine can produce absolutely no new literary product in Canada, yet can come here and steal revenue from Canadian magazines, making it impossible for them to survive in the marketplace and to continue communicating with and to Canadians what this country is about.
The American magazines can mass produce for the American market, send the same magazine into Canada and therefore discount or subsidize their advertising rates in Canada. It is called predatory pricing. This government is here not to allow Canadian magazines to be put out of business by that kind of unfair competition.
What is very clear to me is that we also cannot be bullied. When it comes to doing what is best for this country, we cannot be bullied by threats against other products in this country. We have to stand up against that. We have to stand up for the right of the Government of Canada to govern in the interests of this country and its people.
Of course what we have with Reform is a party that really wishes this country were American. It is quite simple. The Reform Party wants things like recall and referendums. It wants elected representatives of this country to be the captives of well heeled, well financed, very powerful lobby groups. That is who benefits from the kind of policies the Reform Party advocates.
I suggest that the Reform Party listen to Canadians. Listen to the debate that took place, first with the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, then with NAFTA, then with MAI, and then with our involvement in the World Trade Organization. What Canadians said among other things was that they want to be able to protect Canadian culture.
As the world globalizes, we have one superpower in this world, a superpower that is reaching into every culture, every economy of the globe. Countries have to be able to stand up and protect their individual identity. We are prepared to stand up to 80% competition from foreign magazines and publications with fair competition.
The Reform Party says to let the marketplace decide. Look at the history of the country. The marketplace would never have built a railway across vast empty spaces to create a united country from Atlantic to Pacific.
The marketplace would never have created a communications network so that people in the far northern reaches of this country could be part of what Canadians were saying to each other, what was important to us and what we were talking about among ourselves.
The marketplace would never have created a national airlines so that we could travel and do business and visit relatives anywhere in the country.
The marketplace would never have said that it wanted a certain amount of Canadian content on our radio and television stations because it would have been afraid that featuring Canadian artists and performers would limit its profits. When those Canadian content regulations came in I have to say I was one who did not particularly favour them. I spoke much as the member might have at the time and I said that Canadian artists are good enough, they do not need a Canadian kindergarten to protect them from competition.
I knew within six months that I was wrong because I was hearing Canadian singers on my radio. I had never heard them before. Without those content regulations, we would not have had Anne of Green Gables , we would not have had Anne Murray, we would not have had Gordon Lightfoot, and we would not have had Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette and Céline Dion at the Grammys.
It may take members of the Reform Party a similar 30 years to admit that they were wrong, but we on this side of the House are here to make sure that there will be Canadian magazines for our children and grandchildren. There will be Canadian performers. There will be Canadian transportation and communications systems. We will not give up the great Canadian dream just because the Reform Party would rather we were Americans. That is the dream my father came to this country for. That is the dream I will protect as long as I live.