Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to the motions in Group No. 1 at the report stage of Bill C-54.
This is a very important bill because it deals with the leading edge of technology. It refers to the explosion of information technology that is occurring today, the challenges we face as a nation, and how to protect the personal information of individuals.
I am disappointed with Bloc Quebecois members for putting together the motions in Group No. 1 because unfortunately they are intending to filibuster the entire bill. They are doing so because they believe, and to some extent correctly, that privacy issues are provincial issues. That is true.
The Reform Party seeks to create a situation where federal privacy issues are merged with and complementary to the provincial regulations that have been set up. Unfortunately only Quebec has set them up. The other provinces have not done so, primarily because of a lack of resources.
The other side of the coin is that privacy issues in relation to the Internet are not provincial in nature. They are national and international. The Internet is an international system. It is the World Wide Web. Therefore any systems and regulations we apply to the World Wide Web by their very nature have to be national and international.
The Reform Party wants to work with its provincial counterparts and provincial governments in Quebec and other parts of the country to make a seamless integrated collection of rules and regulations to ensure the protection of people's privacy. Therein lies one of the great challenges.
With the explosion of information occurring today there is another side of the coin: How do we protect people's individual privacy? A lot of information is put out there. A lot of information is of a very personal nature. People across the country are justifiably concerned as to how that information will be protected.
One of the most important areas to protect is that of medical records. The personal medical records of people are very sensitive. They fall within the category of sensitive information that can only and should only be shared among individuals and groups with an interest in treating, dealing with, and benefiting the individuals concerned.
The medical community has some grave concerns about the bill. It wants to make certain the bill will not trammel its ability to share medical information about patients. If we put roadblocks between medical professionals taking care of a particular patient we impede the ability of that patient to be treated in a responsible and effective fashion. It is a very difficult area to deal with, to be sure, but many of the motions put forth will benefit patients across the country.
On the other hand, we want to make sure the personal medical information of individuals will not be spread willy-nilly among people who have absolutely nothing to do with the care of patients. The overarching requirement in the sharing of medical information has to be that the information is shared only with people and personnel intimately involved in the care of patients.
That is what we do today. Physicians and other medical personnel share information on the basis that it is a group which is trying to take care of a particular patient or patients. It would be a very serious offence for that information to be sent out to individuals who are not involved. Penalties would be placed upon the individuals who have violated the privacy of the patients concerned.
On the larger issue in the Group No. 1 amendments, I hope the Government of Quebec, the province of Quebec and the other provinces will come together with the federal government to ensure a seamless group of rules and regulations that protects the privacy Canadians, not only between provinces but nationally and internationally.
Blockages have to take place and barriers have to exist to make sure that individuals cannot access personal information that can be used against people.
This group of amendments contains information concerning the police. We want to make sure the police have the ability to extract and acquire information about individuals engaged in criminal behaviour. The line in the sand is that the information can only be used in a legitimate investigation of individuals about whom the police are legitimately concerned who are engaging in criminal activity.
My colleague from Edmonton—Strathcona has done an incredible job. He has taken a leadership role in this issue. He has made it very clear that it cannot be used as a fishing expedition on the part of the police or any other organization. They cannot extract or find information about people who have absolutely nothing to do with the criminal activity.
It is a very fine line. We want to make sure that the police, as I said before with respect to the medical community, are able to obtain the information on individuals they require to do the job they are tasked to do. On the other hand, we want to make very certain that personal information on the individual is not abused. The laws of the country are there to protect the personal information of individuals. Penalties will be paid by those who abuse personal information.
With the explosion of the Internet and with the explosion of electronic commerce a great deal of potential exists, not only for our country but for individuals and companies, to be able to utilize this information in a very productive fashion. We are in favour of that.
The member for Edmonton—Strathcona has done a great job in shepherding the bill through and helping the government craft a finer bill than it was originally. We are in support of the bill to make sure rules and regulations are in place to protect the personal security of individuals and to make sure that there will be no barriers or impediments to fair and equal utilization of information technology for the benefit of the country and Canadians.