Mr. Speaker, representatives of the Bloc again do not seem to get it. They do not seem to understand what the bill contains. Some misrepresentations were obviously made in the House today by the hon. member. There is no question that we are talking about legislative and administrative changes to the bill.
The member opposite clearly has failed again to understand that these are legislative and administrative changes. The member again has failed to understand that beer is not part of the bill. The rationale was very clear that the issues were very different.
Bill C-47 deals with spirits, wine, tobacco and ships' stores. This has been the case from the beginning when the bill was tabled in December 2001.
The comments made by the member with regard to the chair have already been addressed. We will not go into that. It is utter nonsense and he knows it. Obviously I am not sure what the motivation is on the other side. Clearly the issue at hand is that we as a government are interested in bringing in a new excise act to deal with the taxation of spirits, wine and tobacco products.
It was clear in the 1997 report that we engaged the industry, the provinces and all stakeholders and they gave us very clear messages about moving forward. That is in fact what we have been doing. It is somewhat distressing to hear the sideshow comments which have absolutely nothing to do with the bill at hand which deflect from the fact that the member cannot talk about other aspects of the bill which he obviously must support.
There is no question that we are talking about the issue of ensuring that young people do not engage in smoking by way of increasing taxes. I do not think the member has a problem with that. Clearly, we are talking about making the regime, particularly for the vintners, more realistic in terms of the 21st century, instead of having them mired as they were in the 19th century. This makes ample sense.
It is important that we keep an eye on issues such as smuggling, the illegal production of alcohol, which again the industry asked us to respond, warehousing regimes and deferring the payment of duty. The bill deals with these issues. These are the real issues, not the nonsense that we continually hear from across the way on an issue which has no basis in fact.
I suggest we deal with the real issues and the content of the bill. The bill has the support, has been articulated and is now here before the House. The bill clearly addresses the kind of issues that we want to see as Canadians. Fines for alcohol related offences will be increased substantially. Serious alcohol offences will now be subject to the proceeds of crime provision. These are very important.
Therefore, I hope that a majority of members on both sides of the House will deal with the real issues. The issue of improving the administration and reducing compliance costs for the industries are very important. These are the real issues today. These are the issues we need to talk about and on which we need to focus.
I hope that when the time comes to vote on the legislation we will send a clear message of support to the industry that this needs to move forward. We need to be more effective and efficient, and that is what the bill addresses.
As members know, there are many benefits and I have outlined these in my comments before. Very quickly, a simple and more certain taxation structure, equal treatment for all parties and improved administration and lower compliance costs are important. There has to be greater flexibility for a business to organize its commercial affairs and enhanced protection for excise revenues. These are important. This will bring an act that is mired in the 19th century fully up to date.
We have heard comments and we have responded. Bill C-47 addresses the key issues of the day. It is a strong bill. When it comes to issues such as beer, the Department of Finance is reviewing the proposals that have been put forth and we will respond in an effective and timely manner.
However that is outside the purview of the bill. Talking about beer is like talking about jet fighters. They have about as much relevance to Bill C-47 as beer does. I challenge the hon. member on the other side to stick to the issues rather than trying to debase the House with needless comments. If the hon. member has nothing to say he should do what his mother probably told him and not say anything. In this case he would be better off to stick to the facts and the issues.
At the end of the day we seek to bring forth a modern legislative and administrative framework which would be important for the industry. It would be important for the people involved with spirits, wine and tobacco. It would be important for all concerned. It is important to stick to the issues at hand. We must make sure we address what we have heard from the provinces and the industry so we can adopt legislation that would benefit everyone concerned.