Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to this bill, particularly because we must say at the outset that, when we talk about a problem of fairness that might affect microbreweries mainly, small breweries that are almost cottage-type, we are talking about regional economy.
As everyone knows, I come from the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region, even though I represent and live in a Quebec City area riding. Being from Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, I know very well the impact of microbreweries in very small Quebec communities.
I could talk, among others, of the community of L'Anse-Saint-Jean, in the riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. I am disappointed and surprised to see that the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord prefers to go after my colleague from Jonquière who is doing her best to defend the issue of highway 175, that he prefers to play petty politics, to use demagogy, instead of defending the microbrewery in the small village of L'Anse-Saint-Jean.
L'Anse-Saint-Jean is located on the Saguenay, in the fjord of the Saguenay, where the view is magnificent. It attracts many tourists, mainly in the summer, although its infrastructures are quite limited. The microbrewery in L'Anse-Saint-Jean provides jobs. This is what we mean when we say that we must develop fairness between the big breweries, Molson and Labatt for instance, and microbreweries.
In this regard, certain people took exception to the fact when the Bloc Quebecois pointed out the connection between the chair of the Standing Committee on Finance and her husband, Mr. Barnes, who, incidentally, is chair of the taxation committee of the Brewers Association of Canada and also a Labatt executive. This is not to say that a wife must defer to her husband or that she must parrot her husband's opinions. If the case had been exactly the opposite, the situation would not have been any more acceptable.
I could mention, as an example, the Minister of Transport and his wife, Penny Collenette, who holds an important position at Loblaws, a company that owns Weston and who also has a significant interest in the Quebec-based company Provigo. If the Minister of Transport used his position the same way the chair of the finance committee used hers to judge the amendments put forward by my colleagues from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot and from Drummond, which were aimed at ensuring a fair deal for microbreweries, it would be unacceptable. She used her position and that is why we are criticizing her.
I will go on with my example. The Minister of Transport, whose wife, Mrs. Penny Collenette, holds an important position at Loblaws, cannot make decisions favouring that particular company knowing that he has privileged information regarding that company. It is also a matter of apparent conflict of interest.
We have here a letter dated April 12 addressed to the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and signed by Mr. Sandy Morrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Brewers Association of Canada. Incidentally, Mr. Morrison is a former Air Canada executive, which I know for having met him when he was with that company.
I think it would be relevant to read one particular paragraph from the letter sent by Mr. Morrison to the chair of the finance committee:
Our position remains unchanged: we fully support a reduction in the excise tax for small brewers.
This is what is called wishful thinking. Nobody is against virtue. It is just great. If the letter ended there, we could say that small brewers would have nothing to worry about.
So the Brewers Association of Canada, a large association, says this:
Our position remains unchanged: we fully support a reduction in the excise tax for small brewers. It is a priority of the BAC and we want to point out that small brewers in Canada urgently need such a reduction.
Even though the Brewers Association of Canada recognizes that fact, the government refuses to recognize it. What is happening with regard to the relationship between the chair of the finance committee and the senior officer of the Brewers Association of Canada?
The paragraph does not end there. Here is what the Brewers Association of Canada goes on to say:
We will support any measure aimed at attaining this objective, but in light of our prior agreement with the government, we cannot support amendments which would include beer in Bill C-47.
What does that mean, “in light of our prior agreement with the government”? We can imagine the collusion, secrecy, dealings, secret agreements and sweet deals behind closed doors. We are left to wonder what the real motives of the government are.
We could dig out some information on the contributions of Labatt and Molson to the Liberal election fund, and we would have a nice illustration of what returning a favour means. You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours.
The goal of the Brewers Association of Canada is to eliminate the microbreweries. Microbreweries have taken a fair share of the market. Given the beer consumption in Canada, which is measured in hectolitres, I believe, a tiny 1% increase in the market share represents profits of $17 million.
Even if the word beer is defined in Bill C-47, the government suggests that our amendment to include beer in the bill is out of order. They refuse to accept the amendment moved by the Bloc Quebecois. Our learned colleagues opposite remark that there is nothing in the bill about beer. If that is true, why is the word beer included in the definitions in Bill C-47?
We could go on and on, but I want the Liberal Party to know that the Bloc Quebecois will keep fighting. I hope that those in Quebec who believe in the development and the future of microbreweries will remember where the Liberal government stood on this issue.