Madam Speaker, I will begin by congratulating the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques for his presentation. This is no easy subject. In these 20 minutes he has managed to explain in layman's terms the key principles of the bill we have before us.
I would like to revisit one particular aspect, the one crucial for us, namely the regulation of financial markets and the recurring plan of the federal government to create a Canadian securities commission.
I imagine that everyone is well aware that the present finance minister has sought the advice of Harold MacKay in this undertaking—the selfsame Harold MacKay who authored the MacKay report, which led to Bill C-8, a bill we passed after the last election. Mr. MacKay proposed the creation of a wise persons' committee to advise the minister on the best route to take to regulate the securities market across Canada.
This wise persons' committee should soon submit its recommendation, which, as on many issues, is likely to be along the lines of establishing a Canadian securities commission. Membership would be voluntary, to put pressure on the provinces and Quebec as well. The Ontario Securities Commission clearly supports this initiative of a Canada-wide securities commission. The federal government's game plan will be to make sure all the provinces are onside, so as to isolate Quebec, and say, “Look, we are not forcing you to get onside, but since you are alone on your side, this will be a problem”.
I would like to ask the hon. member this: based on the questions he raised and what I just said, is the danger with Bill C-46 not a classic in terms of federal government interference, using a real problem and real concerns of the public—in this case, small investors and future retirees—about losing a portion of their savings because of financial fraud?
This is a real problem. We see it in the municipalities, which have financial needs with respect to infrastructures, we see it with child poverty. So, in response to a real problem, a real concern, a solution, be it legislative or financial, is proposed along with a slew of terms and conditions that result in us living in an increasingly centralized country, while what the Fathers of Confederation had in mind was a confederation. Without the guarantees the hon. member referred to, Bill C-46 may well become another part in this huge puzzle of the federal government intended to centralize Canada and make it a unitarian state.
That is my question for him.