Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his presentation, and all my colleagues who have worked on this bill in committee.
We had to start by getting a clear picture of the situation and identifying an appropriate approach. We have all received unsolicited telephone calls at one time or another in our lives. We must, however, make sure that any legislation to curb this problem will not have a significant negative impact, particularly on democracy.
That is why amendments were put forward. We have also had to look at the normal way of doing business. These amendments concern registered charities. It is understandable: without protection, they would have been condemned to die. These amendments deal with business relationships, which means professionals, individuals who have not requested an exemption, political telecommunications and opinion polls. Their purpose is to ensure that democracy can continue to play its proper role. Otherwise, there would have been a glaring contradiction between our commitment to democratic debate in Canada and a bill restricting the ability to have such a debate.
There was an amendment that all parties were prepared to accept, but unfortunately the speaker ruled it out of order. It would have allowed the exclusion from the legislation of a telecommunication made for the sole purpose of soliciting subscriptions to a widely distributed newspaper. This amendment, presented by the government, received support from all parties, but the Speaker of the House ruled it out of order.
I have a question for my colleague. If he had wanted this amendment to be deemed in order, would it not have been pertinent for this type of amendment to be made to this bill? Furthermore, should we not be doing our jobs as parliamentarians and allow such a thing? I do not know how this could be done.
Nevertheless, I am addressing the hon. member during this period for questions and comments in order to get his opinion on this issue. I think we all agree that we did a professional, constructive and serious job on all the other amendments, but that the work deserved to be completed by this additional amendment. If this amendment is not made to the bill, then there may be a significant economic impact. We have to find a way to do this.
I want to know whether my colleague agrees with me that this amendment should be made to the bill. Would he like to have the same type of support from all the parties in this House, including the government, in order to obtain the desired result?
In my opinion, all the widely distributed newspapers in Canada want this type of intervention. This is a matter of democracy. Information is distributed by television, radio and the Internet, and also by newspaper. If this bill is not properly amended, it could have a major negative impact on those who buy these papers. Does my colleague agree with me on this? Would he like this amendment to be made to the bill?