Debates of June 12th, 2013

Combating Counterfeit Products Act

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my hon. colleague, particularly where he referenced the U.S. 301 watch list, and the comments about Canada in our trade policies and our counterfeit policies.

I am interested in this because in 2009, a special adviser to the now President of the Treasury Board, Zoe Addington, met with U.S. officials. According to their notes, she said that, “In contrast to the messages from other Canadian officials, she said that if Canada is elevated to the Special 301 Priority Watch List (PWL), it...might even help—the [Government of Canada's] ability to enact copyright legislation”.

Therefore, what that cable tells us is that the present President of the Treasury Boardhad his officials in Washington say to put Canada on the most notorious watch list, along with outlying countries like Yemen and North Korea, for being considered basically a bandit country and undermining our trade interests, because he thought it would help pursue an agenda in Parliament. I find that absolutely shocking.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association in the United States, which represents the largest software organizations in the world, went to Washington on Canada's behalf. We did not have any support from the Conservatives who are undermining our trade interests. It went on to say that, “the use of Special 301...unrelated to the adequate and effective protection of relevant rights delegitimizes the Special 301 process” because they are using it for policy ends. It said that it was completely unacceptable that they were targeting Canada, and said that in many respects Canada's laws are more protective of creators than the United States. This was before our present copyright bill came in.

How can they take seriously a government that would actually undermine our trade reputation internationally and say to our largest trading partner to put us on an outlier list along with North Korea and Yemen because it will help us pursue a copyright agenda? I find it shocking that the Conservatives would undermine our trade interests like this.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have what I would call an instance of policy-based evidence. The government sought to create evidence in order to justify a potential policy. Another way of saying it would be, it tried to create a crisis so that it could ride in and fix it.

Where have we seen that kind of strategy before? We saw it with John Snobelen, the former education minister in the Mike Harris government in Ontario. Of course, who were main components of that same government? The current President of the Treasury Board, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs and the current Minister of Finance were all integral to that strategy of creating crises and then riding in to try to fix them.

Again, we have an instance where they sought to have us put on this list so that they could then justify policies that were being brought forward. However, what is absolutely ridiculous about this is that was in 2009. In 2007, there was an industry committee report and there were recommendations made. The government could have moved forward then. We had all-party agreements on many aspects. A bill could have been brought forward then, years before this happened, which again shows the ridiculous nature of some of the things the government sometimes does.

It is just like the government imposing time allocation on the bill. We could have had an agreement that saw us fast-track the bill, but instead the government came down again with time allocation. It wasted an hour on that. Now we are going to spend the whole next day debating the bill when we could have, in fact, reached an agreement and moved on more quickly to get the bill back to committee. Then the Liberal member who spoke earlier, the other members of the committee and I could have actually studied the bill and come forward with more recommendations.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech. He is well informed and works hard at the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

Naturally, we are against counterfeiting, and we must find ways to eliminate it as much as possible. However, the Canada Border Services Agency also needs the tools to detect counterfeit goods and intercept them before they cross our borders. The first step is detecting counterfeit goods, and that costs money.

Can he comment briefly on the tools available to the agency and whether it needs more tools to combat counterfeiting effectively?

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

It does not make sense to give our Border Services Agency more responsibilities, and then turn around and cut its funding, but the government cut $143 million in its latest budget. The agency says that it will lose 546 full-time jobs.

How can the government give the agency more responsibility, more training and more to do if it has 546 fewer employees?

We have a huge land mass with many places to cross the border, not to mention that some of our ports are getting bigger. The agency needs more resources, not fewer, to ensure that it can do its job. If the government gives the agency more to do, it has to provide more resources. Keeping our country safe and sound costs money.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-56, which is important even though it has some problems and should be improved. We need to debate this today.

Government members need to recognize certain issues. I hope that they will do so in committee, and that they will agree to adopt some important amendments.

For example, there is the fact, as I mentioned to my hon. friend from Scarborough Southwest, that this bill does not cover goods in transit. I am sure that our American neighbours would not be impressed if, for example, a counterfeit shipment travelling from Asia to Vancouver and then on to Los Angeles was not seized here. We are saying that it is their problem and we are not going to take any responsibility for it. That is not what we would ask of them in return. That is something that needs to be fixed.

Additionally, as legislators, we should not simply be ramming through flawed legislation just because the government has a majority. What we see here is a bill that has sat on the order paper for three months now, since it was introduced. The government has not moved it an inch since then. It has not brought the bill forward until today, near the end of the session, when the government is bringing forward its 45th or 46th time allocation.

The government is trying to rush through a whole series of bills, having the House sit until midnight for the last four weeks of the session, and not really giving any of these bills the kind of consideration that they deserve. The government is not allowing for the possibility that any of them might really be improved in committee. As my hon. colleague said, when was the last time that we saw the government side actually accept an amendment from the opposition? That is worrisome.

There are also questions about who would bear the cost of seizure, storage and destruction, particularly when it comes to small businesses. They are concerned about products coming into the country that are counterfeits of what they produce or that affect their copyright. I hope that we will get some clarity on these issues and the legislation that is under consideration in the brief period we are going to have.

I have also heard concerns about the increased powers that would be given to border officers, without any oversight from the courts. We have to keep in mind, as my friend said, that last year the government cut $143 million from the Canada Border Services Agency. Therefore, there is less ability there to do those kinds of jobs, but the government is giving them more to do. They are trying to do the jobs they have and the government is giving them much greater responsibility, and a very complicated responsibility, in assessing which goods coming in may be counterfeit or in breach of copyright and which ones are not.

We need to make sure that this legislation does not result in illegal or illegitimate seizures and violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We also have to ensure that border officials receive the proper training to deal with these very complicated matters. Sometimes, it is a question of what is copyrighted and what is not. We know from the discussion we had on the copyright bill last year that it can sometimes be complex, even for the courts. To ask our border officials to do this without much training and without giving them decent resources to provide that training is unreasonable. How is it going to work effectively if we add to their workload on the one hand, while reducing their resources on the other? These officials do a tremendously important job and we need to give them the tools they need to be able to do that job.

People like Professor Michael Geist, who is an expert on these issues and the chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, are raising copyright issues around this bill. Some voices—not a lot, I will admit, but some—even argue that this legislation may be a backdoor way of bringing back ACTA. I do not think that it is. There is very little in this bill that relates to it, but I appreciate those concerns and respect them. We should examine those concerns and hear from witnesses on topics like that at a thorough examination of this bill in committee.

It is clear that there are many issues, which we, as members of Parliament, have a duty to carefully examine in relation to this bill. That is why it will require the thorough assessment that I just spoke of when it goes to committee.

I hope the government does not simply employ its usual bullying tactics of ramming through another bill because it can. That is wrong and the government knows it.

I also hope we take the time to hear from many voices who support this so-called combating counterfeit products bill. Of course, we have to wait and see. The proof is in the pudding. When it actually gets into effect, we will see how well it does that. I think it will have some positive effect, but it will work better if we can improve it at committee.

Recently I met with members of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating, who want to discuss Bill C-56 as part of their Parliamentary Awareness Day. They made some very coherent arguments in favour of this legislation. I think most, if not all, members of this House would agree with them.

Bill C-56 amends the Copyright Act and the Trade-marks Act to add new civil and criminal remedies. It would add new border measures in both acts in order to strengthen enforcement of copyright and trademark rights, and to curtail commercial activity involving infringing copies and counterfeit trademark goods.

Whether it is hockey sweaters, radio parts, or the jackets my friend talked about, all kinds of things come in and look like the real thing, but they are not. That is why it is important to be aware of and to deal with this. It has an impact on our economy and our jobs in Canada. We ought be mindful of it.

This would also amend the Trade-marks Act to, among other things, expand the scope of what can be registered as a trademark, allow the Registrar of Trade-marks to correct errors that appear in the Trade-mark register, and to streamline and modernize the trade-mark application and opposition process, all of which is positive.

As an aside, I wish we could see similar kinds of measures to examine the question of official marks, which are very problematic. One can have a group within a province, an association of some type of profession, for example, an association of massage therapists. They were given an official mark for Canada. The idea of these marks is that they can apply all across the country. There could be two groups of massage therapists in Nova Scotia. If one of them gets approved by the people in Ontario and the other one does not, then only one of them gets to use certain phrases that go along with the official mark. That makes no sense at all when the first group was limited to one province. There is a need to examine and amend the official marks legislation as well.

Our caucus recognizes the health and safety risks to Canadians, as well as the detrimental effects to the economy posed by counterfeit goods entering Canada. We believe this bill needs to be amended, but with a little co-operation from the government we believe that can be achieved at committee. The Liberal Party recognizes the need to provide new enforcement tools to help strengthen Canada's existing enforcement regime for counterfeit goods.

My colleagues on the industry committee will recall seeing the counterfeit Canada Goose jackets we heard about a few minutes ago, and hearing about the horrible stuff that can be in these fake jackets. It certainly is not the kind of thing that is going to keep people warm in the deep-freeze of Canadian winters. We have all heard stories of counterfeit circuit breakers being installed in government buildings, or of faulty Christmas tree lights causing house fires. These are counterfeit products that are dangerous for Canadians.

To give an idea of how widespread this problem is, let us consider the fact that 1,800 cases of counterfeit electronic parts, apparently made in China, have been discovered in U.S. cargo planes, helicopters and other military aircraft. Yes, I said military aircraft. Imagine what that is like and how scary it would be for those operating one of them, particularly in a place of conflict or danger.

This is a very big issue for government, businesses and consumers. With regard to consumers, counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs can be an issue. The drugs are improper, and it could be that the doses are too low or it is the wrong material entirely. That is pretty scary as well.

In April, the RCMP, provincial and local police conducted an operation at a flea market in Hamilton, and they seized about $100,000 in counterfeit goods. That included designer purses, jeans, sunglasses and DVDs. We do not think of these as endangering public safety or health, but they certainly have an impact on jobs in Canada.

Overall, the retail value of counterfeit products seized by the RCMP has increased over fivefold from 2005 to 2012, from $7.6 million to $38 million. This is just the estimate, of course.

The Liberal Party believes that Canadian businesses must be protected to ensure the well-being of the domestic enterprises and the health and safety of Canadians. It is also important, of course, to protect the jobs of Canadians and the integrity of the Canadian economy as a whole.

We would like to see a robust public education program regarding the possession, production and distribution of counterfeit goods. We would like to investigate and further study the challenges that the Internet and e-commerce pose as a loophole to the seizure and reduction in the presence of counterfeit products. We are talking about seizing shipments at the borders. When things are coming in one at a time by mail, by UPS, or whatever, it is a much more difficult for our border services to deal with.

With the current government's ongoing deficits, we question how the Conservatives would fund this new prevention and investigative system, particularly with the $142 million cut to CBSA last year. Border officers are by no means copyright experts. They would be given new and increased powers that are not overseen by the courts, which may lead to illegitimate seizures and violations of the Charter of Rights. That is certainly a problem. We also believe that small businesses should be exempted from the costs that would be imposed by the bill.

Several areas of concerns, other than those I have mentioned, have been raised. With the increased number of seizures due to increased powers being given to border officers and the RCMP, how would the government fund such extensive investigative legal operations, particularly in view of the cuts I talked about? Should genuine or non-counterfeit products be seized and destroyed, how would the government compensate companies and individuals? How would the government determine whether importers of counterfeit products are aware that these products are counterfeit? Why are there no provisions for counterfeit goods being transshipped through Canada?

Bill C-56 does strive to reduce the presence of counterfeit trademark goods being sold and distributed in Canada by providing new enforcement tools. The bill would bolster Canada's enforcement regime at the border, and domestically, and would address negative impacts of counterfeit goods by giving border officers the authority to detain suspected commercial shipments and contact rights holders. It would allow Canadian businesses to file a request for assistance with the CBSA, in turn enabling border officers to share information with rights holders regarding suspect shipments. Those are valuable and worthwhile things, especially if people have the resources to do it.

The bill would provide new criminal offences for commercial possession, manufacturing or trafficking of counterfeit trademark goods. It would provide legitimate owners with new tools to protect their rights and take civil action against infringers. It would create new offences for a trademark counterfeiter. It would provide better tools to investigate commercial counterfeiting.

We support the intent of the legislation, and we will support it at second reading to have it sent to committee. We support where it wants to go. However, we think it needs to be improved, and I hope my hon. colleagues would be open to amending and improving the bill at committee.

[Mike Allen, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Halifax West for his comments on the bill. It is a very important bill, and he brought up some of the very good things in it with respect to the trafficking of goods and the pirating of goods.

One of the things he commented on was the compensation for goods that have been seized, or the storage or destruction of those goods. In the context of the government being open to amendments, proposed section 44.07 of the bill does talk significantly about the cost. The licence holder is the person who is responsible for the costs, and they are able to be compensated, for example, if a court action deems they were not seized legitimately.

I am wondering what he sees might be missing in the compensation of costs that is not in proposed section 44.07 now?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the concern is that we are often talking about small businesses that do not have the wherewithal to have the legal representation they might need at the court hearings, or to fight for the compensation they are looking for. I think we want to make sure they are protected and that they are not going to face undue costs associated with these measures.

We heard at the industry committee from larger businesses that were happy and were prepared to take on the costs of storage and destruction of these things. The concern I have is what it is going to mean for smaller businesses. That is something we should hear about at committee, frankly. If my hon. colleague is right, that it would not impose a cost on those small businesses, let us hear about that. Let us have some witnesses who can actually speak to that.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I have no doubt that he always works hard in committee.

Counterfeit goods that do not necessarily meet the same quality standards as those manufactured according to Canadian standards can pose a risk in Canada.

I would like him to talk about the risks posed by counterfeit goods to Canadian consumers because we do not have the means to block them and to ensure that they do not enter our market.

What are the risks associated with counterfeit goods?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his good question. I believe it is important to debate this in the House of Commons because it will help educate Canadians.

For example, if you take your car to a garage for repairs, it is possible that the brakes installed to replace your old ones will, in some cases, be counterfeit brakes. Just imagine. I already mentioned airbags and the problems we are having with them.

Brakes are another very good example because everyone recognizes and understands the importance of having good brakes and the need for them to be manufactured according to an appropriate standard. If someone obtains counterfeit brakes that do not work properly, the danger is obvious and clear. This can happen.

I also talked about prescription drugs and cases where they can enter or be sold in Canada without being the proper drugs manufactured according to appropriate standards.

It is very important to have measures that deal with counterfeit goods.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned the unlikely chance of any amendments being made to the bill. Notwithstanding that as in the past there is no bill that the government presents that is amended, I am wondering if he could highlight two or three of the most important things that he thinks need amending.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things I have mentioned that is important to be amended is the question of transshipment. We do have a responsibility when things arrive in Canada, even if they are not staying here, to try to deal with that if we think there are counterfeit goods. That is important. I think it is the appropriate thing to do. We expect the same in return from our neighbours to the south, who we deal with so often in trade.

There are a number of other measures I mentioned that we ought to be dealing with. For example, I talked about the need for an education program, which I do not see coming from the government. My hon. colleague is right that we have not seen from the government a lot of interest in allowing amendments to pass when they come from the opposition. Conservatives seem so convinced that the bills they have come in perfect form. They arrive in Parliament fully formed, in absolute perfection, arriving from the departments, in fact.

To me, that is not what Parliament ought to be about. The government ought to recognize that having criticism, being attacked sometimes, is part of the democratic process. While it is not pleasant, it is necessary. It is important to have the consideration by Parliament of the bill, even if at times it gets partisan. However, it is about allowing that debate to happen and drawing from that possible ways to improve the bill.

I talked during my speech about five different ways the bill could be improved. While I think it is doubtful and I recognize that recent experience does not give one much basis for a lot of hope, I still retain some sliver of optimism that perhaps the government will consider amendments that come forward at committee.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my hon. colleague about his hope that the government is actually interested in improving bills. Unfortunately, it seems to have decided that it is, like the First Vatican Council, infallible.

I was with my colleague during the copyright study. There were numerous problems identified in that bill that could have been fixed for the benefit of Canadians. Government members stood in the House and told Canadians that if there were amendments, they would consider them. However, they did not say the rest, which was that they would consider them and turn every single one down.

In that bill, the Conservatives had not thought through the issue of students with perceptual disabilities and how they would be unfairly victimized by the digital lock provisions. They could actually have fixed the digital lock provisions so that blind students and students with other perceptual disabilities would have been able to get the most of out their educations. The government decided to ignore that, despite the overwhelming evidence that it was targeting a small group of students who should have been able to access the works.

Given the track record of the government and its refusal to listen to the most reasonable amendments, does my hon. colleague think this bill will be another failed journey by the Conservative Party?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. While I say that I hold a sliver of optimism, if he were to tell me that there was no basis for that, I would have a hard time arguing with him that I have a strong basis for my optimism.

Like him, I recall not just the Copyright Act in this discussion but many other bills that have been considered in committee and amendments that have not been seriously considered by the government. I recall the discussion about the Copyright Act, particularly with respect to digital locks and what that would mean for people with perceptual disabilities. That was a great concern of mine. I can recall other amendments that were put forward that, in my view, would have actually helped the government achieve what it was trying to do, and it still would not agree to them, because they were not the government's amendments.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to the second reading of Bill C-56, the combating counterfeit products act.

Counterfeit goods hurt our economy. They undermine innovation and the integrity of Canadian brands. They threaten economic growth and they threaten job creation. Moreover, they threaten the health and safety of Canadians.

The bill before us takes important steps to modernize Canada's intellectual property legislation to address counterfeiting. I would like to speak to the impact this bill will have on those who have created a copyrighted work or have invested in a registered trademark. I would then like to demonstrate how our measures will protect Canadian consumers and families while targeting commercial counterfeiting.

Bill C-56 introduces changes in four key areas: border enforcement, greater civil tools to enforce intellectual property rights, reduced red tape burdens on rights holders and improved criminal offences. These are all worthy objectives and deserve our support, which it seems we are achieving tonight. They will help protect legitimate businesses from unfair competition by those who minimize costs and maximize profits through counterfeiting.

It is difficult to obtain a precise estimate of how big a problem counterfeiting truly represents in Canada. The rights holders are often reluctant to report that their products are being counterfeited. They are concerned that their brand image will suffer as a result.

The RCMP calculates that between 2005 and 2012, over 4,500 cases of IP crime were investigated in Canada. During that period, the retail value of counterfeit goods seized by the RCMP increased fivefold, from $7.6 million to $38 million.

Sales of counterfeit items represent lost income for a legitimate rights owner for a genuine product. Given that many incidents of counterfeiting are not reported, we can assume that the actual cost in lost sales to rights holders is much more.

Counterfeiting costs the legitimate rights holders in other ways. It costs in terms of the effort to maintain customer relations with consumers, who may be dissatisfied with the quality of a product, not realizing that it was not produced by the legitimate rights holder. It also has a cooling effect in terms of innovation. It makes rights holders more reluctant to invest in the development of new, innovative products if they know that their research will only serve to enrich others who will knock off cheap counterfeit versions of their products. The counterfeiters have no R and D costs. They have no advertising costs. They are piggybacking on the investments made by the legitimate rights holders.

It costs in terms of giving serious and organized crime a foothold in the marketplace. According to Interpol, the profits are so high in counterfeiting that it serves as a magnet to those who seek ways to finance other criminal activity, including drug trafficking, human smuggling and robbery. Some people may believe that counterfeiting is a victimless crime. This is clearly untrue.

Over the years, many hon. members have devoted their time and knowledge to studying the challenge of counterfeiting. I would remind the House that both the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology and the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security studied the problem in 2007. Again, last year, the industry committee called witnesses to testify about the impact of counterfeiting and other intellectual property issues.

I am sure that hon. members were attentive to the tabling of our committee's report in March on Canada's IP regime. It makes several recommendations regarding counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks and copyrights.The committee recommends, for example, that legislation should introduce both civil and criminal remedies for trademark counterfeiting. The bill before us would create such a regime for both civil and criminal remedies. It would provide rights holders with expanded civil causes of action. Holders of registered trademarks would be able to stop counterfeit goods earlier in the supply chain, before they reached the market. Under the current system, rights holders can pursue civil action only if the offender has sold or distributed a counterfeit product. In other words, the manufacture or possession of counterfeit products is not against the law.

Under clause 21 of the bill before us, “A person shall not manufacture, cause to be manufactured, possess, import, export or attempt to export any goods”. Clause 21 also addresses the increasing phenomenon of counterfeiters shipping the knock-off products separately from the counterfeit labels. The practice is to attach the labels at the last minute so as to avoid detection. Under the bill before us, rights holders can pursue civil remedies against those who manufacture or ship labels intended to be later attached to those counterfeit goods.

The committee report calls for a combination of civil and criminal remedies. On the criminal side, the bill would ensure that selling, distributing, possessing, importing or exporting counterfeit goods for the purpose of trade would be prohibited and subject to fines and possible jail time. In addition, new criminal offences for possessing and exporting pirated goods for commercial purposes would be added to the Copyright Act.

In its report on Canada's intellectual property regime, the standing committee recommended that Customs officials be allowed to share information with rights holders regarding suspected goods. The bill would grant border service officers the authority to search for and detain suspected counterfeit goods and to inform trademark owners of the detention.

Under the current regime, a rights holder must obtain a court order to stop a suspected shipment. Under the current system, rights holders must know, among other things, that counterfeit goods are coming from a particular location in an approximate time period, and they must also provide enough information to identify the goods, as required by the court.

There are many ways in which this system is inadequate for the rights holder. Perhaps the rights holder knows that goods are coming from a particular factory but cannot identify when or how. Perhaps the trademark holder does not gather enough evidence to convince a court to act. Perhaps the Canada Border Services Agency encounters suspected counterfeit goods, but under the Customs Act, does not have the authority to take action or notify a trademark or copyright owner in the absence of a court order. Perhaps the rights holder does not know that a shipment is coming, and under the current regime, the trademark holder remains in ignorance. In each of these cases, enforcement at the border is not an option.

This bill before us would remedy that situation by granting border services officers the authority to detain suspected counterfeit goods on their own initiative. It would also facilitate detention through the request-for-assistance system. Through this system, rights holders would be able to provide Canada Border Services Agency with information about their copyright or registered trademark as well as contact information. The border services officer would use this information to help identify and detain suspected counterfeit goods and would have the authority under the Trade-marks Act or the Copyright Act to detain them. Through the consequential amendments to the Customs Act contained in this bill, the border services officer would then have the authority to contact the rights holders to share relevant information regarding these goods to determine whether the goods were indeed counterfeit, and that the rights holder would have the option of pursuing civil action.

In other words, the CBSA would be able to provide the rights holders with limited, necessary information that would help in a civil case.

The bill before us would give the rights holder, the CBSA and law enforcement the tools required to crack down on counterfeiting. As a result, we would reduce the damage that counterfeiting inflicts on the Canadian economy, including reduced sales for legitimate businesses and lost tax revenue for governments.

I would also like to draw the attention of the House to the impact of the bill on consumers and the protection it would afford to individual Canadians.

The legitimate businesses whose products have been copied illegally are not the only victims of counterfeiting. Because counterfeit products forgo safety regulations, certifications and quality controls, the consumer who purchases them has also been victimized.

For example, purchasers of counterfeit pharmaceuticals have no way of knowing whether the active ingredient is the required dosage for their prescription. Purchasers of counterfeit batteries do not know that the product may be prone to exploding or leaking. Purchasers of counterfeit children's toys may be putting children in danger of choking hazards or toxic paints. Purchasers of counterfeit electronic items may be buying products that could ignite or explode.

Consumers have become the victims of counterfeit products in many different ways, but today I would like to remind the House that it is in no way the intention of this bill to victimize them any further by confiscating products they have purchased for their own personal use.

Let me remind the House of where the laws governing counterfeiting are made stronger and clearer.

Under the current law, there are many gaps in the ability to go after counterfeiters in either the criminal or civil courts. There is no action that can be taken for goods that have not yet reached the marketplace. An individual is not violating a trademark owner's rights by manufacturing or importing counterfeit goods that will be sold.

It is possible to import counterfeit goods to sell in Canada, it is possible to have a warehouse full of trademark-infringing goods to be sold in the future and it is also possible to make counterfeit goods to sell in Canada or counterfeit labels that will be put on those goods.

Presently it is unlawful to sell counterfeit goods on the street or in a store. It is also unlawful to sell goods with a mark that might be confused with a registered trademark. This bill would close any loopholes by giving trademark owners the ability to stop counterfeit goods at all stages of the distribution chain, from manufacturing to retail sale. It would also create a civil action for selling or offering for sale labels or packaging that is to be applied to counterfeit merchandise.

I want to be very clear that these provisions are designed to target the commercial operations of counterfeiters. They provide federal agencies and rights holders with the tools to confront criminals who gain commercially from the sale of these goods. We believe that the best way to stop illegal counterfeiting is to crack down on commercial counterfeiting at its very roots.

The measures apply only to those who knowingly possess counterfeit goods for commercial purposes. They are not targeted at the private, non-commercial activities of individuals. They are not designed to prosecute individuals who have purchased counterfeit or pirated products. We are not going after individuals who may own a pirated DVD or a counterfeit watch bought from a sidewalk vendor. Counterfeit items found in an individual's luggage for personal use will not be seized by border service officers.

In fact, the bill provides a specific exception at the border for individuals who happen to have counterfeit or pirated goods that are intended for personal use as part of their personal baggage. This exception is in no way intended to encourage the personal use of counterfeit goods, but it protects Canadians and enables border services officers to focus their attention on the root cause, which is the commercial abuse of trademarks and copyright, a growing problem in Canada and around the world.

I expect that the new civil and criminal measures included in the bill will give rights holders and law enforcement the tools they need to bring commercial counterfeiting cases before the courts. This will raise the profile of the problems that counterfeiting has created in Canada's economy and the health and safety risks they pose to consumers. The measures in the bill are designed to help federal agencies and rights holders target their efforts to confronting criminals who gain commercially from the sale of these goods.

Many Canadians regard buying counterfeit goods as unethical, as our industry committee was told in meetings throughout the past quarter, although some see it as a victimless crime. However, awareness is growing, and I believe there will be significant public support for reducing the damage done to Canadian jobs and the health and safety risks to consumers that are caused by these counterfeit goods.

I would remind the House that the bill before us responds to many of the recommendations made by the committee. It would enable border <services officers to detain counterfeit items and to share limited information with rights holders. It would introduce new civil and criminal remedies for trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. It would grant an exception to consumers who bring across the border counterfeited or pirated goods for their personal use. It would provide additional criminal offences and tools to strengthen Canada's enforcement laws.

The bill represents an important step in the government's ongoing efforts to create the marketplace framework laws, including intellectual property laws, that foster innovation, jobs and economic growth in Canada. I would ask hon. members to join me in protecting Canadian consumers' health and safety and in protecting the work of innovative Canadian entrepreneurs and the jobs they create.

I hope all hon. members will join me in supporting swift passage of Bill C-56.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. He has obviously spent a great deal of time on this issue.

The bill intends to create ex officio status and powers for CBSA members at the border. Does the government contemplate adding training for such powers?

As we know, detecting copyright material is not necessarily always as easy as it seems. There are subtleties that often end up in courts. Courts also struggle with this issue and, in fact, employ experts in this field.

The ex officio status of CBSA members at the border would be in real time. With the dramatic cuts the government has already made to the CBSA, some 550 full-time equivalent officers have been removed. That is the latest number for CBSA border officials.

With fewer resources, is the government planning a training program to allow the members who do remain as they intercept these goods to be able to determine if the goods are in fact counterfeit?

If just writing laws is the only plan, then it would be easy, but writing the bill only matters if we have the power to implement the law. With diminished resources at the border, can the member provide the House with any update or any plans the government has to get our officials up to the status and training level of being able to do the job that the bill requires them to do?

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the countless hours we spent hearing witnesses at committee, it was very evident that training of officers and specialized development of officer skill sets at the border constituted a tremendous gap in the process.

While this issue is not addressed in the bill, I fully expect it is something that will be refined by amendment at committee if necessary. Clearly, in order to identify the products coming across our borders, border officers are going to have to be well trained. They are going to have to know how to spot those products, and that will be an integral part, from my perspective, of implementation of the bill.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, not too long ago, when the government was a minority government, it often received and accepted reasoned amendments. I am reading an article that states that the current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism accepted reasoned amendments proposed by the then Liberal critic for citizenship and immigration, Maurizio Bevilacqua, but somehow that does not happen anymore.

I listened to the member for Don Valley West, who was here when the member for Halifax West gave his remarks. He offered what I think were some very reasoned and sound amendments, and he, I and the member for Timmins—James Bay expressed concern about the government's absolute unwillingness and, frankly, inability to accept reasoned amendments.

Would you tell me, sir, through the Speaker, that you will entertain these amendments, or are you telling us that this bill is absolutely perfect in its current form?

[The Deputy Speaker]

I would ask members to direct their comments through the Chair.

The hon. member for Don Valley West.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I heard the comments made by the hon. member for Halifax West, and clearly transshipment and education were critical elements of his concerns.

I would like to state that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology is a committee that, from my perspective as a relatively new member, works very well. It is a committee that respects the opinions of those on opposite sides and works in a more harmonious environment in order to achieve positive results.

I would say that when we get to committee with this bill, we will have a good opportunity to address these issues, and I think that reasonable amendments with reasonable discussion will be well considered.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard a number of NDP members in debate on this bill suggest that the government has cut 850 positions from the Canada Border Services Agency. I would prefer to believe that this is being said out of ignorance rather than mendacity, because it is reflective of what I will call a misunderstanding that is often amplified by the NDP.

New Democrats should understand that in collective bargaining agreements, for every one position that is actually being removed, typically three people are “affected”; that is to say, they are given notice or an option to find employment elsewhere.

This is a management technique that is used to ensure minimal impact on individuals. At the end of the day—if the member would just listen to me, as I am making a reasonable point—of the 850 people affected or notified, typically 250 to 300 positions would actually be taken away.

I wonder if the member would agree with me that even after those 250 to 300 positions in CBSA are removed, with the 900 additional CBSA officers hired by this government, there is in fact a net enormous increase in the manpower of CBSA.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very reasonable and good point. We are still dealing with a net gain of CBSA officers at the borders.

Let me reiterate a couple of things about this bill and all that it would accomplish.

It is going to give border officers the authority to detain suspected commercial shipments and to contact the rights holders. It is going to allow Canadian businesses to file a request for assistance with the Canadan Border Services Agency, in turn enabling border officers to share information with rights holders regarding suspected shipments. We are going to have well-trained CBSA officers working within the force that exists today, clearly very capable and able to achieve the objectives of this bill.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is always fun to watch Conservatives try to do math. If we look at the border services, in the government's own planning and priorities, it is cutting $143 million. However, the Conservatives think they will create all these fictitious new roles.

The issue we have heard from rights holders all along—

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

No, there are no fictitious new roles. It's 300 positions.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Boy, he is a cranky little man over there, Mr. Speaker.

We are talking about the cut of $143 million. I would like to ask my hon. colleague a question. When I talk to rights holders, they say there are all kinds of knock-off goods sitting at the mall and when they call the police, the police tell them to deal with it themselves.

We are being told that they are going to get special training. We do not see anything in the budget for special training. They are going to have to decide what the difference is between an exception under the Copyright Act and what is a bootleg product.

With $143 million in cuts to border protection, what is that going to do? They also have to deal with drugs, guns and counterfeit goods coming across the border.

We can have all the fiction and talking points from the little guys in the PMO who are coming over, but these are the cuts that they are being faced with on the front lines.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding, from what I have heard, that the agency will be able to work well within its revised budgets and will meet the needs of the bill as presented.

Let us just recall that, as my hon. colleague mentioned, when he talks about shipments being left in parking lots and people calling the police and all of those things, this is old news. This bill was just newly presented. It will fill gaps that we need filled. The bill will in fact meet the demand of supporting business and commerce in the country in a way that we have not seen before.

I fully encourage my friends opposite to join me in supporting this bill. Let us see what happens in committee.