Mr. Speaker, I will also speak in favour of Bill C-216.
Bill C-216 is interesting in that it deals with regulating the broadcasting industry so it cannot bill somebody for something they really do not want. It cannot force somebody to take a service and then charge them for it unless that person indicates they do not want the service.
During the debate when this actually happened I was taken aback by the consumer response. My riding has two cable companies. One of the cable companies chose to use negative billing while the other company chose not to do so. It reminded me of when I was in municipal politics and was phoned at all hours of the day and night about barking dogs, garbage not being picked up, and all those other issues that hit so very close to a person's home and environment. This issue really seemed to catch consumers and get them up in arms trying to find some way to change the policy.
The amount of animosity from these individuals when they phoned my office, came to see me or wrote letters was interesting. What most concerned them was that the concept was supported by the regulating body. The CRTC supported it then and as I understand it the CRTC continues to support the concept of billing individuals for something unless they indicate they do not want it. The consumers had a feeling of helplessness in trying to deal with the issue. I find it a little distressing that a Canadian licensing body would support such a concept.
I heard the argument from across the way that it is important to protect Canadian content and our Canadian heritage through the broadcasting industry but I do not buy it. If Canadian content and Canadian culture is done properly, it will sell itself. People will be more than willing to pay for that programming and will want to watch it. Canadian artists do not need a regulating body which is forcing consumers to pay for something they do not want.
The Bloc member mentioned that Quebec and Nova Scotia had legislation in place which prevented this kind of negative option billing. What she failed to mention is that British Columbia also has legislation which prevents this kind of negative billing but only in some services. Unfortunately broadcasting falls under federal legislation and therefore the provinces do not have control over the broadcasting companies, such as the cable companies.
With the new conversation of today, the information highway, and the competition among the telephone companies, the satellite companies and the cable companies as to who is going to control the information highway, we should be looking at how they practise business. If there are companies in the cable industry which choose to exercise their monopoly and control over broadcasting and the delivery of this service to the consumer by using these kinds of practices, there are Canadians other than myself who would be very concerned about allowing them to control the new technology of the information highway.
We would be very uncomfortable with a company which thinks nothing of providing people with something they do not want without asking them, billing them for it and then hiding behind the federal regulatory body saying that it agrees so it is okay. I have extreme difficulty in suggesting that the Canadian government should be supporting cable companies having control over the information highway.
I want to get back to the two cable companies in my community, the one which chose to use negative billing and the one which chose not to do so. The reaction and attitude of the consumers to those two companies was interesting.
One local company chose to offer the new programming at an extra cost but provided it to the consumers I believe for a period of 60 days so that they could see what was offered on the new channels. The consumers appreciated that. They could decide whether or not they wanted to purchase the service. Consumers appreciated and supported that approach. I would imagine many consumers chose to take on these new channels.
On the other hand, consumers were outraged at being billed for something they did not want. However, if they asked not to have those new channels they would also lose channels they had previously and still wanted but which were tied into these new channels.
I do not think that is right. Consumers indicated to the companies which did this that they did not think it was right. Unfortunately the biggest voice consumers can have is to cancel their service or refuse to buy the product. That was precisely what I presented to them, that if they did not like what was happening, the consumer has a choice. That choice is to say they no longer want the services because they do not appreciate what you are doing.
These people will not have the choice anymore because, as in many other communities, one cable company has bought out other cable companies. In my community now there will be no choice. There will not be two cable companies to provide different ways of dealing with these situations. There will be a monopoly, a cable company with no competition to do whatever it wants.
Members of the Reform Party caucus will be quite interested in supporting Bill C-216. The bill proposes to amend the Broadcasting Act to disallow this type of negative billing. It will amend section 3 of the Broadcasting Act by providing in the context of broadcasting policy that a cable distributor or other distribution undertaking should not demand money from a person for the provisions or sale of a new programming service where the person has not agreed to receive the new service.
It is important that it will include other distribution undertakings. We have competition for control of the information highway. There are telephone companies and satellite companies that want to move into this new field.
This bill and the amendments it suggests would include any other companies coming into the system, be they telephone companies, satellite companies or more cable companies. I believe this is an important consideration for us today. It is clear to anyone who has taken an interest in this that there will be distribution companies outside of cable companies. This is very important, knowing what happened last year, to make sure it does not happen again by anyone involved in providing those services.
We are pleased to support this effort. We feel it will be an important contribution to the Broadcasting Act, even though many of us question whether the CRTC even has a place in Canadian society. It would put some controls on it. I believe that is important.