John Manley

[Drug Patents, May 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, what we have said on a number of occasions is that we will respect our international commitments concerning drug patents.

I believe that even the hon. member asking the question wishes us to respect the 20 year principle, that is the lifetime of a drug patent. The question with the link regulations is to ensure that, as soon as a patent runs out, the generic companies have the opportunity to manufacture the product.

This is the reason the regulations are a means of balancing the life of a patent and access to an expired patent. Moreover, we are going to continually ensure that court rulings actually confirm the hon. member's opinion, that these regulations are working well.

[Drug Patents, May 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I will always respect the Prime Minister's commitments.

[The Late Carl Gillis, May 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to join in these few words about my assistant, Carl Gillis, whose death last evening continues to shock us all.

As the Minister of Health mentioned, Carl came to Ottawa to serve as a page in this House where he was exposed to the political virus so many of us have contracted. He went on out of a desire to serve to be the vice-president of the Carleton University Students Association and then later was president of the Canadian Federation of Students.

He was undoubtedly one of Canada's best and brightest. He was a member of our parliamentary family. Carl, like many of the young people who come here to serve as pages, as assistants in ministers' offices or in the offices of members, came with the hope they all bring for Canada's future. Carl cared about the world he lived in. He cared about the people around him and he desperately wanted to make a difference.

I have never met Carl's parents but he must have made them extraordinarily proud. He excelled as a student. He demonstrated qualities of honesty, integrity, perseverance, politeness, good humour, loyalty, kindness. In fact, one wonders how a young man could grow up as ninth in a family of ten boys and turn out so nice.

He first worked with me in 1992 and I quickly learned to respect his ability, his judgment, his qualities of character. When he joined my staff earlier this year he quickly became part of the team in taking up his new duties with enthusiasm and dedication.

I would like to express my sympathy, and I am sure that of this House, to the Gillis family. I also want them to know that we share their pride in Carl as we also share their loss. We will not be able to replace Carl. We will never see his potential fulfilled and we will miss our friend.

[Hollinger Inc., May 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member had included with his question his premise of the legal grounds upon which such an extraordinary measure could be taken. What he does know is that the director of the competition bureau will review the acquisitions with respect to

the impact of the economic concentration of ownership and the transactions will be considered accordingly.

[Bankruptcy And Insolvency Act, May 27th, 1996]

moved that Bill C-5, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Income Tax Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Standards Council Of Canada Act, May 17th, 1996]

moved that Bill C-4, an act to amend the Standards Council of Canada Act, be now read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Gas Prices, May 15th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, we have a very decentralized federation as members opposite well know.

When it comes to dealing with regulation of retail prices, I am sure the hon. member knows that would fall within the jurisdiction of a federal government if one were to choose to intervene in the market in that way.

The member should also know that regulation of prices creates a certain amount of rigidity and from experience prices tend to be somewhat higher in markets where they have been regulated than in markets where competition is vibrant and vital.

Our objective in this whole gas pricing affair is to ensure that we have a very open marketplace where competition is real. We will do our utmost to enforce the laws, ensuring that there will be real competition. That together with consumers who are diligent will be our best guarantee that prices will come down.

[Fuel Prices, May 13th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre and five other citizens of Canada filed with the director of investigations and research a request, pursuant to section 9 of the Competition Act, for an inquiry into gas pricing in Canada.

Today the director has initiated a formal inquiry, pursuant to section 10 of the act in response to the section 9 request.

The member for Ottawa Centre and other members who have raised this issue deserve credit for taking some initiative in this and for filing the appropriate request for an inquiry. The director will investigate. If he finds evidence he will act accordingly.

I point out to the House that as recently as this January he was successful in obtaining a conviction under the Competition Act and a fine of $50,000 was levied against Mr. Gas here in Ottawa for the offence of price fixing.

[Official Languages, May 10th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I had a little trouble hearing the member, but if I understood his question correctly, we are going to announce our information highway strategy soon.

We received a very important report from the advisory committee on the information highway a few months ago. We will soon be ready to reply. I would also like to point out, with respect to the member's question, that Canada will be hosting the Inet conference in 1996 here, in Canada, in Montreal. Canada was chosen, but we chose the city of Montreal for this meeting of Internet experts in order to try to come up with a plan promoting languages other than English on the Internet.

[Official Languages, May 10th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, certainly.