David McGuinty

[Child Care, May 31st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, five provinces, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia, have signed child care agreements with the Liberal government.

These agreements are part of the promise made by our government to provide $5 billion over five years for creating an early childhood education and child care system in every province and territory.

Adoption of the budget at second reading has brought us one step closer to securing the funding for child care. The budget bills are now before the finance committee and Canadians want all political parties to put the public interest first and support Bill C-43 and Bill C-48.

As the chair of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada said:

Children and families right across Canada are now being held hostage to political opportunism...We need an activist Parliament to get the things done that matter most to Canadians, such as putting in place the foundation for a pan-Canadian child care system...

Let us get on with this budget, get on with the process and give Canadians the national child care program they deserve.

[Petitions, May 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition signed by over 500 Canadians. It deals with the Copyright Act.

This petition recognizes the Copyright Act as a careful balance between the rights of creators and the rights of the public.

The petitioners want the House to maintain this balance by not extending the term of copyright and preserving all existing user rights to ensure a vibrant public domain. They also request that users be recognized as interested parties and, as such, be consulted about any proposed changes to the aforementioned Copyright Act.

[Canadian Association of Research Libraries, May 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise today to offer congratulations to Ms. Leslie Weir of the University of Ottawa. Ms. Weir has been the chief librarian at the University of Ottawa since 2003. She is widely admired in the profession as an innovator in providing electronic information to the teaching and research community that the University of Ottawa serves.

In April of this year Ms. Weir was elected vice-president and president-elect of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries. She will serve as president from 2007 to 2009. This association is the leadership organization of Canadian research librarianship. Its members are the 27 major academic research libraries across Canada, Library and Archives Canada, the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, and the Library of Parliament.

I ask all members to join me in congratulating Leslie Weir for the considerable honour of her election as president of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries.

[National Day of Mourning, May 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the annual National Day of Mourning was held Thursday, April 28. I rise today to commemorate those who have been killed or injured in the workplace.

Every working day in Canada, nearly four people die from work-related accidents or illnesses. Those four people could be members of your family or mine.

The significance of the National Day of Mourning is striking when close to 350,000 people are injured seriously enough to prevent them from reporting to work for at least one day, while the total number of work related injuries and illnesses occurring each year in Canada is close to one million.

Workplace deaths are increasing, and this day serves as an important reminder that much remains to be done.

I ask all hon. members to take the time to remember the workers who have lost their lives or been injured on the job. Let us honour them by putting forth our best efforts to foster safer and healthier workplaces through continued education, awareness and cooperation. Let us prevent these needless tragedies from ever happening again.

[Lazare Gionet, April 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to pay tribute in the House today to Lazare Gionet, who passed away last Friday, just four months short of his 109th birthday.

Mr. Gionet was born in St. Paul, Middle Caraquet, New Brunswick. He followed in his father's footsteps, farming and fishing until he joined the army at the age of 20. After the war, Mr. Gionet married Lauza Hébert, with whom he had nine children. One of them, Armand, was killed during the second world war.

Remembrance Day was always extremely important to Mr. Gionet, who attended the ceremonies each November 11 until he turned 101. In 1998, he also took part in a trip to mark the 80th anniversary of the war to end all wars.

On behalf of all the hon. members and all Canadians, I extend my sincere condolences, in this Year of the Veteran, to the family and friends of Mr. Gionet. He will not be forgotten.

[The Environment, March 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, while it is clear that the opposition continues to be firmly and completely opposed to the Kyoto protocol, the government continues to work with Canadian stakeholders from all sectors to achieve meaningful greenhouse gas reductions.

In this regard, could the Minister of Natural Resources please confirm that the Government of Canada has reached a voluntary agreement with the auto industry on reducing vehicle greenhouse gas emissions?

[Veterans, February 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know more about their heroes. I am speaking of those men and women who served our country during times of war.

I am pleased that budget 2005 provides new funding of $6 million per year for future commemorative activities so that more Canadians, in particular younger Canadians, can learn of the achievements and sacrifices of Canada's veterans.

This is in addition to the $16.5 million announced last year to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the second world war and to celebrate the Year of the Veteran.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who fought for Canada and this budget helps us to accomplish that lofty goal.

[Gasoline Prices, February 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for bringing forward his private member's motion. It is a noble effort, and I would like to speak to it today in two parts.

First, I would like to address Motion No. 165 by addressing the notion of a petroleum monitoring agency. This first proposal calls for the creation of a petroleum monitoring agency that would prepare an annual report on all aspects of the petroleum industry for consideration by the Standing Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology.

The proposal is very similar to a recommendation made by the former Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in November of 2003, at the conclusion of its report on gasoline prices in Canada. The committee's recommendation, however, at that time specifically indicated that a primary role of the agency should be to collect and disseminate pricing data, by removing specific reference to the collection and dissemination of pricing data and by replacing it with a mandate to report “on all aspects of the industry, including how prices are set and competition issues”. The motion suggests an even larger role for a new agency.

Further to this last point, I should note that the committee's report concluded:

In terms of federal government action, the Committee is satisfied that the Competition Bureau has sufficient powers, personnel and resources devoted to overseeing competitive aspects of the petroleum industry.

Based on this finding, I have to ask, why do we need an agency with an expanded mandate to report annually “on all aspects of the industry, including how prices are set and competition issues?”

In particular, in its report on gasoline pricing in Canada, the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology examined a significant increase in the price of gasoline that took place over several months. It found that the price increase:

--was the result of industry participants’ competitive reactions to a series of international crises and the abnormally cold weather that gripped northeast North America last winter. No evidence was presented to the Committee of a conspiracy to raise and fix prices, nor was there evidence presented of abusive behaviour on the part of vertically integrated suppliers in the form of squeezing retail margins to eliminate or discipline independent retailers.

In its response to the committee's report on gasoline prices in Canada, the Government of Canada indicated that it had given careful consideration to the recommendation concerning the creation of a petroleum monitoring agency. Still the government concluded that current activities undertaken by federal and provincial governments or agencies, combined with information collected and widely distributed by the private sector, “provide the most practical and cost-effective method of informing the consumer”.

In summary, there is no evidence to suggest that the creation of a new petroleum monitoring agency, with its inevitable costs, is needed.

Let me turn secondly then to the bill's call for amendments to the Competition Act. The second part of the motion proposes that the government should bring:

forward amendments to strengthen the Competition Act, including measures to ensure that the Competition Commissioner has the power to launch investigations, summon witnesses and ensure confidentiality.

The government indicated in the throne speech that it was committed to providing an up to date legislative framework for business, and that it would propose changes to amend the Competition Act.

The government has already acted on the latter commitment. Bill C-19, an act to amend the Competition Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts, was tabled in early November of 2004, and referred to the Standing Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology on November 16. The proposed legislation follows extensive consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, large and small businesses, consumers, consumer groups, economists and legal experts to help ensure that the proposed amendments will contribute to a modern competition regime in Canada.

The proposed legislation, which is consistent with the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in 2002, includes the following actions.

First, it gives the Commissioner of Competition the authority to seek restitution for consumer loss resulting from false or misleading representations. This will encourage companies to be accurate in their claims. It will allow consumers to get up to the amount paid if they have been duped by false claims.

Second, it introduces a general administrative monetary penalty provision for abuse of dominance in any industry. Currently, with the exception of airlines, the main consequence for abuse of dominance is simply an order from the Competition Tribunal requiring an end to the practice. Under exceptional circumstances, a structural change, such as divestiture, may be required. This amendment represents an additional tool to ensure compliance with the Competition Act.

Third, the legislation also removes airline specific provisions from the act to return it to a law of general application.

Fourth, finally it decriminalizes the pricing provisions dealing with price discrimination, regional price discrimination, predatory pricing and promotional allowances, so they can be dealt with under a civil regime, and this is very important, and the abuse of dominant position provisions of the Competition Act. This means that conduct like predatory pricing will receive the benefit of a full hearing on its likely economic effect. Cases will also be assessed by the Competition Tribunal with a lower civil burden of proof compared to the former criminal burden of proof.

The motion before us is not clear. It does not describe what amendments are being proposed, other than amendments to strengthen the Competition Act.

Let us look at the facts. The Commissioner can currently initiate inquiries if there is reason to believe that an offence has been committed or that grounds exist for the making of a remedial order by the Competition Tribunal. The Commissioner can summon witnesses, subject to judicial authorization; and the Commissioner must keep information confidential pursuant to section 29 of the Competition Act.

While not clear, Motion No. 165 may be referring to a suggestion that the Commissioner should have the power to conduct inquiries into markets or industry practices, even if there is no reason to believe that an offence has been committed when significant competition issues have been raised.

Other members of the Bloc Québécois have publicly indicated that this would represent an improvement to the Competition Act, and have cited a study of the gasoline industry as an example of why such powers are needed.

However, this is the government's experience. Recent nationwide consultations on various options to strengthen the Competition Act included a proposal to allow the Commissioner to ask an independent body, such as the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, to inquire into the state of competition and the functioning of markets in any sector of the Canadian economy. While some stakeholders supported the idea of market or general inquiries, many stakeholders raised strong objections to this proposal.

Serious concerns were raised with respect to procedures, length of time that these types of inquiries typically take and substantial costs likely to be incurred by both government and businesses in inquiries of this nature.

It is my understanding that in response to these concerns, the Competition Bureau is now presently examining the approaches used in other jurisdictions on a comparative basis that have general inquiry powers for competition related issues.

This brings me to my final point. The Competition Act, which dates back to 1889, is legislation of general application which provides a framework within which business can operate. It is important to approach changes to it with very careful consideration and to fully understand the possible implications of proposed amendments. There is no evidence indicating that a petroleum monitoring agency is needed.

Second, if the motion refers to general or market inquiries, I understand that more work is currently being undertaken by the Competition Bureau to resolve issues raised by stakeholders during consultations.

[Department of Foreign Affairs Act, February 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, what is remarkable about the work of this Prime Minister that all members of the House should keep in mind is that he was one of the earliest proponents of the expansion of the notion of the G-7 to an L20.

Why did he drive that? I am convinced he drove it because he understood that there are a number of mid-power nation-states all over the world that needed to come together and serve in some ways as a counterweight to, for example, the economic power of the United States of America.

This is not to say that this party is anti-United States or anti-American, but simply to admit that there is an L20 need out there, and I think the Prime Minister should be congratulated in fairness and objectively for his work in pursuing this notion on an international basis.

The Canada Corps is a wonderful opportunity for young Canadians to go abroad and take the message of Canadian multilateralism, Canadian tolerance and Canadian diversity to all four corners of the planet.

This is something that the split or the hiving off of the Department of Foreign Affairs will further facilitate in terms of the management, the support and the spreading of the message that the L20 concept is a positive one for Canada and the globe, and the Canada Corps messages that informed its creation are desperately needed at a time when there are so many different hot spots and conflicts all over the world.

[Department of Foreign Affairs Act, February 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, again I was trying to discern a question. I appreciate the comment.

Again, let us be clear with respect to CIDA. Why is the role of the CIDA minister not dealt with specifically in this legislation? This legislation is simple. It is to codify in law the December 2003 order in council. There are no ghosts hovering around this bill. Second, the amended act continues to provide for the Minister of International Cooperation to assist the Minister of Foreign Affairs, clearly in his or her responsibilities relating to the conduct of Canada's international relations. There is nothing omitted here that was not already included before.

Third, the government has decided to maintain the existing close integration of international development assistance, policies and programs with our foreign policy more generally. We all know of the symmetry, for example, between Canada's multilateral approach, which some describe as part of Canadian DNA, and our international development, our good governance work, our rule of law work in other jurisdictions. An example of that is what we are doing today in Afghanistan.