John Carmichael

[Digital Privacy Act, October 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the bill is a new generation from the original PIPEDA. It was back in 2001 that we found a solution to protecting private information. Today we are introducing a whole new series of guidelines. We have heard from the opposition and the third party that they are in support of this bill. I thank them for that and it is important that they do.

However, as to the member's comment with regard to the Privacy Commissioner, let me read a couple of quotes. I disagree with him clearly that, in fact, there are holes in the bill. The Privacy Commissioner stated that she welcomed proposals in the bill and that the bill contains “some very positive developments for the privacy rights of Canadians”. That is very important. She further stated at the time, “I am pleased that the government...has addressed issues such as breach notification”. The bill would clearly protect Canadians and provide new legislation to address technologies that have moved very quickly over the past 11 years.

[Digital Privacy Act, October 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the legislation would provide a tremendous amount of protection to consumers and to government to ensure that the right solutions and the right oversight are in place.

The digital privacy act would not force companies to hand over private information to the police, copyright trolls or anyone else. These new measures would place strict limits and tight restrictions on companies that lawfully share Canadians' private information for investigative purposes. Organization to organization information-sharing already exists in Alberta and British Columbia. These changes were recommended by the access to information and privacy committee in 2007 with the agreement of the Liberals and the NDP and these provisions are well entrenched in this new legislation.

[Digital Privacy Act, October 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we have had a lot of opportunity at committee to deal with issues such as this and to deal with them in a collegial way and in a way that ensures results and good legislation.

How the bill came to the House is fairly significant. There are several ways by which a bill can come to the House. It can come either through the Senate or directly through the House.

The important element today is that we are spending all of this day debating the elements of the bill. In my riding of Don Valley West, I have had the opportunity to hold many senior and elder abuse seminars where we focus on issues around digital fraud. I for one am very pleased to see the legislation coming to the House where we are going to debate it and send it to committee where the right solutions for future generations will come out.

[Digital Privacy Act, October 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill S-4, the digital privacy act. I support the bill.

The purpose of the digital privacy act is to strengthen the rules for the safeguarding of Canadians' personal information when they shop online or surf the web. The digital privacy act would amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, more commonly known as PIPEDA, which provides a legal framework for how personal information must be handled in the context of commercial activities.

Last April, our Conservative government introduced the Digital Canada 150, an ambitious plan for Canada to take full advantage of the digital economy as we plan to celebrate our 150th anniversary in 2017. Digital Canada 150 has five pillars and 39 new initiatives that will allow Canada to be a leading nation in the digital domain. One of the most important pillars in Digital Canada 150 is the “protecting Canadians” pillar, which is what we are talking about today. The digital privacy act would introduce new amendments and stronger rules to help protect Canadians' personal information.

As we live in an increasingly digital age, the need to protect our personal information becomes stronger. We use credit cards to purchase items online. We use the Internet to browse websites that may ask us for our personal information, and so on. Just last month, Home Depot was the victim of a massive data breach. The information of 56 million debit and credit cardholders was stolen.

It is surprising that, under the current law, it is not mandatory for companies to disclose to their clients that they have been the victims of hackers or if they have lost personal information. That means that if someone's credit card information was stolen, under current laws, that person may never know his or her information was compromised. It may be surprising to some, but it is not currently mandatory that companies inform their clients if their personal information has been lost or stolen.

Under the digital privacy act, however, if a company fails to notify its clients of a data breach where their information has been compromised, it can face a fine of up to $100,000 for every client it fails to notify. In addition, companies are now required to keep a record of all data breaches, and all documents must be handed over to the Privacy Commissioner upon his or her request.

The digital privacy act would also put in place new provisions that would allow the limited disclosure of personal information when it is in the public interest. One such example is the unfortunate reality of financial abuse. As it stands now, banks and other financial institutions are prevented from reporting suspected financial abuse to the proper authorities. The digital privacy act would give the exception to allow banks to alert law enforcement when they suspect that a senior is being financially abused.

The Canadian Bankers Association has endorsed these amendments. It said:

We were pleased to see that Bill S-4 includes amendments that would give banks and other organizations greater ability to assist their clients to avoid financial abuse.

As our society spends increasingly more time online and on the Internet, it is important that we have the proper safeguards in place for our children. Educational websites and virtual playgrounds are becoming more and more popular with young children. Sometimes, for marketing purposes, these websites will ask for the users' personal information. Under the digital privacy act, there is a clearer set of rules for when companies ask to collect personal information from a child. The request for information now must be written in a way that a child can understand. If the wording is too complicated for a child to understand, the consent is not valid.

The digital privacy act would also ensure that online privacy laws reflect the realities of business, such as allowing businesses to share employees' contact information and information necessary to manage an employment relationship. Businesses also need to be able to use the information employees produce at work as well as the information necessary to conduct due diligence during a business transaction such as a merger.

The digital privacy act also puts forward rules that align with provincial privacy laws. For organizations, it is important that consistent rules for the protection of personal information apply and that wherever they operate their businesses, their obligations would be the same. Consistent rules also provide individuals with confidence that wherever they conduct their business in Canada their information will benefit from the same level of protection. The bill before us takes steps to align our privacy rules with provincial laws.

The bill before us is a much needed update to privacy laws in Canada. It is a balanced approach that includes stronger rules to ensure companies are held to account, exceptions to allow for seniors to be protected from financial abuse, and new rules to ensure our children are protected online.

Now is the time for these measures to be passed into law through the passage of the Bill S-4. I hope hon. members will join me in supporting the digital privacy act.

[Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize two outstanding teachers from my riding of Don Valley West who were recipients of this year's Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence.

Ms. Maureen Sims, a grade 6 and 8 teacher in English, science and math at St. Bonaventure Catholic School, challenges her students to think outside the box every day. She employs special challenge projects to encourage her students to think on their feet and take risks to effectively problem solve.

Mrs. Sylvia Duckworth, a grades 3 through 5 teacher of core French at Crescent School, uses the accelerative integrated method and embraces digital tools such as Google Hangouts, computer animation and video making to increase learning and motivation in her classroom.

Both of these outstanding and innovative teachers instill in their students a love of learning and utilize new technologies to better equip their students.

Congratulations to both Ms. Sims and Mrs. Duckworth. Well done.

[Small Business, September 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government understands the vital role that small business plays in the economy. That is why we are helping them to succeed.

While the Liberals and NDP want to increase the cost of doing business, we are leaving more money in the hands of entrepreneurs to invest and hire Canadians.

Could the Minister of State for Finance please describe how our government is encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting small business?

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question is extremely relevant in this transaction, because the auto sector is the one that would be greatly affected on both sides of the ocean, both in Korea and in Canada.

Currently, about 88% of all vehicles manufactured here in Canada are manufactured for export. For Canadian companies manufacturing their product here in this country, we have to ensure that we are supporting open markets. Clearly the agreement would do that. We have funds like the automotive innovation fund, which encourages investment in this country for manufacturing purposes. I hope that in the case of this agreement we would have Korean companies investing in new plants and facilities to ensure that their products would be built here, both for the export market and for sale in North America.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I clearly cannot agree with the member opposite, as his positioning of this is entirely wrong.

It did begin in 2005 and it stalled in 2008. These agreements reached an impasse. I do not know if the member opposite has been involved in negotiations of any type, but clearly when in the middle of complex negotiations, it happens that one will reach these positions that are intractable and cause for impasse. It was rekindled in 2012.

I agree that lost time is lost productivity and lost performance and business. So today, with 38 free trade agreements signed by this government in 7 years, many more under way, and now this agreement coming to fruition, our government has clearly demonstrated leadership in bringing free trade opportunities to Canadians and businesses for more fruitful relationships with these countries. In this case, it would open up 50 million new consumers to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the investment arrangements within the agreement are fully reciprocal. They would operate under the same terms that we would operate, and one of the pieces that is particularly unique in ensuring that there is fairness and reciprocity in our negotiation and in protecting investors on both sides of the equation is the accelerated dispute resolution provision. This would create a fast, efficient, and functionally inexpensive way of ensuring that we could have accelerated dispute resolution in place to resolve disputes as they arise and protect our investors across both sides of the ocean.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound for sharing his time with me and for his presentation this afternoon.

On Monday, September 22, 2014, thanks to the leadership of the Prime Minister, Canadians witnessed the signature of the Canada-Korea free trade agreement, Canada's first bilateral FTA in the fast-growing and dynamic Asia-Pacific region. This is more proof that our Conservative government is committed to protecting and strengthening the long-term financial security of hard-working Canadians.

South Korea is a key gateway to the wider Asia-Pacific region, offering strategic access to regional and global value chains. South Korea is the fourth largest economy in Asia, boasting a robust $1.3 trillion economy. It has a population of 50 million, with per capita GDP of more than $25,000, one of the highest in Asia, making it one of Asia's most lucrative, dynamic and advanced markets. It is home to many large multinational conglomerates, including now household names such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG. This landmark agreement is a pivotal step toward growing and deepening Canada's ties with this vibrant economy and the region as a whole.

South Korea is a priority market in the global markets action plan, or GMAP, Canada's blueprint for creating jobs and opportunities at home and abroad through trade and investment, the twin engines of economic growth. Under the GMAP, our government will concentrate its efforts on markets that hold the greatest promise for Canadian businesses, which include South Korea, and stands ready to harness Canada's diplomatic assets to support the pursuit of commercial success by Canadian companies abroad, particularly small and medium-sized Canadian enterprises.

To open new markets for Canadian businesses and create jobs and opportunities for hard-working Canadians, we have launched the most ambitious trade expansion plan in Canadian history. In less than seven years, Canada has concluded free trade agreements with 38 countries and is negotiating with many more.

Canada's prosperity requires expansion beyond our borders into new markets for economic opportunities that serve to grow Canada's exports and investment. This includes the comprehensive economic and trade agreement, or CETA, with the European Union, which will be the most ambitious trade partnership that Canada has ever negotiated.

Canada is also actively pursuing a trade agreement with 11 other Asia-Pacific countries through the trans-Pacific partnership, or TPP, negotiations. These agreements would open new markets and create new business opportunities to create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for all Canadians.

South Korea has its own very active program of pursuing bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements. Aside from its agreement with Canada, it has signed FTAs with the United States and the European Union, in addition to eight other partners across the globe. It has also recently concluded an FTA with Australia. In light of South Korea's own ambitious trade agenda, there is an urgent need to implement the CKFTA as soon as possible to level the playing field for Canadian businesses and ensure they are able to compete in the South Korean market.

Canada and South Korea have a strong and robust bilateral trade and investment relationship. Two-way merchandise trade between the countries reached almost $11 billion in 2013, making South Korea Canada's seventh largest overall trading partner and third largest trading partner in Asia. South Korea's direct investments into Canada have climbed from $397 million in 2005 to $4.9 billion by the end of 2013, a more than twelvefold increase in less than a decade.

No government in Canada's history has been more committed to the creation of jobs and prosperity for Canadian businesses, workers and their families. During 13 long years in government, the Liberals completely neglected trade, completing only three small free trade agreements. The Liberals took Canada virtually out of the game of trade negotiations, putting Canadian workers and businesses at severe risk of falling behind in this era of global markets.

Similarly, the NDP only has the core interests of its radical activist-group allies in mind, not those of hard-working Canadians. That is why, despite all evidence that trade creates jobs, economic growth, and economic security for hard-working Canadian families, the NDP is and always will be ideologically opposed to free trade.

Our government recognizes that protectionist restrictions stifle our exporters and undermine Canada's competitiveness, which in turn adversely affect middle-class Canadian families.

The CKFTA is a comprehensive agreement that would eliminate tariffs and provide enhanced access and strong disciplines across all major areas of commerce. It would be a major boost to Canadian exporters looking for a foothold in the lucrative Asian market.

The agreement's most visible outcome is the ambitious obligation undertaken by Canada and South Korea to eliminate tariffs for all sectors, including textiles and apparel, chemicals and plastic, information and communication technology, aerospace, metals and minerals, as well as agriculture and agri-food, fish and seafood, and forestry and value-added wood products.

On the first day the agreement comes into force, over 88% of Canada's exports would be duty free, and over 99% would be duty free once the agreement is fully implemented. As average South Korean tariffs are three times higher than Canada's, 13.3% versus 4.3%, tariff elimination is absolutely critical for Canadian businesses exporting to the South Korean market.

For Canadian consumers, the elimination of tariffs under the agreement stands to reduce the cost of imported products and expand choices for them that are increasingly cost competitive.

This agreement would also strengthen the bilateral energy partnership, an area of significant potential for both our nations.

South Korea is already the world's second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas, LNG; fourth-largest importer of coal; and fifth-largest importer of crude oil. It is seeking to diversify its energy suppliers and improve its energy security.

Canada is a natural partner for South Korea. With some of the world's largest oil and gas reserves, Canada is poised to become a large, stable, and reliable supplier of energy to Asia. By removing tariffs on Canadian oil and natural gas, this agreement would make Canadian LNG and petroleum products more competitive in South Korea and help create jobs and opportunities at home here in Canada.

The CKFTA would also provide enhanced market access for Canadian service suppliers in areas such as professional services, environmental services, and business services, and temporary entry commitments that are the most ambitious South Korea has agreed to in any of its FTAs.

The investment provisions in the CKFTA would provide a more predictable and rules-based climate, including investor protections, which would encourage increased investment flows between Canada and South Korea and expand the prospects for joint ventures.

The CKFTA also includes a range of provisions governing government procurement, intellectual property, telecommunication services, and electronic commerce, as well as substantive environment and labour provisions in dedicated chapters. It contains strong provisions to reduce or eliminate non-tariff measures that hinder market access for exporters and investors, backed up by fast and effective dispute settlement provisions.

Going forward, the CKFTA represents a firm commitment by both sides to grow and expand this important strategic relationship.

Trade has long been a powerful engine for Canada's economy. It is even more so in what remain challenging times for the global economy. In these uncertain times, our prosperity depends on our ability to take advantage of economic opportunities in emerging markets.

The Canada-Korea free trade agreement would help Canada compete more effectively and thrive in the world economy.