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CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 139 Ï NUMBER 010 Ï 3rd SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Friday, February 13, 2004 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire´´ at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 539 HOUSE OF COMMONS Friday, February 13, 2004 The House met at 10 a.m. encrypted direct to home satellite signals without authorization. It is an excellent example of the government not taking the proper steps Prayers on an issue that is going to lead to confrontation in Canadian society and is the reason I do not support the bill being moved to committee at this time. GOVERNMENT ORDERS To be specific, the problem is that the bill is coming forward without dealing with the issue of satellite access to many cultural and Ï (1005) other programs that are currently available abroad to different [Translation] communities out there, providing those opportunities for people to ACT TO AMEND THE RADIOCOMMUNICATION ACT purchase into the systems. They will now be further criminalized by the bill if they are accessing products and services that are not The House resumed from February 9 consideration of the motion. available legally in this country. I think the government should have Hon. Mauril Bélanger (Deputy Leader of the Government in been honest and should have actually worked on producing those the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to access points for Canadians, be it for cultural or other types of thank all my colleagues for their cooperation today. As expected, the programming for which people have been clamouring and which House leaders of all parties came to an agreement on Tuesday. keeps them in connection with the community. [English] A report that came out of the Canadian heritage committee Discussions have taken place between the parties concerning the identified this issue. It was a report about the black and grey satellite taking of the division on the motion to refer Bill C-2 to committee market: “Maintaining a Single System”. In chapter 16 the committee before second reading, which is scheduled for right now. I believe recommended: that if you were to seek it you would find unanimous consent for the —that the CRTC permit Canadian broadcasting distribution undertakings to offer following: a wider range of international programming, while being respectful of Canadian That at the conclusion of today's debate on Bill C-2, if a recorded division is content regulations. requested on the motion of referral to committee before second reading, the said vote shall be deferred until 5:30 p.m on Tuesday, February 17, 2004. Now the government has come forward with this bill, which will The Deputy Speaker: The House has heard the terms of the further criminalize people for keeping in touch with their cultural motion. Does the House give its consent to the motion? communities. Some hon. members: Agreed. I noticed in Hansard that previous supporters of the bill seem to be falling back on the whole issue of protecting artists and (Motion agreed to) broadcasting integrity in Canada to ensure that those individuals Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it is a receive funds and the proper recognition they deserve for their pleasure for me to rise today to address Bill C-2, an act to amend the products, and to encourage our Canadian culture to flourish. That is Radiocommunication Act. very suspect, with the government's past. I had an opportunity to review some of the debate in which I took I want to be very clear about this. If a person is in the black market part earlier in the week and I want to make a few points. system and is stealing a signal that is legally available in Canada, we First, I want to focus on and at least highlight the bill in terms of should stop that. We should have punishment for those individuals. what it does for consumers and the telecommunications industry. Whether it is Bell ExpressVu, Shaw or whatever is currently The government rationale behind the bill is to protect investments available in Canada, it should not be an option for people to steal the made by the broadcasting industry and the integrity of the signal and they should be punished accordingly for that. The broadcasting system as a whole by fighting satellite piracy. To do problem is in that grey market where the services are not available. so, the bill will target unauthorized dealers and the pirating of This also provides a good connection for individuals and commu- signals. nities to reach back to their former homelands, to have education and entertainment and that connection. Those individuals will now be In particular, the government wants current changes it deems further criminalized into that black market. I cannot support the bill necessary to stop the sale and distribution of devices used to decode for that reason. 540 COMMONS DEBATES February 13, 2004 Government Orders The government is falling back on the whole notion that the bill diversity. That is what connects many people to information abroad, will improve the access for artists to be able to receive funds and to whether it is English language programming, whether it is Christian make sure Canadian content prospers, but it is not really an programming, or whether it is Middle Eastern programming like Al improvement on its past practices. We recently had a motion put Jazeera. All these things have been asked for at the CRTC but there forward by the member for Dartmouth from our party which called has been no response. for a tax deduction for artists. That would have been far better for those artists. The government voted against that and stopped the The government needs to solve that first as opposed to further motion from going forward. criminalizing people for making sure that they have those elements that are so important to their lifestyles. Quite frankly, it could be One of the main issues that we have to identify is how to provide accessed through other mediums we already have, such as the people with the actual access to those cultural programs. In my Internet or as in other communities by putting up regular airwaves. community of Windsor, we have many people accessing programs This needs to be resolved right away before the government moves which they would access in a legal way if they were provided the forward. Nothing else will do. opportunity to do so. They could do so and pay into a system that Ï (1015) supports Canadian culture. They would all be happy to do that and would support it. [Translation] The Deputy Speaker: It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings at We have to wonder where this issue is going. We look at the fact this time and put forthwith the question on the motion now before that Bell ExpressVu Canada and Shaw Communications have the House. contributed over $320,000 to the Liberal Party and Paul Martin's leadership campaign— [English] Hon. Don Boudria: That is out of order. The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Mr. Brian Masse: The Speaker has not ruled on that. You are no longer the House leader, thank you. Some hon. members: Agreed. Ï (1010) Some hon. members: No. The Deputy Speaker: All those in favour of the motion will Hon. Don Boudria: Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Hon. please say yea. members cannot refer to other hon. members this way. In particular, they cannot use their names on the floor of the House of Commons. I Some hon. members: Yea. will leave the rest of the insults aside for a moment, but members are The Deputy Speaker: All those opposed will please say nay. to refer to each other by name of riding. Some hon. members: Nay. I know perfectly well that I am not the House leader. That has nothing to do with it. It has to do with the unparliamentary language The Deputy Speaker: In my opinion the yeas have it. used by the hon. member across. And more than five members having risen: The Deputy Speaker: Let me see if I can be of assistance here. Certainly with regard to the practice of the House in terms of The Deputy Speaker: Pursuant to order made earlier today, the referring to one another, it is either by the portfolio one might carry division stands deferred until Tuesday, February 17 at 5:30 p.m. or at the very least by naming each other's ridings respectfully. In *** terms of the contents, I will not engage in a debate, but certainly the practice as stated by the hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott— [Translation] Russell is correct. I failed in paying close enough attention and I do FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL FISCAL ARRANGEMENTS ACT regret that. Bill C-18. On the order: Government Orders With the little time the hon. member for Windsor West has left, I February 12, 2004—The Minister of Finance—Second reading and reference to know he will want to make sure that we complete this intervention the Standing Committee on Finance of Bill C-18, an act respecting equalization and without any further mishaps. authorizing the Minister of Finance to make certain payments related to health. Mr. Brian Masse: Mr. Speaker, I apologize for that. I was reading Hon. Aileen Carroll (for the Minister of Finance) moved: off my notes and made an honest mistake.