FINA Committee Meeting

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 64

Thursday, June 12, 2003

The Standing Committee on Finance met at 11:10 a.m. this day, in Room 371, West Block, the Chair, Sue Barnes, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Sue Barnes, Scott Brison, Rick Casson, Roy Cullen, Nick Discepola, Richard Harris, Rahim Jaffer, Sophia Leung, Hon. Maria Minna, Shawn Murphy, Pierre Paquette, Charlie Penson, Pauline Picard, Gary Pillitteri, Judy Wasylycia-Leis.

Acting Members present: Karen Redman for Tony Valeri; Tony Tirabassi for Bryon Wilfert.

In attendance: From the Library of Parliament: June Dewetering, Acting Principal Analyst; Blayne Haggart and Marc-André Pigeon, Analysts.

Witnesses: From the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: Suzanne Shirreff, Senior Director, Cost Recovery Policy Division; Leon Richins, Senior Policy Advisor, Cost Recovery Policy Division.

Pursuant to its Order of Reference of Thursday, March 27, 2003, the Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-212, An Act respecting user fees (See Minutes of Proceedings, Wednesday, May 28, 2003, Meeting No. 60).

The Committee proceeded to Clause-by-Clause consideration of the Bill.

Pursuant to Standing Order 75(1), consideration of Clause 1 is postponed.

Clause 2 stood.

On Clause 3,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 3, be amended by replacing lines 6 and 7 on page 2 with the following:

“one department, agency, board, commission or other body of the”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Clause 3, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

On Clause 4,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing line 30 on page 2 with the following:

“tion process to address any reasonable complaint or ”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 4, be amended

(a) by replacing, in the English version, line 28 on page 2 with the following:

“revenue elements of the user fee.”

(b) by replacing line 32 on page 2 with the following:

“the user fee or change; and

(f) establish standards which are comparable to those established by Canada's major trading partners and against which the performance of the regulating authority can be measured.”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing lines 13 and 14 on page 3 with the following:

“higher than that existing in a country that is one of Canada's major trading partners, the Minister must as part of the”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Clause 4, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

On Clause 5,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 19 and 20 on page 3 with the following:

“5. The Committee may review a proposal for a user fee relating to a service that is regulated by the government and provided only by it and that is referred to the Committee pursuant to subsection”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 5, be amended

(a) by replacing line 23 on page 3 with the following:

“appropriate user fee, subject to the provisions of section 5.1.”

(b) by adding after line 23 on page 3 the following:

“REDUCTION OF USER FEE

5.1 Where the performance of a regulating authority does not meet the standards established by that regulating authority by a percentage greater than ten per cent, the user fee shall be reduced by a percentage equivalent to the unachieved performance, to a maximum of fifty per cent of the user fee.”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Clause 5, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

On Clause 6,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 28 on page 3 with the following:

"(2) If, within forty sitting days of receiving a"

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing lines 32 and 33 on page 3 with the following:

“Committee is deemed to have approved the proposal.”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 6, be amended by deleting lines 34 to 37 on page 3.

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 6, be amended by adding after line 37 on page 3 the following:

“(4) For the purpose of protecting national defence or national security or in any emergency situation, a user fee can be implemented before the resolution mentioned in subsection (1), whatever the outcome, is adopted. In such a case, the report to the House of Commons provided for in subsection (2) must be presented within one year of the implementation of the user fee.”

By unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn by a show of hands.

Clause 6, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

On Clause 7,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing lines 1 to 12 on page 4 with the following:

"7. (1) If a regulating authority amends the definition of persons subject to the application of a particular user fee for the purposes of maintaining fairness or covering additional costs, the Minister must, within forty sitting days of Parliament after their implementation, report these actions to the Committee. "

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 7, be amended by deleting lines 13 to 17 on page 4.

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Clause 7, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

Clause 8 carried by a show of hands.

On Clause 9,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 9, be amended by deleting lines 5 to 8 on page 5.

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Clause 9, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

Clause 10 carried by a show of hands.

The Committee reverted to Clause 2, previously stood.

On Clause 2,

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 8 to 11 on page 1 with the following:

““Committee” means the appropriate standing committee of the House of Commons.”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 11 on page 1 the following:

““direct benefit or advantage” means a benefit to the client paying the user fee with that benefit being either unique to that client or distinct from and greater than benefits that could also accrue to any other person or business as a result of that user fee being paid.”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 2, be amended by deleting lines 14 to 16 on page 1.

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing line 18 on page 1 with the following:

“agency, board, com-”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Roy Cullen moved, -- That Bill C-212, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing line 26 on page 1 with the following:

“suant to that authority and which results in a direct benefit or advantage to the person paying the fee.”

After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands.

Clause 2, as amended, carried by a show of hands.

Clause 1 carried.

The Title carried.

The Bill, as amended, carried.

ORDERED, -- That Bill C-212, An Act respecting user fees, as amended, be reprinted for the use of the House of Commons at Report Stage.

ORDERED, -- That the Chair report Bill C-212 with amendments to the House as the Fifth Report of the Committee.

At 1:15 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Richard Dupuis

Clerk of the Committee