Hon. Jane Cordy:

Honourable senators, I am pleased to rise today at third reading to speak to Bill C-32, an Act to amend the Tobacco Act.

After study of the bill by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, I continue to support this bill without amendments. Maybe it is because I am allergic to cigarette smoke and I would love it if everyone would stop smoking.

The number of young people smoking in Canada is still far too prevalent and Bill C-32 takes a step in the right direction to curb the tobacco industry's blatant marketing of tobacco products to Canada's youth. Little cigars, or cigarillos, and blunt wraps are marketed today with fruit flavours such as grape, cherry, peach, banana split and tropical punch. They have additives such as vitamins and sugars that taste like candy, making the taste more appealing to young people.

Bill C-32 strives to protect children and youth from tobacco industry marketing practices that encourage them to use tobacco products. These marketing practices include the use of these flavourings and additives that would make the tobacco product easier to smoke and, therefore, be more appealing to young people.

Bill C-32 repeals the exemption that permits tobacco advertising in publications with an adult readership of not less than 85 per cent. It prohibits the packaging, importation for sale, distribution and the sale of little cigars and blunt wraps unless they are in a package that contains at least 20 units. We know the price point for tobacco is very important to children.

I fully support Bill C-32 without amendments and I believe that Bill C-32 takes important steps toward reducing the number of youth in Canada who take up smoking. However, I was left with a number of concerns following the testimony heard when Bill C-32 was studied by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.

During the study, several witnesses raised the issue of contraband cigarettes. In 2008, over 3 billion more contraband cigarettes were sold in Canada than in 2007; that is 3 billion more cigarettes available to Canadian youth.

Contraband cigarettes cost the Canadian government nearly $2.4 billion a year in lost revenues. The availability of contraband tobacco products on the Canadian market is the major issue when it comes to tackling the problem of youth smoking in Canada. Studies show that in Ontario 48.6 per cent of the cigarette butts found on playgrounds are contraband; illegal cigarettes that kids are buying out of duffle bags in the parking lot for $6 a carton. This is where many young people are getting their cigarettes and this is how they are ultimately becoming addicted to tobacco.

I believe Bill C-32 is a good first step toward curbing youth smoking in Canada by removing flavoured tobacco products from store shelves. These tobacco products are packaged in such a way as to appeal to children. However, Canadian law currently prohibits storeowners from selling these products to minors, and the source of cigarettes for children is not from over the counter.

Bill C-32 is limited in its powers to truly deal with the problem of youth smoking. Canadians need the government to stop ignoring the problem of contraband tobacco and bring forth strong policies to engage directly the issue of the contraband tobacco market. The government must do this and provide leadership and vision before we can truly say we are tackling the problem of youth smoking.

We need to make cigarettes unappealing to eliminate the "try" factor of these products and, most important, these products have to become unavailable to Canada's youth.

Another serious concern I have that was raised during the committee hearings was with regard to the government's idea of consultation with stakeholders during the development of Bill C-32. When questioned by committee members regarding the level of consultation the government had with stakeholders when drafting Bill C-32, it was obvious that consultation was not high on the government's priorities. Witness after witness testified that the government ignored their requests for consultation.

I would like to quote Paul Glover, Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch from Health Canada, who appeared before the committee on September 17. This was his response to the question of whether Health Canada consulted with the tobacco industry and others when developing Bill C-32:

With respect to consultation, this was a platform commitment in some ways. As a platform commitment, it was very visible and public to all Canadians through the election process.

I was quite surprised that a senior bureaucrat would talk about the election platform of any political party when appearing as a witness, and to say that this was consultation.

The following quote was typical of witnesses' responses to questions on the level of involvement stakeholders had during the development process of Bill C-32. In referring to committee hearings on the other side, Laurie Karson, Executive Director of the Frontier Duty Free Association stated:

When Health Canada was asked during those hearings if they consulted specifically with the Frontier Duty Free Association, a question posed by Joyce Murray, they said they did consult with us. I beg to differ on that. I have subsequently contacted the Minister of Health to meet with her directly. I have been refused a meeting. I have contacted Leah Canning twice and have been refused a meeting. I am sure you would agree that we, as an industry, believe that is lack of consultation, and it is very disheartening.

I truly hope that the lack of consultation with stakeholders is not the policy of this government when it comes to developing legislation. Open communication and input from Canadians and stakeholders is crucial to crafting effective legislation when addressing these issues. It takes consultation with stakeholders to minimize the possibility of negative, unintended consequences a piece of legislation may have.

In closing, I wish to reiterate my support for Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and its intent to reduce the appeal of tobacco products to Canada's youth. We all agree that smoking and the health of our children continues to be of great concern to Canadians, and I applaud the efforts of this bill.

I do hope to see this government put greater emphasis on introducing policies through consultations with stakeholders. Such consultations would aggressively target the problem of contraband tobacco in Canada, which remains the largest source of tobacco for young people.

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