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Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:28:56 -0600 (CST)
From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" <[email protected]>
Subject: Canadian Alliance Bill Given Royal Assent

Canadian Alliance Bill Given Royal Assent
Grewal becomes first Alliance MP to make law

June 20, 2003, Ottawa  - Gurmant Grewal, MP for Surrey Central and Co-chair
of the Joint Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, was pleased
to see the first Canadian Alliance private members bill passed and given
Royal Assent last night in the Senate. Sponsored by Mr. Grewal, Bill C-205
now gives Parliamentarians the ability to review and revoke all federal
regulations.

Said Mr. Grewal, "No Canadian is untouched by regulations - whether it is
the food we eat, the TV shows we watch, or the cars we drive. We are
governed 20 percent by legislation and 80 percent by regulation. My bill
increases accountability by giving Parliamentarians full control over all of
these regulations."

According to a recent Fraser Institute study the federal and provincial
governments produce on average 4,700 new regulations each year and overall
regulations cost Canadians $103-billion annually. Other studies suggest that
12 to 31 percent of Canada's slowdown in productivity can be directly tied
to this growth in red tape.

"The success of Bill C-205 comes against great odds. Private members bills
are rarely passed; since 1997 there have been 1,664 introduced, but only 19
enacted into law. Until yesterday, the Liberals always voted against our
bills and then later stole the ideas. It's happened to me three times, on
bills dealing with firefighters, whistleblowers and foreign credentials,"
said Grewal.

"The enactment of my private members bill into law actually defies my own
rule that private members bills are like pacifiers given to a baby - they
keep the baby quiet baby, keeping it busy, and giving it hope, but at the
end of the day the baby gets nothing for its efforts."

"While Paul Martin talks about democratic reform, the Canadian Alliance does
something about it," said Mr. Grewal.  "Effective Parliamentary scrutiny
must be accompanied by effective Parliamentary control.  My bill has taken
the disallowance procedure found in the Standing Orders and given it a
statutory footing. I did this because I believe that the time had come for
the Parliament of Canada to give itself the means to ensure full democratic
control of all federal regulations. Bill C-205 ensures that Parliamentarians
are in a position to exercise their responsibility for the effective
oversight of the exercise of legislative powers they entrust to various
agencies like the CRTC or the Canadian Transportation Agency. The bill also
for the first time allows for the participation of the Senate in the
disallowance procedure."