Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: I am very proud to answer that question as the former executive director of the Goose Bay Airport Corporation, and as a former baggage handler at YYR, Goose Bay Airport. That is how I worked my way through college. I think of ground crews every time — and this has probably happened to many senators present today — I land at an airport on time, but do not make it to the gate for 40 minutes. That’s because we do not have enough ground crews. They work hard.

Because I was out in the middle of the ramp in Goose Bay, I did not get affected by the black flies, so I took a respite out there. I learned never to complain about the heat in Labrador in the summer, because everyone with whom I was working had to work there in the winter.

Aircrew work outdoors — there is not enough you can wear. It is tough work. We lost a lot of them to Amazon warehouses and other places that paid equal, if not greater, money and benefits. I do not believe the market has caught up with what are extraordinarily essential workers.

It is a problem. It is not a problem, I will admit, that I have been tackling as a minister, but it is one that I will take back to the Minister of Transport. We do need to do a lot more there — on every front you mentioned.

[Translation]

Hon. Amina Gerba: Honourable senators, Roxham Road is sadly known as an easy way for asylum seekers to get into Canada, and many people are calling for it to be closed. That is how Roxham Road is presented to us every day in the media, and the topic stirs up partisan debate in our governments on immigration management.

As part of my ongoing series for Black History Month, today I have decided to talk to you about Roxham Road from a different angle, through the eyes of a person who embodies the selflessness, altruism and bravery of a true citizen.

It is with great pleasure that I pay tribute here to a person whose actions are improving lives: Kicha Estimée.

Kicha is a product of immigration herself and has spent years helping immigrants deal with the many challenges of life abroad. As a social worker at the Laval Immigration Holding Centre, Kicha was appalled by the conditions in which residents were living. To her, the centre seemed like a prison.

She also noticed there were few support services available, even though most of these immigrants need someone to take them by the hand and teach them how to live in their new country.

This gave Kicha the idea to create a welcome centre that would help guide immigrants through the process and provide shelter to those who are going through a tough time. This centre, known as the Centre d’hébergement Latraverse, was created in 2020 in Montreal North and has become the first stop for new immigrants, many of whom come in through Roxham Road.

In the few years it has been open, this centre has already welcomed and helped thousands of people by providing food, clothing, compassion and short-, medium- or long-term accommodation.

Colleagues, while our governments sit around and debate, ordinary folks like Kicha Estimée are taking action. While our governments speculate on how to integrate immigrants, kind souls are investing their own money for the well-being of humanity. We must support and encourage these kinds of initiatives, because they illustrate how compassionate Canadians are.

Please join me in wishing Kicha the very best for the continued success for her bold initiative.

Thank you.

[English]

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: Senator, we are far away from that.

In regard to the issue of replacement workers, I come back to the remarkable record that my team has at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, or FMCS, which is our mediation and conciliation team. The longer you can keep people focused on the table, and not on other things, the better. What we have learned are the lasting — and extremely scarring and emotional — effects of using scabs or replacement workers. It can poison a work environment for years, if not decades. When all of that is happening, the emotional turmoil of that and the physical time it takes in order to coordinate it distracts people from a solution at the table. That is where I’m coming from on this.

I want security and stability in our supply chains. I do not want further disruption. It will be crucial that we get this legislation correct and the regs that stem from it. At some point, senators here will have a hand in that, but I want you to know — and I will impress this upon you — that the stability of that table means the stability of our supply chains. The more that I can have unions, industry and business focused on finding an agreement that is long-lasting, the better. I do not think that finding third-party sources is going to do any of that.

Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, February 14, 2023, marks the fiftieth anniversary of a special day, an historic moment on Parliament Hill that will be celebrated by Yukon First Nations and all Yukoners.

Colleagues, please picture a snowy, Ottawa day — February 14, 1973 — on the steps of Parliament Hill. Elijah Smith and a delegation of Yukon First Nations, some of whom are still with us, presented then-prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau with a typewritten document, a booklet entitled, Together Today for our Children Tomorrow.

Reserves for First Nations were not created in Yukon. Rather, lands were set aside. Yukon First Nations land claims had been put forward as early as 1901 when Chief Jim Boss of the present‑day Ta’an Kwäch’än wrote letters to the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in Ottawa and to the Commissioner of Yukon.

An iconic photo of the presentation and acceptance of the document by the former Prime Minister Trudeau showed the acceptance by Canada of the First Peoples of the Yukon, an appreciation for their relationship and rights to the land, the use and preservation of resources and the importance of the preservation of culture and language for their children, tomorrow. It marked the beginning of the land claims negotiations.

In the words of the Council of Yukon First Nations, as this is their story to tell:

The claim was founded on the principle that aboriginal rights still existed in the Yukon Territory and that the Government of Canada had a longstanding obligation to negotiate a treaty with the aboriginal peoples of the Yukon.

In 1990, 17 years after the presentation of Together Today for our Children Tomorrow, an Umbrella Final Agreement was reached. The UFA is a framework under which individual First Nations land claims agreements are negotiated.

As we prepare to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the historic recognition by Canada, 11 of the 14 Yukon First Nations have such agreements.

Honourable senators, it is one thing to complete the land claims agreement; the real work is giving life and meaning to the words. Visual demonstrations of the agreements are evident on road signs in Whitehorse, in suburbs where we use “stop” and “Ńłān“ in Southern Tutchone to halt traffic. Respectfully, if you self-identify as being First Nations, Métis or Inuit when you arrive at Whitehorse General Hospital, the First Nations liaison worker will come to your room or the emergency department to offer you support during your stay. Traditional foods will be offered to help you recover.

Yukon has walked a path towards a new understanding with First Nations for the past 50 years as we have reached these agreements. The challenging work is not finished. As Canada finds our path to reconciliation, I would proudly say to you, as others have said, “We are a Yukon that leads.”

Senators can visit the Council of Yukon First Nations website to share in our celebration next week and to download Together Today for our Children Tomorrow.

Shä̀w níthän,mahsi’cho, gùnáłchîsh, thank you, dear colleagues.

(Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, to receive a Minister of the Crown, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour, appeared before honourable senators during Question Period.)

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Welcome, minister.

Last fall, on the day the Trudeau government announced it will impose the carbon tax on three Atlantic provinces, minister, you said, “I’m sick and tired of people talking about the cold winter . . . .” You said it was stoking anxiety, as if people won’t experience the cold if nobody talks about it.

I cannot imagine a more tone-deaf response to legitimate concerns raised by Atlantic Canadians about how they will afford to heat their homes. Your government is piling more tax on Canadians at a time when they can least afford it, when they are already paying more for groceries, housing and transportation.

Minister, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said most households under the Trudeau carbon tax will see a net loss. Do you acknowledge that, minister, or is that something you don’t want to talk about either?

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: Oh, senator, it is good to be back. I appreciate the question. The quote is not accurate.

What I was referring to was just stoking fear and anxiety in things like a government would cause a cold winter. That was my exact quote. Quite frankly, I used a phrase that is often used in Newfoundland: “My nerves are rubbed raw.” People’s nerves are rubbed raw. I do personally resent it when we get carried away with partisan phrasing that causes and invokes unnecessary anxiety.

The fact of the matter is that with the federal buyback on the price on pollution, 8 out of 10 families will get more money from it. To be honest with you, I have spent an inordinate amount of time putting my head around it, writing script for it and speaking to my iPhone to get the message out. But the bottom line is that we do want to make sure we put a price on pollution, and we do want to make sure that families are not the ones to take the hit for it. In other words, they will get cash back. In Newfoundland and Labrador, they are about to get roughly a little over $1,100 back per year, four times a year. It will be listed in their bank accounts, and they’ll get it directly.

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: Senator, I thank you for the question. Sometimes my title belies more jurisdiction than I actually have. By way of accuracy, as a minister per se, this would not fall under my jurisdiction. However, as a minister of the Crown, I take account for the decisions that are made at the table. Would I have some say in this? I absolutely will take responsibility for that.

The government does recognize the importance of the temporary foreign workers. They are extremely important to food producers and processors. A number of departments have been working to simplify the processes to make sure we facilitate the safe entry of many of the workers who are there. We are getting our heads around working with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Immigration and with my colleague Minister Qualtrough at Employment Services on how we deal with this.

We do not want people to be vulnerable and not protected in this country when they perform such important work.

Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Thank you, minister, for making the time to be here with us. I have a couple of quick questions about major issues in your department.

The first is anti-scab legislation. Could you tell us where that is at? Will your legislation be the same or different from the private member’s bill that Alexandre Boulerice has introduced — Bill C-302. Also, with regard to employment equity — further to my colleague’s question — when do you anticipate introducing that legislation, and will the target groups be different than the four that have been named in the past?

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Thank you, minister and welcome to the Senate. Good to see you again. I would like to follow up on that last question. The consultations ended in December. I am wondering if you could elaborate on what the conclusion of or the consensus on that consultation on replacement workers was.

It is a delicate balance, I will acknowledge to this chamber. We have done superlative work. Not me; I will give all credit to officials. Some of the most impressive public servants that I have worked with have been in the Labour Department, particularly in our Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

I was scared to death last year, as a new labour minister, with CP Rail, CN Rail, VIA Rail, Loomis, Purolator and WestJet all up within federal jurisdiction about work stoppages and any of those affecting our supply chains. So ensuring that we do this and we do not adversely affect supply chains in this country is incredibly important.

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: Well, that’s just it. It is. It’s all about the emissions, senator. That’s what it is about. All of it is about the emissions. I completely agree with you on that. I cannot stand the phrase “just transition.” I’ve said this for years. “Just transition” is a phrase that workers hate, and my constituents don’t like, and so I don’t like it either. We tried, anyway, within the bureaucracy and amongst ourselves to say the words, “sustainable jobs.”

This is not about phasing out the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry will be with us for quite some time, and I would argue proudly so. I am proud of what we have done in this country and what workers have accomplished in this country. Some 30, 40 years ago we asked workers in Saskatchewan and Alberta to figure out how to get oil out of sand, and, by God, they did it. We are the fourth-biggest producer of oil and gas in the world. That is a remarkable accomplishment.

As the senator well knows, out my way, Exxon Mobil has said there is no harsher environment in the world in which to extract oil than the North Atlantic of Newfoundland and Labrador. What we have managed to do — and I acknowledge this, senators — what we have managed to do as our government is sometimes — frequently — isolate the very people that we need to lower emissions and build up renewables, which is the workers of this industry.

My job is to make sure — I need more workers in the oil and gas industry, not less. We need more. We have a mission in this country because the world’s eyes are on us, because we have the natural resources and because we have the expertise to show that we can lower emissions, build up renewables, increase the prosperity of this country and not have it done on the backs of ratepayers. That’s our challenge.

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: It is a good question, senator. I’m not sure how it relates to my last answer, which I couldn’t be clearer about. I am a member of Parliament from an oil-and-gas-producing province. I am a member of Parliament — elected three times, I might add — from an oil-producing province. I am keenly aware of the challenges. I am also keenly aware of the prosperity that has come from it. And so we will work with industry and unions — more to the point, I actually made a very quiet trip — unlike some of my colleagues, I don’t tweet everything that I do. I did fly out to Alberta quietly to meet with Gil McGowan — who has become, I would like to think, a friend — of the Alberta Federation of Labour and with the Operating Engineers.

With all of the heightened talk — because I made the foolish mistake of going on vacation and coming back to an inordinate number of headlines about just transition coming out of Alberta. So I flew out there to let everyone know that we are on task and on mission. We are convinced that Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador can lead the world in this.

I can tell you quite proudly, in my home province they have gotten the message, and we are moving forward. We are determined to lower emissions where we can find them, as are many, many oil and gas workers whom I meet with and industry, who know which way the puck is going and are determined to skate to it.

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: I appreciate the question, senator. The key is always in the qualifying phrase: respecting the fact that this is provincial jurisdiction.

I am a product — my first job, I worked for five years in the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador. When I came into the Ministry of Natural Resources, my Alberta colleague at the time Sonya Savage schooled me immediately on what is in provincial jurisdiction and what is in federal jurisdiction. But I knew darn well, having been around in Hibernia’s early days, but also in areas like health, that you tread into those places very carefully.

I think that what we are seeing happening right now with the quantum that has been proposed by the Prime Minister to the premiers and as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs goes about bilateral agreements and working with each province, I think I have to be very careful about what I say.

But I can tell you that given the dearth of health care professionals right now in the system, how we figure out how people can move around within this country and how we recognize foreign credentials are some of the absolute top priorities as I sit down at the table.

Hon. Mary Coyle: Welcome, Minister O’Regan. Great to see you again.

Minister O’Regan, in your mandate letter, which we heard a little bit about, you were asked to work with other ministers on legislation and action to achieve a just transition, ensuring support for the future and livelihood of workers and their communities in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The Office of the Auditor General released a report last April on that transition, which found that federal departments had not adequately designed programs and benefits to support coal workers and their communities while phasing out coal-fired electricity.

Minister, could you tell us how the government is responding to that report and the recommendations from the Auditor General? Also, what lessons might we learn for other sectors?

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: As you well know, Senator Yussuff was very much on top of that file in terms of coal transition.

There is a significant, and fundamental, difference in that coal is being phased out altogether. It is not only being phased out in Canada, but we want it phased out around the world — you cannot just do that, though, for jurisdictions that do not have an alternative. In Canada, in the meantime, we have alternatives — and we have for some time — whether those are fossil fuels, hydroelectricity or nuclear power. Therein lies a big difference.

This message gets so muddied and politicized. I learned during my tenure as Minister of Natural Resources that the most important thing you can do is singularly focus on one thing — and that is lowering emissions. Everything else is noise; everything else can become a distraction.

It is on two fronts: We have to lower emissions for its own sake, but we also have to lower emissions because, competitively, it will place our product and our fossil fuels in a far better place in the world, as the world shops around now — not only for cheap sources, but also for sources at lower emissions.

Hon. Wanda Thomas Bernard: Minister O’Regan, thank you for being here today. Two of my colleagues have asked about employment equity, which I was planning to ask, so I have a very straightforward follow-up to the questions asked by Senator Loffreda and Senator Cardozo.

Many equity-deserving groups are asking me what the delay has been in the reporting of the task force. Are you able to tell us what has caused those delays?

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: No, it is nothing other than they asked for more time in order to reach conclusions and write the report. I thought it prudent to do that once it was requested.

I realize there is a great impatience among a number of communities in this country to get this done. I also acknowledge that, as I said, I don’t think there has been any fundamental change to it since 1986.

Senator, I will acknowledge it is a fine line. I believe impatience is a virtue. I have not lost my virtue in my seven years as a member of Parliament, but one owes it to these groups to also find the time to get it right. I’m attempting to find that now. I am told that I will have the report by this spring.

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: That’s right. The Pay Equity Act came into force in 2021. We appointed the Pay Equity Commissioner to support that compliance.

The Pay Equity Act directs employers to take proactive steps to make sure that they are providing equal pay for work of equal value. It has brought about a dramatic shift in how the right to pay equity is protected in federally regulated workplaces. It is administered and enforced by Canada’s federal Pay Equity Commissioner and is supported by the pay equity division at the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

To more directly answer your question, it is a complex issue, as I’m sure the senator can acknowledge. We need time to get it right, so we have created a framework for federally regulated businesses to understand the requirements to develop those pay equity plans and to start making pay adjustments.

An overriding principle for me here is the closer that it can be done to the ground, the better. When you come from a provincial government or a small town in Labrador as I did, you do not like the long arm of big government coming at you. Growing up in Labrador, the long arm of big government was St. John’s, not Ottawa. The closer you find the solutions on the ground, the better.

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Labour: I don’t know whether if you put “just transition” in air quotes it shows up in Hansard.

Look, it’s not a matter of workers finding themselves in a low‑carbon environment. Workers will create that environment. They will lead this. Let me finish an answer that I did not get a chance to finish earlier.

When I sit down and talk with the union leadership in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, they are firmly in charge of this. We doubled Union Training and Innovation Program funding for union training centres, for instance, and I will be a big advocate for increasing the funding for them. In other words, I want them to point out where the opportunities lie as we lower emissions and build up renewables. That is what we’re doing. That will all happen with energy workers. It will all happen with people who are currently in the industry, and I would argue that we need more on top of it.

We have to build up carbon capture. To be honest with you, we have a great agreement with the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments, and certainly Newfoundland and Labrador.

Industry is embracing this as well. With great pride, I acknowledge that the industry association in Newfoundland and Labrador, which was called Noia, the Newfoundland & Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association, is now called Energy NL. They completely not only embrace and champion oil and gas, as they always have, but now they’re embracing hydrogen, hydro and all of the in-between and how they all work together. That is how we go about it. That is how we do it.

I’m very proud of my crowd. I think out my way, we see the world very practically. This is the way the world is going, and we want to be on top of it.

Hon. Marty Klyne: Minister, we know that as all provinces and cities strive to reach emissions that are 40% to 45% below 2005 levels, many will do it by phasing out coal plants, as Saskatchewan has said it will do. In that regard, we need to be ready to mobilize and ready a workforce that’s prepared to work in a low-carbon-emissions economy.

What is your government doing to ensure a bright future for energy workers and to demonstrate the upside of this just transition in terms of transferable skills transitioning to well‑paying, steady jobs for Western Canadians who are working in a low-carbon economy, which they are not now?