Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I will make inquiries with the government and try to get back to you soon.

Senator Dagenais: Jean Chrétien, who was the Prime Minister when the very first G20 meeting was held, said that these summits were the ideal time to have more private meetings with major world leaders and discuss various issues. That is in stark contrast to what Mr. Trudeau is doing. The Prime Minister is not talking to China or to Russia. That does nothing to improve Canada’s influence on important global issues.

Do you think it’s time that Mr. Trudeau adopted the approach of great prime ministers, such as Lester B. Pearson, Brian Mulroney, Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien, to restore Canada’s image?

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator Gagné, for the third reading of Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

And on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Boisvenu, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman:

That Bill C-5 be not now read a third time, but that it be amended in clause 14, on page 3, by replacing lines 19 to 21 with the following:

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. The government is pleased that it was able to secure an additional foreign supply of children’s acetaminophen. It will be available for sale in retail and community pharmacies in the coming weeks to help address the immediate situation.

The longer-range solution requires not only federal and provincial government action but also that of the private sector to increase our already-significant capacity in research into drugs and the drug production facilities. That is something that is in the long-term interests of Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Canada stands firmly with Ukraine against the illegal invasion and annexation by Russia of its territories. It also continues to ratchet up sanctions against individuals in Russia who are associated with these actions and continues to evaluate any further steps that are called for in that regard.

Some Hon. Senators: No.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of interns of the Honourable Senator Pate.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Senators: Question.

Senator Batters: Senator Gold, you referenced some examples that Senator Simons gave regarding situations she found would be acceptable for conditional sentences. Which particular examples that Senator Simons referred to do you think are acceptable for conditional sentences?

Some Hon. Senators: Nay.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of teachers and students of North Addington Education Centre. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Boyer.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Senator Gold: Respectfully, I do not. Decisions as to whether charges should be laid are made through a process involving police and Crowns and the like. The judge — she or he — performs an important role at the sentencing stage. It’s in evaluating all the circumstances and the nature and reasons for the charge that Bill C-5 would return discretion to the judges, which was earlier eliminated precisely because it is in those rare circumstances where to imprison somebody would be unjust and not in the interests of public safety that conditional sentence orders are the appropriate response in the interest of public safety.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2022 Fall Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada, pursuant to the Auditor General Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. A-17, sbs. 7(3).

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Connor Chow. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Batters.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Those opposed to the motion will please say “nay.”

Senator Kutcher: According to the International Monetary Fund — and here I want to thank Senator Galvez’s office for the research — in 2019, Canada provided our coal industry subsidies worth over $7 billion. At the same time, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research received about $1.2 billion. This doesn’t make sense.

Masters-level graduate students who work in research labs make about $19,000 a year, and PhD students about $21,000 annually. As you know, the low-income cut-off for a single person in 2021 was just over $24,000. Does the government not think that investing in our best and brightest young researchers is as important as subsidizing our coal industry?

Some Hon. Senators: Yea.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Those in favour of the motion will please say “yea.”