Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, a recent article in The Globe and Mail noted that between 2016 and 2021 the number of people older than 65 with an outstanding mortgage on their residence increased from 1.2 million to 1.5 million. This is an unbelievable 25% increase in only five years, Senator Gold.

This is very concerning, and illustrates the growing challenges that Canadians are having with the skyrocketing costs of everything under your government’s tenure. Can you tell me if your government has started to recognize that it is failing Canadians, and that its addiction to ever-increasing spending is making things worse and not better?

Senator Plett: I’ll do the rest when the next speaker gets up or in my speech. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

[Translation]

Senator Plett: Don’t sound so enthusiastic, Senator Sorensen. When you say things that border on not being correct, then I think you open yourself up to questions.

Senator Plett: Was that my 35 seconds?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Standing Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade be authorized to examine and report on foreign influence in the electoral process in Canada; and

That the committee submit its final report no later than June 30, 2023.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, on November 7 reports surfaced of Chinese interference in our 2019 election, alleging that the Prime Minister had been briefed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, in January 2020 that 11 federal candidates had been targets of the Chinese Communist Party’s, or CCP’s, interference campaign.

Following these reports, the Prime Minister allowed the world to believe that he raised the issue of Chinese interference with President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit. Now, weeks after the original report surfaced, the Prime Minister claims that he had not been briefed on any federal candidates receiving any money from China.

Senator Gold, the Prime Minister’s incoherence is completely unbefitting of the magnitude of the issue and, indeed, his office. Can you give us some clarity on what the Prime Minister knew and when he knew about it?

Senator Plett: Well, I think we should ask the 1.5 million seniors that are in this predicament whether they agree with your comment that this isn’t indeed a valid comment or suggestion.

Senator Gold, a mortgage now costs Canadians 64% of their income. Interest rates are still rising. This is going to make it more and more difficult for Canadians to meet their monthly expenses.

The Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre warned the Prime Minister two years ago that rising interest rates would be the inevitable consequences of inflationary deficits, but your government refused to listen to Mr. Poilievre. Now he is proven correct. Whether you like it or not, Senator Gold, he has been proven correct.

Can you tell me whether your government is prepared to listen now or do Canadians need to brace themselves for even more cost-of-living increases?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable Senator Andrew Cardozo, my colleagues in the Senate Conservative Caucus join me in wishing you the warmest of welcomes to the Senate of Canada. Today, you are officially embarking on a new chapter of your life. I’m sure all my Senate colleagues will agree that every new swearing-in ceremony calls us back to reflect on our own and that we have all shared in the excitement and anticipation you are likely feeling today.

This day will forever represent a special moment in your history — one that is marked above all by the honour that has been bestowed upon you and the weight of the responsibility that has been entrusted to you.

As you look ahead to your future in the upper chamber, I hope it is of great reassurance to you that you are not only being called to serve in one of our country’s greatest institutions but being welcomed to a new family — the Senate family. While our Senate family is made up of many varying opinions and perspectives that often cause us to disagree, we are all united in our goal and duty, which is to ensure that the best interests of all Canadians are served and represented.

I trust you will keep that at the forefront of your service to Ontarians and all Canadians in the years to come.

Senator Cardozo, your experience and talents are a welcome addition, which will undoubtedly enrich the debates and dialogues of this chamber. Your rich background in public policy and commitment to the issues that are important to you will guide you in your journey in this institution and make for tremendous contributions to the future of the Senate.

I, along with the rest of our Senate colleagues, look forward to the unique perspective you will bring to our deliberations, and we are eager to work collaboratively with you to deliver the best results for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

On behalf of the Senate Conservative Caucus, congratulations and welcome to the upper chamber.

[Translation]

Senator Plett: We can see exactly how seriously the Prime Minister took it. He says one thing when he’s talking about what he raised with President Xi and another when he is asked here in Canada about when he was briefed. He’s taking it so seriously that he’s telling us two different things.

Leader, in just a few short weeks, the story has changed many times. The reports told us that the Prime Minister had been briefed. Now he is saying he hadn’t been. It is entirely possible that these reports could have been wrong. If that were the case, why didn’t anyone in the apparatus of government say that before now? Are we supposed to believe, government leader, that the Prime Minister raised an issue with the Chinese president that he now claims he had never been briefed on, or did he confront President Xi based on a news article?

Senator Gold, this type of incoherence is unacceptable on the question of the integrity of our democratic process. Is your government being intentionally incoherent to avoid having to answer the question outright?

Senator Plett: Well, I’ll get half of my question in.

Again, you want to do something with a bill here where it is grandfathered so much — the elephants that we have now under human care, and the zoos are calling it “under human care,” not captivity. The fact of the matter is that Parc Omega and Parc Safari have much larger facilities than Calgary, Toronto or Assiniboine Park — and I’ve been at all of them. So those animals aren’t in little cages —

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Would the senator take a question?

Senator Plett: Senator Sorensen, I do not think there is a person in this chamber who is opposed to closing roadside zoos, so why do we always add something that isn’t subject to debate? This is a debate about accredited zoos and what this bill will do to accredited zoos. Now, you were quite disparaging about CAZA when CAZA, in fact, is a Canadian organization.

Senator Sorensen, we are told it is urgent to pass Bill S-241, but on the day that it passes into law not a single roadside zoo will be closed because of it. Every animal currently in a roadside zoo is grandfathered in and will be left to die in those conditions. It does nothing. I wonder why we are not creating a bill that deals with the situations we have.

CAZA is an accreditation organization, as is AZA. I will get to a question here and give you a chance to answer what I have already asked. Senator Sorensen, the issue that I raised with Senator Dean last week is that Bill S-241 turns over the accreditation of Canadian zoos to an American organization. There is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives called the SWIMS Act. You know what question I’m going to ask. That bill will prohibit the breeding, importation and exportation of orcas, beluga whales, false killer whales and pilot whales for the purposes of public display in the U.S.

That is very similar to rules that Canadian zoos, under CAZA, are already required to abide by. AZA is opposing this bill, yet you want them here accrediting our zoos.

And WAZA, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, by the way, is not an accreditation organization. CAZA is, as is AZA.

So why do we want to get somebody in here to do the accreditation when they oppose the very things that we or Senator Klyne is trying to do with this bill that they are opposing south of the border?