The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Plett, did you wish to speak before Senator Tannas?

Senator Cordy: Of course.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I want to thank Senator Tannas for raising this very important question, and I want to thank all senators who took the time to participate in the debate. I will take the matter under advisement.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

(At 5:09 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

Appendix—Senators List

Senator Marshall: Thank you, Senator Gold, I would appreciate that. We need that information for our study of supplementary estimates this fall. When you inquire as to when we are going to get the Public Accounts, could you also inquire as to when we will get the departmental results reports? We did not get last year’s reports until this year. We need those documents together as a package. Thank you very much.

Senator Mockler: You are correct, Senator Woo, it is science-based. It is technical. I will take your question under advisement and I will send you a written response.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Senator Woo, do you have a question?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, senator, for your question. I will have to make inquiries and come back with an answer as quickly as I can.

Hon. Michèle Audette: Honourable senators, my first question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Today is an important day for thousands of families and survivors across Canada, as well as for those who have lost loved ones. We are marking Sisters in Spirit Day. I would like to thank my colleagues who have decided to participate.

I have a duty of responsibility towards these families, as well as a great deal of love for them. They campaigned for over 50 years for the creation of a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and Canada finally ordered the launch of this inquiry. The inquiry produced many reports and recommendations, of course, as well as Calls for Justice for Canada and Quebec. The third anniversary of the inquiry’s final report was on June 3. In addition, the first anniversary of the federal government’s action plan recently passed.

Senator Gold, one of the Calls for Justice is particularly important to me. Call for Justice 1.7 calls for the creation of an Indigenous ombudsperson position in partnership with organizations, Indigenous governments and the federal government. This Call for Justice also aims to create space for human rights and Indigenous peoples’ rights.

I would like to know where Canada stands with regard to Call for Justice 1.7, which is very important.

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: I want to add to what Senator Saint-Germain said. Yes, the allegations are serious, but as Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, I was there in person at the September 28 meeting during which the witness, Scott Benzie, appeared.

My colleague, Senator Housakos, did indeed ask questions about the content of the article in The Globe and Mail, and the witness, Mr. Benzie, answered directly, although he said he did not want to spend too much time talking about it. He said that the timing of the article in The Globe and Mail was suspect, but all the attacks on content creators that he referred to occurred in the House of Commons, not the Senate. He talked about attacks that had taken place several months before.

I would note that, during the meeting, I heard Mr. Benzie express his views on Bill C-11 freely and at length, several times, without hesitation. He has major concerns about the bill.

I must add that we are set to hear from about 10 content creators, people commonly called “YouTubers,” all of whom have major concerns about Bill C-11. Not one of them decided not to show up or refused to testify. They have been coming, we have spent several meetings hearing from them, and they have been telling us exactly what they think of Bill C-11.

I do not wish to comment on the merits of the case, as that is for you to do, Your Honour. By merits, I mean the information reported by The Globe and Mail. However, I do not see how the publication of this article violated my privileges, prevented me from doing my job, or otherwise impeded the committee’s work. Not to mention the fact that, as a journalist, I am concerned that an article is being used as the basis for this question of privilege, when this is an example of freedom of the press, a fundamental right guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[English]

Hon. Scott Tannas: Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 13-4, I give oral notice of a question of privilege I intend to raise later this day.

When witnesses appear before Senate committees, parliamentary privilege is accorded to them and gives them certain immunities and protections, including protections against threats, intimidation and harassment. I became concerned with the timing and content of an article in The Globe and Mail dated September 27. It spoke of a complaint filed with the Commissioner of Lobbying against a witness who was scheduled to appear the following day before the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.

Later today, I will present my views, this being a potential question of privilege and contempt of Parliament.

Hon. Chantal Petitclerc: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. As you probably noticed, Hockey Canada was in the news again yesterday. We know Hockey Canada’s lack of transparency has broken its bond of trust with Canadian families. Federal funding for the organization has been frozen, the police are investigating and an audit is under way. Minister St-Onge is suggesting people should resign, but is that enough, especially given that the senior executives and board members remain in place?

Isn’t it time to do the right thing and make it clear to Hockey Canada’s current leadership that the tide has turned and that we need a new team to send a very clear message that sexual violence and abuse are unacceptable?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The government completely agrees with you, colleague, that the situation is totally unacceptable. That is why the minister has announced, as you just pointed out, that she wants to see a change within the team.

I will go even further. The government recently announced a comprehensive reform to the funding and accountability framework for sport federations. This reform will give Sport Canada the leverage to closely monitor organizations with respect to their governance and transparency practices. Accountability within sport federations will be significantly strengthened. In conclusion, the government reaffirms its resolve to put an end to the culture of silence that has prevailed for too long in the field of sport, not only in hockey, but unfortunately nearly everywhere, as we have seen recently.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people have the right to be safe in the communities they call home.

This national strategy calls for a whole-of-government approach, which means respecting our goals as a country and all the Calls for Justice.

I am told that, in the Federal Pathway, the Government of Canada committed to producing an annual progress report on key milestones and its progress toward fulfilling the commitments. On June 3, 2022, the government released the first Federal Pathway progress report. The report provides an update on more than 50 initiatives and programs launched as part of the Federal Pathway and led by 25 federal departments and agencies. The report also identifies what remains to be done.

Senator Audette: Let me repeat the question. What progress has the federal government made on Call for Justice 1.7 concerning the creation of an ombudsperson position?

Senator Gold: I don’t have an answer to your question. I will look into it and try to get a response for you. I want to note, however, that the work has already begun in partnership with Indigenous communities to ensure that we can develop the Federal Pathway together.

[English]

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Senator Gold, in recent days we have had information circulating that high-ranking government officials connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, and the brutal regime in Iran — including the family members of none other than the supreme leader himself — have been seeking refuge right here in Canada. It has been reported that many might already be here.

My question for you, government leader, is very simple. Can you tell us what due diligence the Trudeau government has undertaken to make sure that no individual, or individuals, with links to the IRGC and to this brutal government will be — or have been — granted entry into Canada?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. I don’t have the answer to your question. I will endeavour to determine what information can be shared on a subject that clearly engages our security and our commitments to oppose the tyranny and the state-sponsored terrorism for which Iran is properly held accountable. I’ll do my best to have an answer as quickly as I can.

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, I want to thank colleagues in the Canadian Senators Group for this opportunity to ask a question. It’s a rare and generous offer.

The 2022 Hong Kong Watch report recently revealed that Canada has holdings in Chinese companies on the U.S. sanctions list and companies that have provided equipment used in camps where it’s estimated that about a million Uighurs are still detained.

Respected former parliamentarians Irwin Cotler and David Kilgour noted that Canada Pension Plan investments are more than $50 billion in Chinese companies. In addition, other pension plan investments have been reported to have been made in companies connected to the forced labour of Uighurs. We also have reports of several provincial Crown investment management corporations listed as investing in equities and companies accused of human rights violations in China. Perhaps more shocking is the fact that Canadian universities have endowment funds invested with firms that are exposed to these inequities.

Although we condemn the genocide, we continue what Hong Kong Watch has called “passively supporting oppression” by investing in Chinese equities with proven links to industries in contravention of human rights.

My question, Senator Gold: How is Canada identifying violators? What is Canada doing to ensure that public and private investments, such as the Canada Pension Plan, are not contributing to these human rights violations by investing in such companies?