Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(The sitting of the Senate was suspended.)

(The sitting of the Senate was resumed.)

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of former Irish senator and children’s rights advocate Jillian van Turnhout and Mr. Ron Ensom, a child protection consultant. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Kutcher.

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

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, for 65 years, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan has served as the spiritual leader to over 15 million Ismaili Muslims around the world.

For his entire adult life, he has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of not only Ismaili Muslims, but for all people, particularly those who live in the most impoverished and often forgotten corners of our world.

Operating in over 30 countries in the world, and employing almost 100,000 people, the Aga Khan Development Network has established two universities, built over 700 medical centres, launched over 200 schools, supported over 600,000 farmers and provided financial services to over 50 million people.

Last week, members of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan’s family, including his brother Prince Amyn and his children Princess Zahra and Prince Rahim, were in Canada for ceremonies to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Ismaili community’s substantial presence in Canada, and to launch initiatives for the next 50 years.

In Toronto, His Highness the Aga Khan was conferred the Key to the City for his generous contributions to Toronto and his global humanitarian work. In Edmonton, the Diwan Pavilion in the Aga Khan Garden was inaugurated, supporting the garden’s mandate of providing a venue for dialogue and engagement.

In Vancouver, an agreement of cooperation between the Government of British Columbia and the Ismaili Imamat solidifies a partnership with a focus on addressing issues of climate change in B.C. and around the world.

The significance of these events goes beyond just the buildings, the agreements or the accolades that will emerge from them. What is truly to be celebrated is that in a world faced with increasing divisiveness and adversity, there are reassuring forces propelling us in kinder, gentler and inclusive directions.

Honourable senators, I am so lucky to be in a position where my two greatest blessings — being Canadian and Ismaili Muslim — are not only able to peacefully coexist, but can actively interact and build upon one another.

Indeed, the values of generosity, compassion for those less fortunate and service have been instilled in me and in the community through the leadership of His Highness the Aga Khan. Today and every day, I am grateful for these multiple identities, and also for the acceptance and deep commitment to equal opportunity that this country continues to champion on the global stage.

I am very aware that because of His Highness the Aga Khan and Canadians, I am a senator. Thank you.

Hon. Robert Black: Honourable senators, I rise today to highlight Ontario Agriculture Week, which takes place from October 3 to October 9, 2022. Ontario Agriculture Week is dedicated to celebrating the abundance of food our farmers produce, the Ontarians the industry employs, the rural communities they support and the economic engine they fuel.

According to a recent edition of Canadian Agriculture at a Glance, Ontario represents the largest national share of farms and farm operators, and was the second-largest contributor to Canada’s farm operating revenues. In fact, Ontario farmers proudly grow and produce more than 200 different food commodities for markets right here at home, across Canada and worldwide.

While these are amazing statistics, the industry has experienced a great deal of hardship over the past few years in relation to unmet labour needs, issues accessing fertilizer and other important supplies as well as the transition to more sustainable operations. It is clear agriculture communities in Ontario and across the country need our support.

At this time, I would also like to acknowledge that World Food Day will take place just after Ontario Agriculture Week on October 16, 2022. This year’s theme of leaving no one behind reflects the many compounding factors that have impacted global food security — from the pandemic to the many conflicts that are taking place in different parts of the world to the effects of climate change as well as rising prices — all of which have impacted the way many of us access food.

Let me be frank: Food security is not somebody else’s issue. It is a concern that exists for many here in Canada and around the world, and it will take a collaborative, cross-sector effort to address.

With that being said, I am proud that Canadian farmers are known to be among those who produce some of the finest, safest and highest quality food that feeds not only our country, but countries around the world. I am confident that they will continue doing their utmost to ensure that nobody is left behind on this World Food Day and all year round.

At this time, I would like to acknowledge and thank the many farmers, producers and other agri-businesses who stepped up to support food banks and other services through donations of both food and funds, especially over the course of the pandemic during the last two years.

Honourable senators, I encourage all of you to meet with your local agricultural organizations and learn more about how we can support their efforts to continue feeding the world. From dairy, fruit, wineries and vegetable farms here in Ontario to the huge wheat fields and cattle ranches in Canada’s Prairies and the many other farms and agri-businesses across the country, our farmers, producers and processors have something for everyone.

I know that we can all learn from them if we take the opportunity to do so.

Thank you. Meegwetch.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Senator Martin: Government leader, to quote military doctrine:

The ultimate role of the armed forces is to apply force, or the threat of force, in the furtherance of the interests of the state. . . .

To achieve that goal and follow in the footsteps of the heroes in uniform who came before them, key trades in the Armed Forces need to be filled with exceptional personnel. They need to have the capacity to fight and to respond to emergencies if our nation calls upon them to do so.

Senator Gold, you did list some of the efforts that are being made, but would you commit to informing the Senate about the government’s exact plan to recruit and retain the personnel required to defend our country and respond to national emergencies?

Senator Gold: If your question is whether I agree with your proposed solution, the answer is no.

Senator Coyle: Thank you. I look forward to hearing anything more you have to say about that.

Our guests also informed me that the YWCA has asked the government to develop a national definition of homelessness, one that reflects the unique causes, conditions and experiences of homelessness for women, girls and gender-diverse people.

Senator Gold, can you tell us if the government will commit to developing a national definition of homelessness, one which includes this important gender dimension?

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): If Senator Kutcher would take a question, I have one.

Senator Kutcher: And I promise to answer it.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Before we move to adjourning debate, Senator Patterson, do you have a question?

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Gold, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

[English]

Leave having been given to revert to Government Business, Motions, Order No. 62:

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of October 5, 2022, moved:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Monday, October 17, 2022, at 6 p.m.; and

That rule 3-3(1) be suspended on that day.

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: I am a bit younger than Senator Plett, but not by that much, but by a few years. I saw in my classroom, of course, the strap and I also saw the three-foot-long ruler that was really to rule the class and not to take any measurements. I’m glad my children were not exposed to it. I must say I think we have moved as a society toward a better approach to education.

That leads to my question. I remember that with a previous iteration of a similar bill I met with a representative of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation who was opposed to the repeal of that section because they had the impression that it might expose them to criminal charges. Did you have any contact with the association?

Senator Kutcher: Thank you for that question, Senator Dalphond. I certainly agree with you that our understanding and our changes in parenting practices have evolved over the last 20 or 30 years, and I think they are evolving still and they are evolving to a good point. I do want to comment that we just can’t sit by and let things evolve; we need to help them on their way. I did talk about the importance of bringing in positive parenting programs and parenting supports such as Strongest Families, which is on the Wellness Together app that any Canadian can access for free.

Yes, we are meeting with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation tomorrow. I know the Honourable Senator Sinclair met with them a number of times. I spoke to scores, almost hundreds, of teachers whom I know personally from many parts of this country in doing my research on the bill. Most of them were shocked to learn about section 43. They didn’t know about it.

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I have spent the last 20 years working in schools all across Canada and other parts of the world with mental health programs in schools. I have been really struck by how teachers care for their kids. They want the kids to do well. They want to use the best interventions to help the children succeed and flourish and do the best they can. They don’t want to hit kids.

I think we as a society have to make sure we are supporting our teachers, that we’re giving them the resources they need, the in-classroom supports and the professional supports. We just had World Teachers’ Day. Teachers play such an important role in helping us raise our kids. They’re so important to our kids that we have to support teachers more. We have to give them more tools. Why do we have 30 kids in a classroom, for crying out loud? It’s so hard to teach. Senator Martin is a teacher, Senator Cordy is a teacher and Senator Deacon is a teacher; they can tell us what it’s like. I’m a university teacher. It’s not quite as challenging.

I thank you for that question. I’m looking forward to this bill going to committee so that the committee can do a deep dive on the issues Senator Plett raised, which are important concerns. I respect Senator Plett for raising them and challenging us to think about them, because we have to think about them. They’re important. Hopefully, the committee can come up with some really good thinking about this bill. Thank you very much, Senator Dalphond.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

[Translation]

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore informed the Senate that a message had been received from the House of Commons with Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (temporary enhancement to the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax credit).

(Bill read first time.)

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, is it agreed to suspend the sitting until 6 p.m., when we will resume for Committee of the Whole?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak as critic of Bill S-208, An Act respecting the Declaration on the Essential Role of Artists and Creative Expression in Canada. I would like to begin by commending Senator Bovey on introducing such a comprehensive and ambitious bill.

At first glance, Bill S-208 may seem idealistic, but at its core it simply requires the government to apply an art lens to its operations. We have already spoken on the importance of using Gender-based Analysis Plus to take a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. In fact, the Government of Canada committed to using GBA Plus to advance gender equality in Canada in 1995, but lacks any legislation to enforce its active use in policy-making.

Unlike GBA Plus, Bill S-208 will make the application of an artistic lens to all legislation mandatory by putting the onus on the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop an action plan to operationalize the declaration in order to recognize the essential role of arts to society, increase access to the arts and events, improve the ability to engage in the arts, improve the ability of artists to benefit from their work while freeing them from cultural appropriation, address disability barriers and encourage investments.

To do so, the Minister of Canadian Heritage will be called upon to consult with key stakeholders, including the Ministers of Labour, Crown-Indigenous Relations, Justice, and Health, as well as with many other interested organizations and artists. The minister must also convene a conference with stakeholders and ministers in order to develop an action plan.

Bill S-208 is also about governmental accountability and transparency. At the end of each fiscal year, the minister must prepare a report that sets out the implementation of the action plan and the activities undertaken by the department to achieve the objectives of the declaration as set out in the bill. This will ensure a constant evolution of the action plan by identifying its progress and its weaknesses.

I believe Bill S-208 has merit, namely by inviting ministers to work together, as the government is well known for working in silos. Honourable senators, Bill S-208 is important to our collective future as it will give Canadian artists the recognition they deserve. Thank you.