Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Senator Plett, in all of the questions you have asked, you have gone from statements of fact to imputing motives and assuming that you know what the motives were or what the rationale was when the minister in this particular case answered your question. I do not believe you have any greater insight than any of us into these matters, and I think it is not appropriate to impute motives as you have done.

Minister Miller is a remarkable and devoted minister on the file of Crown-Indigenous Relations and has done more than any minister in this country to seriously engage and work hard and be transparent with Canadians about the issues that confront Indigenous peoples and communities.

There is no minister whose integrity and devotion to the file are more evident than Minister Miller. If he didn’t know the answer, and if my memory serves me correctly, he undertook to find it. He is a person of his word, and I am satisfied with his answer. I will follow up to find out the status of that request, and I have nothing more to say on this subject.

Senator Gold: Thank you for this question. Once again, attributing irrational motives is not limited to one group in this place, dear colleagues. That said, as you may know, I am told that last year, the Canada Border Services Agency seized a record number of illegal weapons at the border. Nevertheless, the government recognizes that there is much more work to be done, and that is why the government has invested more than $350 million to reduce, if not eliminate or prohibit, the entry of illegal firearms.

I also note that there is a task force that is actively working to address the root causes of this problem. The government is working hard to ensure that illegal firearms do not find their way to the streets of Montreal, in order to keep the peace and allow Canadians to feel safe on their streets, in their cities and elsewhere in Canada.

Senator Plett: Senator Gold, you’re saying that I impugn motives. His motives were quite clear. There was very little left there for the imagination.

Your government seems to care only about one thing, and that is to pass its legislation. The Trudeau government has shown complete disregard for any attempt of ours to ensure proper evaluation and debate of bills. Canadians deserve that the legislation your government proposes is thoroughly reviewed. In order to do so, your government needs to provide background and context as to who was consulted while drafting Bill C-11.

It’s been more than a month since your minister — Minister Miller — said, “I’m sure we could look at a list of people who were consulted . . . .”

Well, leader, you’ve also said, “. . . the minister did undertake to provide information to the chamber in response to that question. . . .” and that you would undertake what you’ve promised for a second time now, namely, to make those inquiries and report back to the house.

Senator Gold, your silence on this points to two possible situations: number one, your government failed to consult with Indigenous organizations; or, two, your government has no respect for this chamber.

How much longer, Senator Gold, will you be keeping us in the dark? Is there a list of consulted Indigenous organizations on Bill C-11? You want Bill C-11 passed by a certain date; we want answers to our questions.