Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

[English]

Senator Gignac: Thank you, Senator Gold. Your answer is reassuring, and I agree with you on the independence of the Bank of Canada with respect to political pressure. That said, we find ourselves in the context of a minority government that has the support of the New Democratic Party. Can you assure us that the Bank of Canada will continue to be independent over the next two years and that it will not be subject to constraints related to the context of this coalition?

Senator Wallin: I have a supplementary question.

Senator Housakos, you mentioned yesterday that you believe that more Indigenous voices should be heard during our committee hearings. I know we heard from APTN, but have you been able to extend any invitations, and, if so, to whom?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. As I’ve said a number of times in response to similar questions, the Government of Canada has made and continues to make considerable historic investments in our Armed Forces. Canada may not have reached the 2% you mentioned, but it’s important to emphasize certain facts. Since coming to power, this government has made additional investments totalling $34 billion in 2015 and $33.67 billion in 2021.

To put all that in context, for those who may not remember exactly, the amounts invested by the Harper government in previous years were 0.99% of the budget in 2013 and 1.01% in 2014. The Government of Canada continued to invest as it was able to spend more, and the percentage is a greater proportion of our GDP when the GDP goes up. This government will continue to invest in our Armed Forces in a manner consistent with Canadians’ interests.

Senator Saint-Germain: Thank you for this response. In addition, I would like to know if applications for reconsideration are being processed more efficiently and if the medical committee that ultimately reviews these applications is willing to meet with victims.

Senator Gold: I will add that to my list of questions.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): It is neither one nor the other, frankly, senator. I suppose in my role as the Government Representative in the Senate, I’m fair game for questions about anything that happens, and I accept that. But if and when the issue arises here, we as senators will have our opportunity to pronounce, and we should do so in the spirit of independence that we have from the other place.

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

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

[Translation]

Senator Carignan: One of the recommendations was that the Government of Canada amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act to explicitly mandate managers and supervisors in federal departments and agencies with a duty to protect and support employees who made a disclosure, any person that helped the employees, as well as witnesses and people mistaken for whistle-blowers. Has this been done, to your knowledge?

Hon Senators: Agreed.

(Notice of motion withdrawn.)

(At 3:31 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

Hon. Dennis Dawson: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie concerning the Bureau Meeting and Forty-seventh Annual Session, held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 5 to 9, 2022.

Hon. Dennis Dawson: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie concerning the Symposium of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie on Contested Democracies, held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, from September 15 to 16, 2022.

[English]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Ataullahjan, seconded by the Honourable Senator Plett, for the second reading of Bill S-225, An Act to amend the Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act (investments).

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Ms. Carole Drolet and Mr. Claude Texier. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Dagenais.

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

Hon. Claude Carignan: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Yesterday, I asked you a question about the outrageous witch hunt the federal government is waging against public servants to find out who dared to speak out against its decision to appoint a unilingual anglophone American as the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of History.

The government searched public servants’ emails and telephone records. No stone was left unturned. That is unacceptable in a democratic, law-based society like Canada. In 2017, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates tabled a report entitled Strengthening the Protection of the Public Interest within the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. The committee made 35 recommendations to protect public servants who disclose wrongdoing. Essentially, these recommendations sought to strengthen public servants’ ability to speak out against the misuse of public funds or public assets and questionable practices. In light of the federal government’s witch hunt against its public servants, I would like to know what your government has done to follow up on the 2017 report on whistle-blowers.

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Justin Trudeau’s government has been rethinking its national defence priorities. The government has earmarked $8 billion in the current budget for modernizing the military. Despite that, we will not reach the 2% that our NATO partners are demanding. According to several experts, this delay is very worrisome in terms of modernizing our military equipment, especially for our navy and air force.

Why has the Trudeau government waited for a military conflict to break out in Europe in order to finally take care of the Canadian Armed Forces?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Alanis Obomsawin. She is the guest of the Honourable Senator Francis.

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

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The report and recommendations are very important. I don’t have a specific answer as to what follow-up has been done, but I will try to find out.