Senator Martin: Yes, but the numbers just don’t add up, leader. According to the government’s own website, only 17 Calls to Action have been completed, yet Indigenous Watchdog calculates that only 7 are completed. And the CBC gives them credit for just eight. So regardless of where you get your figures, it’s clear that the government has fallen way behind on their promise to deliver on reconciliation.

When will the Liberal government pick up the pace and finally deliver on their seven-year-old promise?

Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, I note that this item is at Day 14. Therefore, I move that further debate be adjourned until the next sitting of the Senate for the balance of my time.

(On motion of Senator Duncan, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Housakos, seconded by the Honourable Senator Wells:

That the Senate call on the Government of Canada to:

(a)denounce the illegitimacy of the Cuban regime and recognize the Cuban opposition and civil society as valid interlocutors; and

(b)call on the Cuban regime to ensure the right of the Cuban people to protest peacefully without fear of reprisal and repudiation.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, last year, the Prime Minister stated on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation that 80% of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action were completed or well under way. Yet, according to the Yellowhead Institute, a national watchdog on Indigenous reconciliation, only 8 of the 76 Calls to Action under federal jurisdiction have been completed. That’s barely 10%.

When will the Prime Minister stop the rhetoric and deliver on the promises he made to Indigenous people?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the time for Question Period has expired.

Hon. Lucie Moncion introduced Bill S-252, An Act respecting Jury Duty Appreciation Week.

(Bill read first time.)

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

Senator Carignan: My colleague is an extremely intelligent person, and I don’t think he understood my question, based on the answer he gave.

I will rephrase my primary question: Did the federal government consult with the provinces before introducing Bill C-31?

I have a follow-up question. Is the government aware that in Quebec, children under the age of 10 receive free dental care for most dental treatments? Will people still receive $650 even if the care they received was free?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, there have been consultations and there is an agreement to allow a photographer in the Senate Chamber to photograph the introduction of a new senator.

Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The Prime Minister and this government are committed, as I’ve said before in response to your earlier question, to do their leadership part to advance us, as a country, on the path of truth and reconciliation.

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

The Hon. the Speaker: Are senators ready for the question?

An Hon. Senator: Question.

Hon. Senators: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker: Are honourable senators ready for the question?

Hon. Claude Carignan: In the past few days, unions and advocacy groups for seniors and the poor held a press conference to present their demands to the provincial political parties currently on the campaign trail. The press conference on dental care was happening at the same time your government was introducing Bill C-31, which will give children under the age of 12 $650 for dental care. Stéphane Defoy, from the Clinique communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles in Montreal, considers the idea of sending a cheque to certain families completely inadequate.

He said that he would have liked to see the money being given to the provinces, since health care is a provincial jurisdiction. The provinces could then have created their own dental care plans. Mr. Defoy said:

Ultimately, health care is a provincial jurisdiction. . . . What we want is a firm commitment from each political party.

He went on to say that the federal government should transfer the money to the provinces so that they can create a proper program.

Did the federal government consult the provinces before introducing this bill?

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

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

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the family of the Honourable Senator Shugart: his spouse, Linda, and his daughter, Heather.

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

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I will not repeat all the steps that the government has already taken to deal with the terrorist activities emanating from Iran. The question of whether additional steps will be taken — who may or may not be listed — is a matter that remains under serious consideration by the government. If any changes are to be introduced, they will be announced at the appropriate time.

Senator Gold: I don’t think that I need to educate the Senate about the division and separation of powers in a liberal democracy and how that has served Canada and its national security interests well. Suffice it to say that I stand by and support the statement of the minister to which you alluded.