Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Good afternoon, minister.

For some agriculture and agri-food businesses, temporary foreign workers have become essential. An article in Le Devoir indicated that 74% of those welcomed through this program do not know French when they arrive in the country, which limits their ability to integrate and understand their rights. All of this creates a double linguistic and economic gap for Quebec and francophone communities in Canada.

Given that Haiti has an abundance of skilled labour, how could you bridge the gap between Haiti and Canada to mutually help our francophone farming populations?

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Thank you. That is an interesting idea. Our foreign worker programs start with a bilateral agreement between Canada and the source countries, primarily Mexico and Guatemala in the case of temporary foreign worker programs.

That would be the first step, if the country showed an interest. This could be discussed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Then, that community could potentially be integrated into the program.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that, as the Minister of Agriculture, my objective is to address the labour shortage through foreign worker programs, but we also have concerns about the safety of these workers. Minister Qualtrough and I want to make sure that we implement the measures needed to ensure that our workers are better integrated despite the language barrier.

I have met a large number of farmers who now speak Spanish very well. Rather than the workers learning French and English, the farmers have learned to speak Spanish so they can communicate properly. We want to ensure that these workers are better integrated. Last year, funding was provided to non-profit organizations such as Actions interculturelles in my region. These organizations have supported workers in their communities.

[English]

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Minister, China just lifted the ban on canola imports from two of Canada’s largest producers. That is excellent news for our producers, who, for the past three years, have been paying the price for the diplomatic quarrel that followed the arrest of a Huawei executive in Canada. In 2019, Canada supplied 40% of the canola used in China, which means that our industry lost billions of dollars. To justify the ban, the Chinese alleged that something dangerous had been found in canola from the two Canadian suppliers.

Can you tell us if the quality of the canola has changed since 2019 or if this was just a diplomatic excuse? I would also like to know how much this dispute with the Chinese cost the thousands of workers in the industry and Canadian taxpayers as a whole in terms of sales lost, jobs lost and government subsidies.

Hon. Marty Klyne: Minister, my question is on the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Projects. As you will know, in 2020, the Province of Saskatchewan announced a $4 billion irrigation investment project at Lake Diefenbaker. Once completed, this project will irrigate up to 500,000 acres of land, which will double the amount of irrigable land in the province. Construction of the Gardiner Dam began in the late 1950s when John Diefenbaker was the Prime Minister. Sixty years later, we still do not have the required water security for the Prairie provinces, and Canada is denied the significant benefits of this project, including positive climate change impact, opportunities to manage flooding and droughts on the Prairies and a just transition to bolster labour and prosperity.

For the sake of bolstering Canada’s food security and economic stability, is the Government of Canada considering partnering with the Province of Saskatchewan to help make this a reality?

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Our industry has once again proved to be very resilient because the canola sector had a record year in 2019-20, partly because of prices, but also because producers were able to diversify their exports. Since then, two major plants have been built and major investments have been made in processing plants; this is value added here, at home.

It’s true that the two main exporters lost access to the Chinese market, but these business people were able to reposition themselves quite well. We were able to support them in different ways. We had to take the matter before the World Trade Organisation, because we had tried every possible way to have a technical discussion with the Chinese authorities but were unsuccessful. We therefore took the matter all the way to the WTO, which has since authorized those two companies to start doing business again.

Yes, it can be challenging to have discussions based on science, but Canada will always be a country that defends and promotes trade based on rules and science. To answer your question, the canola sector has actually had some very good years.

[English]

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Fall 2019 and the beginning of COVID were very close. It was our intention in the fall of 2019. This commitment was also coming with a commitment to invest $500 million more in Farm Credit Canada. COVID happened and we needed to shift our priorities and to adapt to the situation. This $500 million has been given to Farm Credit Canada so they were in a position to better support our farmers during COVID. They were able to have more flexibility in their terms with their farming clients. So it was important.

You have noted that in my mandate letter of 2021 the idea of changing the name and maybe reanalyzing the structure is no longer there. I would say that because of COVID and perhaps because of the new situation, we have identified other priorities. But Farm Credit Canada definitely is still an important tool and an important organization in our agricultural environment.

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Pate, seconded by the Honourable Senator Duncan:

That the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance be authorized to examine and report on a road map for post-pandemic economic and social policy to address the human, social and financial costs of economic marginalization and inequality, when and if the committee is formed;

That, given recent calls for action from Indigenous, provincial, territorial and municipal jurisdictions, the committee examine in particular potential national approaches to interjurisdictional collaboration to implement a guaranteed livable basic income; and

That the committee submit its final report no later than December 31, 2022.

(On motion of Senator Martin, for Senator Plett, debate adjourned.)

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, we welcome today the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to ask questions relating to her ministerial responsibilities.

Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, senators do not need to stand. Questions are limited to one minute and responses to one and a half minutes. The reading clerk will stand 10 seconds before the expiry of these times. Question Period will last one hour.

[English]

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, on behalf of my colleagues in the Government Representative Office — feeling slightly bittersweet about this — I am pleased to pay tribute to Senator Howard Wetston.

Senator Wetston came to the Senate in the fall of 2016 as a respected public servant, a distinguished lawyer and jurist and an experienced regulator and executive. He had previously led the Ontario Securities Commission, the Ontario Energy Board and the Competition Bureau.

His passion to update best practices and rules governing publicly traded companies in Canada was clear during his sponsorship of Bill C-25 during the Forty-second Parliament. A main objective of the bill was to increase diversity and the participation of women on corporate boards and within senior management. It also improved corporate transparency, reduced the regulatory burden and increased shareholder democracy.

During committee study, Senator Wetston proposed three important amendments that were ultimately accepted by the government. One change allowed corporations to share information with their shareholders electronically in a broader range of circumstances. Two more amendments created a grace period of 90 days for current directors who were not re-elected under new majority voting rules to continue their duties. This commitment to transparency and fairness is a perfect reflection of the values that Senator Wetston brought with him to this chamber.

Senator Wetston also sponsored Bill C-85, legislation to enable to ratification of a new Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement. The modernized and more robust trade agreement helped enhance the commercial relationship between the two countries.

More recently, as Senator Saint-Germain alluded to, Senator Wetston initiated a consultation process examining the appropriateness of the current Competition Act in the digital age. This initiative represents a really important and timely contribution to the public policy process in Canada and will stand as an important legacy that he has bequeathed us.

On a more personal note, I had the privilege of being sworn into the Senate just a few days after Senator Wetston, and we became friends immediately. He is a kind, sensitive and caring person. As we say in Boston, wicked smart, but not arrogant; gentle in demeanour, but principled and tough-minded; a no‑nonsense person with a great sense of humour. Simply put, a wonderful colleague and a true mensch. Howard, I will miss you terribly. On behalf of all of us in this chamber, we wish you all the best as you embark on this next chapter in your life.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I also rise today to pay tribute to our colleague and friend Senator Wetston.

Senator Howard Wetston was appointed to this chamber five and a half years ago. He has served on several committees, but the two committees where I am most familiar with the work he has done are the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce and the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.

Today, I wish to recognize the work you have done, Senator Wetston, especially on the Banking Committee report entitled: Cyber assault: It should keep you up at night. This report dealt with important issues for Canadians and showcased the positive work that can be done at the committee level in the Senate of Canada.

Another of your great contributions was your involvement in the committee with the Senate’s record-high number of amendments brought forward on Bill C-69, An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. Your expertise and knowledge in regulatory law were beneficial to everyone in this chamber, especially to former Senator Mitchell, who was the sponsor of the bill.

Your competence and past experiences in competition law and policy, securities and energy regulations, and administrative law enriched this chamber with a very specific expertise.

Although we haven’t served together much on committees, I wish to recognize and underline that I have a lot of respect for you and the work you have accomplished in this chamber. And I believe it is important to acknowledge your service to our country.

Howard, I know that we both share a passion for golf. With your imminent retirement, I wish you the very best in your future endeavours. I hope you get that handicap down a bit, and I hope you will be able to enjoy a lot more time on the greens in the weeks and months ahead.

And I am always open and looking forward to an invitation to playing a round of golf with you, Howard. Happy retirement.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Scott Tannas: Honourable senators, on behalf of the Canadian Senators Group, I rise today to pay tribute to our friend and colleague, the Honourable Senator Howard Wetston.

He has proudly spent much of his career in public service as a judge, a regulatory official and chair of administrative tribunals. He has relentlessly pursued opportunities to make a difference. He has been duly recognized for his contributions to public law and other key sectors of the economy that have touched the lives of countless Canadians.

But the outpouring of affection we are hearing for our departing colleague has as much to do with his personal qualities of kindness, compassion and intellectual curiosity as it does with his distinguished career. Senator Wetston is one of those rare people who have deep networks in a multitude of segments of Canadian life: government, academia, business, law and multiple communities.

Some people build superficial networks for their own purposes and collect contacts like baseball cards. Howard has earned his through a lifetime of diligent and thoughtful work anchored in trust, civility and respect. In fact, I cannot think of anyone who has the universal respect and affection of people from so many walks of life as our friend and colleague, Senator Wetston.

I have had many different meetings where I have come away surprised, a meeting in Canada with academics, or with business people or with ordinary people, and at the end of the meeting, somebody says, “Say hi to Senator Wetston for me,” or more often, “Say hi to Howard for me.” There is no greater sign of respect, no greater mark of real achievement that I can think of than the numbers of people who admire, respect and have the greatest affection for you, Howard, and that includes me and all the colleagues here in the Senate.

We are all proud to have served with you in the Senate of Canada, and you have indeed made a difference here as you have in so many other places over the course of your life and career. I wish you a very happy birthday tomorrow. Thank you, Howard.

Hon. Marty Klyne: Honourable senators, like many of you, I rise to pay tribute to our esteemed friend and colleague Senator Howard Wetston. He was appointed to the Senate in 2016 after a long and distinguished career as a public servant, lawyer and federal judge.

He served as the Commissioner of Competition, the head of the Ontario Energy Board and the head of the Ontario Securities Commission. Among his many accomplishments in that last role, he created a partnership with the RCMP financial crime program, spearheaded a paid whistle-blower program and implemented policies aimed to include more women on corporate boards and in senior management.

As a senator, he applied his broad experience and expertise to continue making a difference. During his six years in the Red Chamber, he worked tirelessly to enrich debate and improve legislation. For example, his knowledge informed many of this chamber’s changes to Bill C-69 regarding environmental assessments for resource development, with the House of Commons accepting a record 99 Senate amendments.

Senator Wetston also successfully sponsored two government bills through to Royal Assent. One was Bill C-25 to modernize federal corporate laws, including to increase diversity and gender equality on corporate boards and in senior management, with the House of Commons accepting all Senate amendments. The other bill was Bill C-85 on the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

During his time in the chamber, Senator Wetston also did important policy work to develop Canada’s competition law, encourage entrepreneurs and drive innovation. He released his detailed and consultative commentary in April, and that will be a resource for our country going forward.

I was fortunate to serve on the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce with Senator Wetston, including while he was chair. We also sit on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee together. I always appreciated hearing his well-reasoned perspective on the issue at hand.

Senator Wetston in a relatively short time has left a great mark on this institution and our legislative and policy record. It has been a pleasure working with him. Senator Wetston, I wish you the best in your well-deserved retirement. Here is to the many divots on the golf course. Thank you.

Hon. Colin Deacon: Honourable senators, clearly our life experience and that of our families inform our values, passions and priorities. This is profoundly true for Senator Howard Wetston.

He describes his parents and his grandmother as “strong, hardworking and resilient people.” Those humble words don’t capture the fact that they had to flee on foot from Poland to Uzbekistan to survive the Second World War.

After the war, they were transferred by train to a displaced persons camp in Germany. Howard’s mother delivered his late brother Sam as they travelled on that train to the DP camp, where Howard was born in 1947. Resilient people, indeed.

Senator Wetston recounted that, after the war, “Jewish settlers . . . weren’t that welcome.” His parents settled in Cape Breton, thanks only to a distant uncle’s sponsorship. Specifically, they settled in Whitney Pier, a community dominated by a steel mill that contaminated the surrounding air, soil and water, making it one of Canada’s most polluted communities. Senator Wetston recalls it as “a very diverse community, but we accommodated our differences.”

There is so much about Senator Wetston that we do not know.

What we do know is that when he speaks, he is a fountain of insight and sharp critiques against the status quo. There is a reason for that. It comes from a life and a career of fighting for those who could not fight for themselves.

At the Consumers’ Association of Canada, you may not know that he played a leading role in initiating the efforts to remove UFFI, or Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation, from the market.

In the 1980s, he started what would be a pinnacle of careers, each one, when he was head of what is now the Competition Bureau. Another pinnacle, he was a Federal Court judge and then chair of the Ontario Securities Commission and helped our country recover from the economic turmoil resulting from the financial crisis.

Regardless of the role, Senator Wetston championed the rights of those whose voices were often ignored; he championed diversity in the workplace and the representation of women in senior leadership roles.

I’m personally very grateful that Senator Wetston encouraged the Senate to study open banking, subject of one of our most read reports, and that he has reminded the government of the crucial role that competition law and policy play in shaping an economy that fairly delivers both prosperity and affordability to Canadians.

Howard, I am far from alone in saying thank you for being a dear friend and mentor. Be warned, though, I am among many others who will continue to reach out for your guidance.

As you pack your suitcase and move on from the Senate, we can’t wait to see what new challenge you will embrace, bringing even more honour to the strength and courage demonstrated by your grandmother, parents and brother.

Howard, on behalf of all of us, thank you so much.

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Honourable senators, what does one do for an encore after a life of accomplishment which includes having served in top jobs on consumer protection, transportation, competition policy, energy, the courts and securities regulation?

Well, Howard Wetston, at the age of 70, applied to become a senator. Setting aside every other contribution he has made in the upper house, the fact that he considered a Senate appointment a worthy next chapter for an already illustrious career raises the bar for aspiring applicants and puts us in very fine company indeed. Here I’m referring not simply to the positions he has held in the highest echelons of the Canadian establishment but also to the leitmotif of his career, which is public service.

Senator Wetston came to the Senate to continue his lifelong commitment to serving the public. It is our loss that we only had him for just under six years, three of which were attenuated by COVID. But what an outsized contribution he made in that short period of time.

If your measure of senatorial impact is column inches in Hansard; number of sponsored bills, amendments, motions and inquiries; social media hits; or a paparazzi following, Senator Wetston would probably get a B-minus.

But if you were interested in the quality and timing of interventions, willingness to take on difficult and unglamorous assignments and, above all, the trust and respect of colleagues, he surely would graduate summa cum laude.

Have you noticed how, when Senator Wetston speaks, the room gets appreciably quiet, heads turn in his direction and ears perk up? How a seemingly innocent question or comment that he might pose in the middle of a dead-end meeting suddenly changes the trajectory of the discussion and provides fresh avenues for enlightenment? Such was the case on Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, on which he served as the legislative lead for the Independent Senators Group, ISG, and on which I worked very closely with him.

Bill C-69 was divisive, to put it mildly, but Senator Wetston was one of the few people to whom all sides of the debate went for advice, from pipeline and mining advocates to eco-justice champions and First Nations representatives. He was less about providing answers than about clarifying: clarifying the principles underlying a policy objective; clarifying the institutional framework that all policies must function within; clarifying the aspirations for a better Canada that are necessary if changes in policy are to have any point; and clarifying the trade-offs that come with every difficult decision.

Five years and seven months of Senator Wetston is not enough. He has accomplished so much in that time, and yet I know he wishes that he could have done more. His unfinished work in the Senate is for us to take up. This leaves us with a burning question: After climbing yet another peak in his career, what does Senator Wetston do for an encore?

Howard, we look forward to your next chapter and wish you and Debbie all the very best.

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: We do work significantly in that direction. Increasing carbon sequestration is very important to us. I have already given a few examples of the programming we have to support farmers and incentivize them to adopt good practices.

We are investing in research and innovation to find better ways to capture carbon and also to measure it. Actually, in B.C. last week I visited a company that is developing equipment to measure carbon in the soil; we know it will be very important for our farmers to better understand and know what they can capture. Eventually, they could also be recognized financially for their contribution to the environment and our objective to reduce emissions.

That is why we are investing in research and innovation, also looking at Environment and Climate Change Canada to provide the offset system to support them. It’s an area of work in which we are investing significantly.

Hon. Tony Dean: Honourable senators, I rise on behalf of Senator Sabi Marwah and myself to say a few words about our friend and colleague Howard Wetston.

Howard is a highly trusted policy-maker, a nationally renowned regulator, a Federal Court judge in his past, a senator, a collector and player of electric guitars, a tennis player, a snazzy dresser, a recipient of the Order of Canada and — I have just had to write in — golfer.

When we arrived in this place six years ago, Sabi and I were in awe of being appointed alongside Howard. That was because if you got anywhere near the complex world of energy policy, energy regulation or securities regulation, and the major debates about a national securities regulator in Canada, you know about the legendary role and massive contributions of Howard Wetston, including his tenure as a jurist.

I certainly knew about Howard; I had heard about him often, but our paths seldom crossed. Therefore, it has been such a privilege to work alongside you, Howard, and to see your vast experience, scholarship, judgment and, let’s face it, dry sense of humour, which we’ve all seen in full flow.

Howard held senior influential and highly impactful roles as the chair of the Ontario Energy Board and the Ontario Securities Commission. Many things stand out. First, as chair of the Ontario Energy Board, we saw Howard’s balanced emphasis on the thoughtful regulation of electricity and natural gas, directly rooted in legal principles and economic rationale. He enjoyed a distinguished and closely watched tenure as chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, and he was a strong advocate of the concept of a national securities regulator and worked hard to make it a reality, which he has noted as a missed opportunity to create “a best-in-class, state-of-the-art, modern 21st century regulator.”

Howard, as we know, sound policy proposals and good ideas never go away completely, so don’t give up.

Howard has also worked hard to improve diversity on corporate boards and has been publicly recognized for this. He has continued that work here in collaboration with Senator Omidvar and other colleagues.

In his inaugural speech, Howard talked humbly about his past achievements, saying that he had worked in two of the three major fields occupied by our work here in the Senate, the first two being public policy and the law — both of which Howard is well informed about — and the third one is politics. Howard, I hope you have enjoyed the third leg of the stool, my friend.

Howard has made huge contributions here as chair of the Senate’s Banking Committee and as a member of several other committees. He brought with him his vast experience at senior levels of institutions and boards. His legacy, as many colleagues have noted, will be his major study on competition law, which we can now build on.

Howard has always been highly respected as the quintessential public servant: lots of integrity, he cared tremendously about the public interest and he was always perceived as being wise. Howard has quietly shared that wisdom with many of us here, particularly colleagues who have had to tackle complex issues associated with policy and legislation.

Howard, we have been privileged to work with you, learn from you and benefit from your wisdom. You will now have more time to grow and play your collection of electric guitars, and to sharpen your competitive edge in your tennis games even more.

We will miss you here, Howard, but you haven’t seen the last of us. We are going to stay in touch. All the very best, and thank you for your friendship.

Hon. Brent Cotter: Honourable senators, I would like to first share a few personal words about Senator Wetston and then talk about his remarkable career.

I’ve known Senator Wetston, or Howard Wetston as he then was, for over 50 years. Howard and I started law school in 1971 at Dalhousie in Halifax. Howard was the star of that star-studded law school class graduating class of 1974. Howard and I have remained friends over the years, occasionally overlapping in work or sports. As some of you well know, Howard was and still is a formidable athlete, as we’ve heard, when his health permits.

We have grown closer in the Senate. Here, he has been my mentor, friend and guide. On my first date day — in fact, in my first hour in the Senate — Howard came over to my seat, up there in the nosebleed section, where Senator Quinn is presently, and offered his advice and support. We had dinner together that first week and had regular coffees, all with gentle guidance to help me navigate the mysteries of the upper house. He made calls of encouragement pretty well every week.

All of us have benefited from Howard’s wisdom — yes, wisdom — and his generosity of spirit, but I think none more than me. Thank you, Howard.

Second, he’s had a career of excellence and distinction at every stage, as you’ve heard, as a Crown prosecutor in Nova Scotia, Director of the Competition Bureau Canada, judge of the Federal Court of Canada, chair of the Ontario Energy Board, member and chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, not to mention his amazing contributions as a senator.

The law school from which he graduated is known for its “Weldon Tradition,” a commitment to public service. It is named after its founding dean, Richard Weldon, himself a member of Parliament over a century ago. As I listed off Howard’s contributions, you might well think, as I have, that this tradition of commitment to public service could have aptly been named the “Wetston Tradition.” All of this emerged from extremely humble beginnings about which Senator Wetston only occasionally speaks.

His contributions to this country have often been at the cost to him of opportunities foregone, sacrifices so that Canadians could benefit. In some ways, he is a superman, which brings to mind, for me, the closing lines from the Crash Test Dummies song, “Superman’s Song,” sung by Brad Roberts. Some of you will know it. It goes like this — and I won’t try to sing it:

Kept on changing clothes

In dirty old phonebooths ’til his work was through

And nothing to do but go on home

Superman never made any money

For saving the world from Solomon Grundy

And sometimes I despair

The world will never see another man like him

A man like Howard Wetston.

Thank you, Howard, for your kindness to me, and for your lifetime of work on behalf of Canadians.