Senator Gold: I will follow up with the government and try to provide a response shortly.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, and thank you for reminding us of the challenges that Canadians continue to face. There are a variety of measures that this government is taking, and whether they differ from some of the policy preferences of your current leader or some of the leadership contenders, this government stands by its approach to managing the Canadian economy and society through this difficult time.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Dr. Elaine Gibson, professor of Law at Dalhousie University and the partner of the Honourable Senator Cotter.

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

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, Hear.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of interns in the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Kutcher.

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

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere congratulations to Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario on their re-election and major victory.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the certificate of nomination and biographical notes for the proposed appointment of Philippe Dufresne to the position of Privacy Commissioner for a term of seven years.

[Translation]

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for reminding the chamber of this issue. If I am correct, and I will stand corrected if I’m wrong, I believe that although I made inquiries and did not get an answer back, the dissolution of Parliament wipes those questions off the table.

Please, with your indulgence, I’ll make further inquiries and hope to get an answer to you quickly.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. Again, it’s an important and serious one that affects millions of Canadians and their families. This government has been there for Canadians through difficult economic times and continues to be there through difficult economic times. It continues to be there for those who grow, produce and distribute food to Canadians and will continue to be there for them.

Senator Gold: Addressing the scourge of suicides in this country is a priority for this government, as it would be for any government. It should be a preoccupation of everybody who has been touched by this, as so many of us have. I don’t know the answer to your question. As I said, I will renew my inquiries and be happy to report back.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my next question is for the government leader in the Senate and concerns a topic I’ve raised twice previously, but it hasn’t yet been answered: the serious matter of a national 9-8-8 suicide prevention hotline.

In December 2020, a motion from B.C. member of Parliament Todd Doherty to create this hotline unanimously passed in the other place. When I originally asked you about this, leader, I noted that given your government’s inaction on the motion to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRCG, as a terrorist entity, we would need to keep pressing the government to make the 9-8-8 hotline a reality. Little did I know then that I would be asking you the very same question, today, a year and a half later.

Leader, you’ve taken this question on notice twice before, in December 2020 and a year ago, in June 2021, and failed to provide an answer. What is your government’s plan and timetable to implement a national suicide prevention hotline?

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

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

[Translation]

Senator Martin: According to the B.C. Coroners Service, 582 people in my province died by suicide last year. How many of those lives could have been saved if Canada had one easy-to-remember, three-digit hotline number that they could have called?

Leader, for well over a year now, there has been a question on the Senate Order Paper asking for basic information about the work your government is undertaking on the 9-8-8 hotline. Have you collaborated with provinces and territories? How many public servants are working on this, and is a different number, rather than 9-8-8, being considered?

These questions and more have never been answered. Why is that, leader? Is it because you have no progress to report, or is it because the suicide prevention hotline is just not a priority for your government?

Senator Gold: The government’s economic policies are designed to help not only consumers but also producers and all Canadians to weather difficult economic times. The government is aware, as I am personally, of the increases in the cost of living. You’re quite right that we as parliamentarians, as well as many Canadians, are fortunate that we are able to bear these increases far more easily than most, and it is the situation of most Canadians who are struggling that is the focus of this government.

Senator Plett: Not likely.

Hon. Fabian Manning: Honourable senators, I give notice that, two days hence:

I will call the attention of the Senate to the life of Larry Dohey.

Senator Plett: Of course, no obstruction had started. We’re going to get to that obstruction, but the government moved their motion.

Senator Gold, as I said yesterday, you are the Leader of the Government in the Senate, and, as such, you are privy to the government’s parliamentary strategy. You even have a parliamentary secretary. You knew very well that the government’s plan was to make sure that the Senate would receive Bill C-13 before the House rises on June 23. You made no secret that this bill is a government priority.

It is time for the government to be up front and clear. Senator Gold, do you expect Bill C-13 to clear the Senate before we rise for the summer, yes or no?