Senator Gold: Of course, I’ll certainly make the request. I’m sure the committee will make its request, and they will produce all the evidence, figures and research that they have.

The art of legislating is the art of dealing with the facts that one has and making a decision in public policy that is deemed to be in the best interests of moving the justice system — in this case the criminal justice system — forward in a more just, equitable and humane way.

Again, I have confidence in the process that we have embarked upon. I have confidence that the committee will have access to all the information upon which the government made its decision. I am hopeful that in the process of examining the legislation in second-reading debate, in committee and again in third-reading debate, when we’re back in the fall, that honourable senators will see the merits of this bill as being a major step forward, not perhaps the last step forward or the only step forward, but a major step forward in addressing an unjust situation in our criminal justice system.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I can’t answer the specifics of your question. I would imagine and hope that questions of this nature would have been posed to officials when they appeared at the various committees looking at Bill C-19, and more than that, I will certainly make inquiries, Senator Duncan, in the event that the bill receives third reading vote this week as planned.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. With respect, senator, it is not the case the minister does not recognize the problem. The government and the minister thank the commissioner for her report and take access to information seriously. There are more requests, indeed, and they are more complex. The government is taking action.

I am advised that Library and Archives Canada is creating a task force to address the issues. It is reducing the backlog and developing a long-term plan. The government, for its part, added $25 million in Budget 2022 to make documents related to residential schools accessible to all survivors. The government hopes these measures will improve the situation as set out in the report.

Senator Gold: Well, I’ll certainly make inquiries. I will do that, but I really do want to underline the point that this is not a bill about pepper spray. This is a bill about judicial discretion to avoid injustice where circumstances and justice require that discretion be exercised and where the law simply does not allow the judge to have that discretion.

Senator Gold: Thank you, senator, for your question. Of course, the government and I share the concern, as we all should, that the application of any legal standard could encourage a bias or racial profiling.

I do believe that the general concern speaks more to the fact that with digital devices, unlike other kinds of measures — and I addressed this in my speech — the officer may have no specific contravention in mind and no knowledge of what he or she may find because they are simply in the moment, although there would have been objective indicators to signal that something may be being hidden.

We had testimony before the committee as to what some of these indicators might be. I believe that it is still very much focused on the individual before the officer who has, in some way or other, in the answering of the normal questions one is asked, given some indication that there is something amiss and, therefore, is then required to go to a second stage of questioning, at which point the officer may very well have reached the conclusion that the threshold has been met.

Senator Gold: The attendance of the official at the party was a mistake and unacceptable. It has been so stated by the minister and by the Prime Minister himself. It shall not happen again.

Senator Gold: I will have to make inquiries as to the nature of the contracts, as well as the nature and extent of the requests. As senators will undoubtedly know, one request can encompass a desire to access thousands if not millions of documents, which may or may not be easily accessible and would have to be reviewed under the appropriate circumstances. So again, as dramatic as the figure seems, I will have to make inquiries and provide proper factual context for the answer.

Senator Gold: Again, let me answer it simply this way: Until changes are made, anybody who reckons they have been treated unfairly have only recourse to the existing procedures.

Again, Bill S-7, as amended before us, sets out, for the first time, a legal threshold governing the searches of digital devices. It is a very narrowly focused law responding, as it does, to the court decisions to which I referred.

The much larger questions about oversight will have to wait until another day. When we do have the opportunity to receive such a bill, I have every confidence that we will study it with the same diligence and intensity that we did this bill as well.

Senator Gold: When I said I wasn’t sure of all the facts, I wasn’t referring to the statistics so much as all the circumstances surrounding the cause of the delays.

I’m not aware of the proportion of workers who are still working at home nor the many different reasons that may explain that. I’ll certainly look into it and report back. Again, I can assure the chamber that the government is very aware of the unreasonably long delays and the impact that’s having on Canadians and is doing its very best to address the situation.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Again, I’m not sure it’s accurate to describe the work that was done as censoring government documents. Be that as it may, I don’t have the details of the work that was done. I will certainly make inquiries and report back.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Senator, thank you for your question. The Cannabis Act established a new control framework for cannabis, and was designed to better protect public health, public safety and minimize harms associated with cannabis use. As you properly point out, the act requires a legislative review to start within three years after coming into force and a report to be tabled in both houses of Parliament within 18 months after the review begins. The government remains committed to putting into place a credible, evidence-driven process for the legislative review which will assess the progress made towards achieving the objectives of the act.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for underlining the very troubling situation that affects so many Canadians waiting for their passport renewals.

I don’t know whether all details are correct. I do know that the government has invested significantly to engage additional personnel to support and supplement the current working staff to address this problem. The challenge is a serious one, and the government is working hard to address it.

I’m advised that the focus is on ensuring that anyone who has travel planned within 25 business days are given priority for service and, although there is no question that processing times are longer than prior to the pandemic and longer than they should reasonably be, 72% of applications are being processed within the service standards.

Senator Gold: I think it’s the position of the government that health labels on beef, pork or any other matter help Canadians make informed decisions. Canadians will, I expect — as will folks around the world — continue to purchase ground beef. Canada produces high-quality beef that is enjoyed in this country and elsewhere, and it’s the expectation of the government that this will continue to be the case.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. Again, if I understand how the law operates in practice, if the threshold is met — whatever the threshold is that ultimately is passed into law — that would give the officers at the border the right to search. Of course, if the material that is found contravenes a law, appropriate steps will be taken. Presumably, material that is otherwise not in contravention of any law will be treated with the same and appropriate respect that personal property is and should be treated with under our laws.

Senator Gold: Of course.

Senator Gold: Sure, one more.

Senator Gold: Yes, of course.

Senator Gold: My hearing wasn’t so good. Of course.

Senator Gold: Thank you for that. I’m aware of that testimony. What we do best in the Senate, as we often say — but it is true — is the rigour of our committee work.

The point we need to remember, however, is that the CBSA has been operating for some years now with a set of policies governing how these devices would be searched. The court found that it failed the constitutional test because these policies were not prescribed in law.

The government’s position is that by legislating the rules and procedures, some in law and some in regulations, they were satisfying the constitutional requirements as set out by the court.

If I may venture an explanation, I think that explains why Bill S-7 does not necessarily change on the ground the ways in which border officials will determine whether to conduct a search. That was my understanding of the response to the question about additional resources.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. The government believes that contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry deserve to be paid promptly. Regarding the specifics of your question, I will have to make inquiries with the government and report back to the chamber.