The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Ataullahjan, do you have another question?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, thank you for your thoughtful and insightful speech. I have a couple of questions.

Senator Gold, multiple reports, including one by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, have found that individuals who are racialized or Indigenous are at a much greater risk of being selected for so-called random screening and extra questioning. One study found that 79% of Muslims — or their friends and family — have experienced unfair treatment. We have heard many times our colleague Senator Jaffer being very vocal about how she is regularly pulled over for random screening.

Do you worry that border guards will misuse their authority to access our phones, which contain intimate details on every aspect of our lives? In fact, our phones have become an extension of our inner lives.

Senator Ataullahjan: I do. Senator Gold, biases exist. I think back to the day when my mother-in-law, who happened to be one of the first female doctors of the Indian subcontinent, came to visit and, because she was in traditional clothes, one of the guards said, “Oh, dear. I wonder if she can speak English,” to which she retorted, “And how!”

An American Civil Liberties Union report showed that 96% of individuals apprehended by American border guards were identified as being of a racialized background. Three customs and border protection officials filed a lawsuit against the agency alleging they were required to profile racialized persons. As The Washington Post stated, “Driving while Brown or Black is a key reason for being stopped by the Border Patrol. . . .”

Why is our government extending greater search authorities to an organization already known to indiscriminately target racialized persons? That is my last question to you, Senator Gold.