Senator Omidvar: Senator Gold, I would have felt far more comfortable with this bill if it had first been preceded by the bill setting up the independent civilian oversight of the CBSA.

Do you have a comment on the timing of this?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I think the institution of proper oversight on CBSA is long overdue. It’s part of the mandate letter of the minister. It is something that the government has hoped to pursue.

In a minority Parliament, which has been characterized, most charitably, as a lot of horse trading and, perhaps more accurately and less charitably, a fair degree of obstruction, it has not been possible for every bill — important though they are — to make its way fast enough through the legislative process, including the government’s own priority setting, to be frank.

I think and I hope — and I know it’s the government’s hope — that a bill establishing proper oversight of CBSA will be introduced and debated and ultimately become law, because it is a missing piece that is critically important to more fully make CBSA properly accountable. Alas, we’re not there yet. I do hope that it’s coming.