Senator Gold: Access to justice has been an issue of concern — and properly so — ever since I was a law student so many years ago. Much needs to be done, as we have discussed in this chamber many times.

The best answer I have is to rely upon the work of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which heard the witnesses, which considered your amendment and others that were proposed and — for all the reasons that were known to the committee — decided not to accept the amendment.

For the reasons that I outlined, that is the government’s position as well.

Senator Gold: Thank you. I did make inquiries and, no, I have not received a response back. Therefore I am not in a position to answer the question, but I will add it to my follow-up.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): In order to answer both aspects of your question, I will have to make inquiries and will report back.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand your last sentence. Would you kindly repeat it?

Senator Gold: I will certainly make inquiries, because this is the first I have heard of this. Forgive me for not being familiar with or a regular reader of this newspaper.

Again, I will have to make inquiries before I can make any comments, including a response to your last question.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. I am grateful for the respect the government has for the work of the Senate. I am very proud of the work that we have accomplished reviewing government bills in the Senate.

That being said, I believe that we need to strike the right balance. As many have already mentioned, it is also important to have more of the testimony and analysis done at the other place.

This is pure speculation on my part, honourable colleagues, because I have no idea what is going to happen to us when we return from the break. However, I am sure that when the Senate receives bills, either after they have been studied at the other place or at the beginning of the parliamentary process, we will continue to do the work we are known for, and rightly so, in the Senate.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I don’t really have an answer for you, but I do have a comment. The situation is unacceptable. What you described is Kafkaesque.

That said, the government is doing its best to fix the problem. There are obviously still issues, and the only thing I can tell you is that I am going to talk to my counterparts in government again and ask them for information, which I will share with you here. I would also stress the importance of fixing this problem as soon as possible.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Well, that is quite an accusation. I have no knowledge of this story or any of the facts. I am not in a position to comment at all.

Senator Gold: I will certainly make inquiries as to the specific question with which you ended your comments.

Again, I will repeat: This is an unacceptable situation. The government is doing what it can. It is devoting the resources it has to resolve it. One hopes that the situation will improve such that Canadians can travel abroad, or receive their passports for whatever purposes they need them, as quickly as possible.

Senator Gold: I don’t have an answer to your question. I will add it to my list of questions for the government.

Senator Plett: Senator Gold, the accusation is made in the Halifax Examiner, not by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. I ask that you investigate this, Senator Gold, and report back to us.

Senator Gold, if this report is true, do you believe that Commissioner Lucki can remain the head of the RCMP?