Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, until the end of the current session, any return, report or other paper deposited with the Clerk of the Senate pursuant to rule 14-1(6), may be deposited electronically.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order or usual practice:

1.if the Senate receives a message from the House of Commons with Bill C-28, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (self-induced extreme intoxication), the bill be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading on June 23, 2022;

2.if, before this order is adopted, the message on the bill had been received and the bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at a date later than June 23, 2022, it be brought forward to June 23, 2022, and dealt with on that day;

3.all proceedings on the bill be completed on June 23, 2022, and, for greater certainty:

(i)if the bill is adopted at second reading on that day it be taken up at third reading forthwith;

(ii)the Senate not adjourn until the bill has been disposed of; and

(iii)no debate on the bill be adjourned;

4.a senator may only speak once to the bill, whether this is at second or third reading, or on another proceeding, and during this speech all senators have a maximum of 10 minutes to speak, except for the leaders and facilitators, who have a maximum of 30 minutes each, and the sponsor and critic, who have a maximum of 45 minutes each;

5.at 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, 2022, if the bill has not been disposed of at third reading, the Speaker interrupt any proceedings then before the Senate to put all questions necessary to dispose of the bill at all remaining stages, without further debate or amendment, only recognizing, if necessary, the sponsor to move the motion for second or third reading, as the case may be; and

6.if a standing vote is requested in relation to any question necessary to dispose of the bill under this order, the vote not be deferred, and the bells ring for only 15 minutes; and

That:

1.the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs be authorized to examine and report on the matter of self-induced intoxication, including self-induced extreme intoxication, in the context of criminal law, including in relation to section 33.1 of the Criminal Code;

2.the committee be authorized to take into consideration any report relating to this matter and to the subject matter of Bill C-28 made by the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights;

3.the committee submit its final report to the Senate no later than March 10, 2023; and

4.when the final report is submitted to the Senate, the Senate request that the government provide a complete and detailed response within 120 calendar days, with the response, or failure to provide a response, being dealt with pursuant to the provisions of rules 12-24(3) to (5).

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question.

The independence of our law enforcement operations is a key principle of our democracy and one that the government deeply respects. I have been assured that at no point did the government pressure or interfere in the operational decisions of the RCMP. I direct all senators to the commissioner’s statement from yesterday in which she makes very clear that there was no interference.

Canadians, including those directly impacted by the tragedy, have expressed concern about when and how the RCMP shared information with the public, and that is why the government specified in the order of reference that the Mass Casualty Commission examine the communications approach taken both during and after the event.

Finally, senators, the former Minister of Public Safety, Minister Blair, both during Question Period in the House and today to reporters, was unequivocal. I know Minister Blair is a man of integrity, and I quote him from Question Period:

I can confirm for the House, as the commissioner has also confirmed, that no such direction or pressure was exerted by any member of this government to influence the commissioner’s exercise of her authorities over her police service.

Hon. Rosa Galvez: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the ParlAmericas concerning the Eighteenth Plenary Assembly, held as virtual sessions on November 26, 29 and December 10, 2021.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question today is again for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. This is a follow-up to yesterday’s question, leader, about pressure put on the RCMP commissioner by the Prime Minister and Minister Blair to release information on the investigation into the horrific April 2020 shootings in Nova Scotia.

Leader, these are the notes of Superintendent Darren Campbell of the Nova Scotia RCMP:

The Commissioner said she had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister’s Office that the RCMP (we) would release this information. I tried to explain there was no intent to disrespect anyone however we could not release this information at this time. The Commissioner then said that we didn’t understand, that this was tied to pending gun control legislation. . . .

Leader, I know your government isn’t good at providing answers, but, now that you have had time to get a response, did Commissioner Lucki promise to use the mass murders in Nova Scotia to advance the Liberal government policy? Who in the Prime Minister’s Office or in the minister’s office talked to Commissioner Lucki about releasing this information?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, my question is for the leader of the Liberal-NDP government.

Senator Gold, I need to get back to the question asked of you by Senator Plett. At the end of the day, with your talking points, you are essentially asking us to believe the word of this Trudeau government over the RCMP.

Senator Gold, it has been a few years now since we found out that your government wasn’t above interfering in criminal court proceedings for political expediency, and more recently we found out that you are not above illegally suspending the rights of Canadians with an unjustified invocation of the Emergencies Act.

It should come as no surprise to any of us that your government thinks nothing of interfering in the police investigation of one of this country’s most brutal mass murders and taking advantage of that tragedy in order to advance the Trudeau political agenda.

My question to you is simple: Is there any length to which the Trudeau government will not go for political expediency?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The Government of Canada has always been clear that it is on the side of Quebecers who are shocked and disappointed that a young teacher can no longer practise her profession because of how she chooses to observe her religion.

This government is committed to defending the rights and freedoms that are protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to freedom of religion and the right to equality, as this matter touches upon those fundamental freedoms and the interpretation of the Charter which underscore our liberal democracy.

This government fully expects that this case will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. If that happens, the government is committed to contributing to the debate, giving the broad implications for all Canadians and the need to defend the Charter, including the way in which the “notwithstanding” clause was invoked. The government has stated clearly that it will intervene in this matter at the Supreme Court level.

Hon. Rosa Galvez: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, central to the control and management of chemical substances is the need to determine their toxicity and classify them according to their potential harm.

In most developed countries, and to avoid conflict of interest, arm’s length or scientific institutions, such as the Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec, do this work.

Several times during study of Bill S-5, I asked government officials who undertake the testing and assessment of substances for their toxicity. Are they actual tests or are they literature reviews conducted by the government or industry?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, Senator Galvez. I participated in many of those hearings, so I’m aware of the questions that you asked. I do believe that you received answers and they would be reflected in Hansard.

I don’t have Hansard at hand. I can refer you back to those answers. I hope that they are satisfactory. On the assumption that they are not, thank you for raising the issue in the chamber. We look forward to the third reading debate on the bill later today.

Senator Cordy: Thank you very much for that. I’m really pleased to hear about the interim steps that are taking place. I have never met Minister Anand, but, based on the things she has done, I have tremendous respect for her and am quite certain she will try to get things done.

The minister previously stated that she was acting on a recommendation from the previous External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces report from 2015 to allow victims of sexual assault to request, with the support of what was then to be called the center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment — now the Sexual Misconduct Response Centre, SMRC — transfer of the complaint to civilian authorities. According to the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal last November, roughly 145 cases of sexual misconduct allegations involving Canadian Armed Forces members could be transferred to civilian police to investigate.

To date, do you know how many cases of these have been tried or brought to civilian court? Are civilian police obligated to investigate cases of sexual misconduct allegations if requested by the Canadian military, or are they able to refuse such cases?

Senator Patterson: Senator Gold, let me get a little more particular on my concern. We have heard that groups such as the National Association of Women and the Law felt they were not meaningfully consulted on Bill C-28. In fact, the national association’s meeting with justice officials occurred on a Tuesday and the bill was tabled that Friday. The association has now asked all senators for the opportunity to state their case. They complain that the process is rushed. However, it is possible, according to the motion you have given notice of today, that we will receive the bill either later tonight or tomorrow and be pushed into considering the bill at all stages in a single day without hearing — in this place or in the other place — from any women’s organizations, not to mention the wider legal community.

Senator Gold — and I ask this as, I suppose, yet another man speaking on this issue — is your government content to entirely exclude the voices of women’s organizations to provide their considered comments now that we know what’s proposed in the text of the bill? Is your government, which prides itself on being feminist, really content to exclude women and women’s organizations from commenting on this bill when they are telling us they have identified significant flaws in the legislation?

Senator Gold: I have not finished my answer, sir. I will take a cue from a colleague more experienced than I. To your question, “is the government content to ignore,” the government is not ignoring, so the answer is no.

[Translation]

Senator Plett: Reportedly, Minister Sajjan requested this exemption because, as you say, he carries classified information.

I find it strange that the minister would request this exemption now, as prior to his demotion last year, Minister Sajjan had been the Minister of National Defence. In his old cabinet post, he would have carried much more sensitive documents than he does in his current position as Minister of International Development.

The press also reported that former finance minister Bill Morneau once sought an exemption and was denied. Clearly, that policy has changed.

Leader, your government has created chaos in our airports. Instead of dealing with this issue, it looks like ministers are giving themselves additional privileges so they don’t have to suffer through security screenings like all other Canadians.

Is every Trudeau cabinet minister now entitled to bypass airport screening every time they travel with sensitive documents?

Senator Gold: The answer is no. To the best of my knowledge, this was the only request. I repeat that the exemption that was granted was partial only. The minister still has to go through regular security screening, save and except for the equipment and documents that are classified and not appropriate for review by the officials.

(For text of Delayed Answers, see Appendix.)

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 4-13(3), I would like to inform the Senate that as we proceed with Government Business, the Senate will address the items in the following order: third reading of Bill C-19, followed by third reading of Bill S-5, followed by second reading of Bill C-5, followed by all remaining items in the order that they appear on the Order Paper.

[English]

Hon. Lucie Moncion moved third reading of Bill C-19, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures.

She said: Honourable senators, I am pleased to take part in today’s third-reading debate on Bill C-19, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures (the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1).

The measures in this bill include many recent budget measures that are fundamental to the government’s plan to grow the economy and make life more affordable for Canadians as they continue to recover from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

[Translation]

In this is speech, I will touch briefly on important measures relating to housing, employment and tax fairness. I will also address other measures, such as the tax on vaping products and climate-related tax measures.

I will conclude with an overview of observations from reports by the committees that studied various parts of Bill C-19, specifically those in the report by the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. I think it is important to read certain parts of that powerful report in this chamber.

First I will talk about housing access and availability.

Honourable senators, we know that Canadians need housing to thrive, but Canada simply doesn’t have enough. To address the situation, the government’s latest budget includes an ambitious housing construction plan. The plan would double the number of homes built in the country over the next 10 years.

Of course, a national effort will be required to make this project a reality. The government will work with its partners at all levels of government, and will provide significant payments to the provinces and territories under the proposals set out in Bill C-19. These include up to $750 million to help municipalities deal with the shortfall in public transit and housing caused by the pandemic. The funding would be conditional on provinces and territories matching the federal government’s contribution and working with their municipalities to expedite the construction of more housing for Canadians.

Honourable senators, Bill C-19 will also make the housing market fairer. We know, for example, that foreign investors are actively buying residential real estate in Canada. The bill prohibits non-Canadians from purchasing residential property for two years. This measure will help ensure that housing is used as homes for Canadian families and not as speculative financial assets.

[English]

In addition, the bill would further promote fairness in the real estate market by removing the ambiguity that may arise from the existing rules regarding the application of the GST or HST to the assignment of a contract of sale by making all assignments of contracts of sale by individuals taxable and by standardizing the tax treatment for the purchase of a new home.

Currently, when a person makes a new home assignment sale, the GST or HST may or may not apply, depending on the reason for purchasing the home.

For example, the GST or HST does not apply if the buyer initially intended to live in the home. This creates an opportunity for speculators to be deceitful about their original intentions and create uncertainty for everyone involved in an assignment sale as to whether the GST or HST applies. The current rules also result in the uneven application of the GST or HST to the full and final price of a new home. To redress this, Bill C-19 would amend the Excise Tax Act to make assignment sales in respect to newly constructed or substantially renovated residential housing taxable for GST or HST purposes.

On the housing front, Bill C-19 would also make housing more affordable for the homes people already live in. Over recent years, the home accessibility tax credit has provided support to offset some of the costs of home renovations and upgrades that make a home safer for seniors and persons with disabilities. In order to better support independent living, Bill C-19 would double the credit’s annual limit to $20,000, making additional significant alterations and renovations more affordable. These enhancements, which would apply to the 2022 and subsequent taxation years, would provide up to an additional $1,500 in tax support. Taken together, Bill C-19 offers Canadians a suite of measures that support housing availability and affordability.

[Translation]

Let’s talk about the importance of investing in a strong workforce. The investments in Budget 2022 extend far beyond real estate. Bill C-19 provides for investments in a stronger and rapidly growing workforce.

It will make it easier for the skilled immigrants our economy needs to settle in Canada. It will improve the government’s ability to select candidates from the Express Entry pool who meet the needs of Canadian businesses.

[English]

In addition, Bill C-19 would introduce a labour mobility deduction for tradespeople, which would allow workers to deduct up to $4,000 per year for travel and temporary location expenses. By making it more affordable for people working in the skilled trades to travel to where the jobs are, this deduction would help reduce labour shortages in some areas of our country.

Bill C-19 would also introduce 10 days of paid sick leave for workers in the federally regulated private sector, which will support 1 million workers and protect their families, their workplaces and their jobs.

Honourable senators, Bill C-19 would advance the government’s efforts to ensure Canadians benefit from a sound tax system where everyone pays their fair taxes. Bill C-19 proposes to implement the government’s tax on the sale of new luxury cars and aircraft with a retail sale price over $100,000 and on new boats over $250,000.

Bill C-19 will also help address complex financial crimes, including money laundering, corruption and tax evasion by providing authorities with access to accurate and up-to-date data on the people who own and control corporations. Anonymous Canadian shell companies can be used to conceal the true ownership of assets, including businesses and expensive properties. This change to legislation would accelerate the creation of a public registry of federally incorporated corporations before the end of 2023, two years earlier than planned, to help counter illegal activities.

This would also help to prevent shell companies from being used to avoid sanctions and the tracing and freezing of financial assets. This is particularly relevant as Canada works with its allies through the new Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force to target the global assets of Russia’s elites and those who act on their behalf.

At the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, officials described the process that would be followed for the forfeiture and disposal of seized assets. The minister would be responsible for identifying which asset could be seized and for applying to a court to seek a forfeiture order and to provide notice to any parties with an interest in the seized property.

[Translation]

On the topic of economic recovery, some of the measures in Bill C-19 are part and parcel of an economic stimulus package designed to meet the needs of the various sectors that were hard hit during the pandemic.

Many Canadian film and video productions were delayed during this time. Bill C-19 would grant more time to incur eligible expenses and extend certain deadlines related to tax credits that were available in these circumstances.

In 2019, roughly 1,540 and 550 corporations claimed the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, or CPTC, and the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit, or PSTC, respectively. A comparable number of businesses could potentially avail themselves of these extensions. Another change found in the first part of Bill C-19 would allow the Canada Revenue Agency to accept late applications for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and the Canada Recovery Hiring Program. Since their introduction, these programs have been subject to strict deadlines that are sometimes ill-suited to the reality Canadians are facing. This measure would allow the CRA to take into account exceptional circumstances, through a case-by-case analysis, when appropriate, in order to recognize a person’s eligibility despite their late application.

[English]

Programs offered by the government in response to the pandemic, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, and the Canada Emergency Business Account helped the Canadian economy immensely to stay afloat. As for the International Monetary Fund’s recent Article IV report, the decisive actions and unprecedented fiscal support helped limit economic scarring and protected Canadian jobs.

In order to deliver these programs to support Canadians and the economy during the pandemic, the government had to make extraordinary borrowings. The total sum borrowed from March 23, 2021, to March 31, 2021, under section 46.1(c) of the Financial Administration Act was $6.3 billion. From April 1, 2021, to May 6, 2021, the total borrowed under that section was $2.1 billion. Amounts borrowed under section 46.1(c) do not count toward the government’s borrowing limit under the Borrowing Authority Act and are therefore not subject to the same reporting and transparency obligations as amounts that are part of the ordinary borrowing.

Given that the period of extraordinary circumstances has ended, the government proposes that the extraordinary borrowings from spring of 2021 be treated as regular borrowings to provide greater transparency on the stock of the government’s debt and accountability to Parliament for the total amount borrowed. The government followed a similar process in the fall of 2020 with respect to extraordinary borrowings that were undertaken between April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020.

[Translation]

Let’s now turn to the health of Canadians. Part 2 amends the Excise Tax Act to ensure that the eligibility rules for the expanded GST/HST rebate for hospitals recognize the growing role of nurses and nurse practitioners in providing health care services in all regions of Canada, including those that aren’t remote. Hospitals, charities and non-profit organizations providing health care services with the active involvement of, or on the recommendation of, either a physician or a nurse will be eligible for this rebate.

Senators will also recall that Bill C-19 provides a one-time $2‑billion payment to reduce backlogs in the health care system through the Canada Health Transfer. A proportional payment will be made to the provinces and territories on a per capita basis.

[English]

The Government of Canada is also proposing measures that will have the effect of preventing long-term negative health behaviours among youth through economic impediments. Part 3 of Bill C-19 proposes to amend the Excise Act, 2001 and related acts and regulations to implement a new excise duty framework for vaping products.

The new framework would require manufacturers of vaping products to obtain an excise licence for vaping products from the Canada Revenue Agency and require that an excise stamp be placed on all vaping products entering the Canadian market for retail sale.

The amendment also includes administrative and enforcement rules relating to the new framework and are intended to ensure that the framework applies to imported vaping products. Many stakeholders, including the Canadian Cancer Society, are urging senators to support Bill C-19 to ensure that vaping products are taxed as soon as possible. Indeed, some statistics, particularly among our youth, are very disturbing.

Colleagues, according to the result of the national survey on tobacco, alcohol and drugs among high school students, the rate of vaping has more than tripled over a four-year period from 9% to 16% to 29%. Recent studies in the U.S. and Canada show alarming upward trends. When you consider that some of the products can contain up to 50 milligrams of nicotine, it is disturbing to see that a new generation is developing an addiction to nicotine through vaping products.

Vaping products are particularly affordable, and young people are very sensitive to product costs. We know that tobacco taxes had an impact on reducing youth smoking, and the same logic applies to vaping products. A tax should help reduce youth consumption.

However, in the interest of public health, the government must consider a comprehensive strategy to address nicotine use among Canadians in general. Ideally, this tax would be accompanied by other measures such as regulating the maximum level of nicotine that these products can contain, as is the case, for example, with cannabis; restriction on advertising and the flavours available; and more education and prevention.

To this end, Part 3 of the bill also amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to allow the federal government to enter into agreements on a coordinated approach to the taxation of vaping products with provincial and territorial governments. Provinces and territories may also play a role in this national strategy within their own jurisdictions, including regulating the legal age of consumption of these products and the licensing of establishments.

[Translation]

Bill C-19 will continue to help Canadians fight climate change. In 2019, the government established a national price on carbon pollution to ensure that it is no longer free to pollute anywhere in Canada. In provinces where the federal fuel charge applies, all proceeds are remitted to Canadians and communities. Approximately 90% of these proceeds directly benefit the population through the climate action incentive.

[English]

The majority of families receive more money back through the climate action incentive than they pay into the federal system. Bill C-19 would change the delivery of the climate action incentive payments from a refundable claim annually on personal income tax returns for those living in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, to quarterly payments starting in July of this year. Payments would start with a double-up payment to return proceeds from the first two quarters of 2022-23 fuel charge year.

To support the growth of clean technology manufacturing in Canada, Bill C-19 would also help Canadians and Canadian businesses benefit from the global transition to a clean economy by cutting tax rates in half for businesses that manufacture zero‑emission technologies.

[Translation]

Bill C-19 also contains a measure to expand the scope of the capital cost allowance deduction to include new clean energy equipment. The measure would exclude equipment that mainly uses fossil fuels, for example, fossil-fuelled cogeneration systems and fossil-fuelled enhanced combined cycle systems. It would impose an efficiency requirement on waste-fuelled systems and limit the allowable proportion of fossil fuels that can be used by eligible equipment.

I will now talk about protection measures for Canada.

[English]

Bill C-19 would amend the Special Import Measures Act and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act to strengthen and improve access to Canada’s trade remedy system. The trade remedy system allows for the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports to protect domestic producers from injury caused by dumped or subsidized goods, thereby ensuring better conditions of competition for Canadian businesses and workers.

The trade remedy system also provides for the application of safeguard measures to protect domestic producers from injury caused by surges of fairly traded goods. At this time in our history, these important measures are essential to our economy.

Division 20 of Bill C-19 would amend the Customs Act to enable the Canada Border Services Agency to administer and enforce the Customs Act by electronic means. The proposed changes would also define the term “importer of record” and make that importer liable to pay duties on imported goods alongside the importer or person authorized to account for the goods, as the case may be, and the goods’ owner. This would provide for a fairer and more efficient system for Canada.

[Translation]

Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, Canada agreed to amend the Copyright Act in order to change the general term of copyright protection from 50 to 70 years following the death of an author by the end of 2022. The general term of protection would apply to a wide variety of works. This will enable Canada to meet its obligations, level the playing field with its trade partners and create new export opportunities for Canada’s creative industry and Canadian content, while continuing to protect authors.

[English]

Bill C-19 would amend the Competition Act to provide better protection of consumers and promotion of fair and equitable markets. The government has chosen to proceed with its modernization in two phases.

The targeted amendments proposed in Bill C-19 in the first phase will bring Canada more in line with international best practices and provide immediate and tangible benefits to consumers and businesses. In general, the government’s proposed amendments will strengthen the Competition Bureau’s investigation powers, prohibit wage-fixing and related agreements on criminal grounds, increase maximum fines and administrative monetary penalties, clarify that posting of partial prices is false or misleading representation, expand the scope of business practices that may constitute abuse of dominance, allow private access to the Competition Tribunal to remedy abuse of dominance and improve the effectiveness of major notifications and other provisions.

In the second phase, the government will organize broad consultation and undertake a thorough review to continue reform by considering even more transformative changes.

Now, I would like to speak of — and I am very proud of — the committee work that was done by all committees toward truth and reconciliation.

In my second-reading speech, I acknowledged and thanked the members and chairs of the six committees that conducted the pre‑studies of Bill C-19, as well as the members and chair of the Finance Committee, for their work on the entirety of the bill — a lengthy and difficult undertaking. The reports from the various committees are important to provide context to the measures and sometimes a path forward to continue the work on certain issues. Not everything can be resolved through a budget bill, but the information contained in these reports is precious to continue our work.

Before I conclude this speech, I would, therefore, like to highlight one report in particular that I find very important and impactful, and I invite you all to read it. I’m referring to the report tabled by the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. The committee made some observations on Division 3 of Part 5, which proposes to repeal the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act.

First Nations have repeatedly called for the repeal and replacement of the act, and the federal government is now required to do so under the safe drinking water class action litigation settlement agreement, jointly approved by the Federal Court and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba on December 22, 2021. The repeal of the act in Bill C-19 is therefore not contentious. However, the observations from the committee regarding the access to safe drinking water for all communities in Canada are important to emphasize. The report says:

The committee is alarmed about the unacceptable water crises that continues to plague First Nations across Canada causing serious illnesses, mental health issues and unnecessary suffering. . . .

It further reads:

The committee underscores the urgency of ensuring access to clean, safe drinking water for all First Nations.

Since November 2015, 132 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted. We have witnessed great progress over the last few years, but we need to do so much better as a country and work in partnership and collaboration with our Indigenous counterparts to find solutions to this crisis. There remain 34 long-term drinking water advisories in 29 communities.

To improve the situation, the committee suggests the following:

The committee observes that there are innovative, First Nations-led solutions to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. . . . The Government of Canada could contribute to these solutions, including by facilitating partnerships between the public and private sectors to deliver infrastructure to First Nations more broadly. Infrastructure builds create jobs and can drive economic and educational opportunities for local communities. Further, the Government of Canada could assess cost / benefits of infrastructure investments in terms of broader economic and social outcomes relative to their cost.

I take the opportunity to underline that June 21 was National Indigenous Peoples Day. The observation in this report reminds us of the relevance of this national day and how important it is to keep working toward the acknowledgement of the truth with respect to Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples in the past and the present.

[Translation]

In closing, Bill C-19 contains a wide variety of measures that seek to invest in Canadians and support some of their top priorities.

By investing in Canadians, the bill will contribute to our economic growth, support job creation and strengthen our economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges.

I urge you to vote in favour of the budget implementation bill and I thank you for your attention.

Hon. Marty Deacon: Thank you for that great summary and that level of detail. I really appreciate that. I do want to ask a question, if I may.

As you know from sitting at the Finance table, this last part of your speech is something that we ask every year. We get reports every year on water bans and infrastructure challenges. Absolutely, there is no question that going from 132 to 34 advisories is movement in a good, solid direction.

However, I have read the report and I still struggle with those final 34 advisories and getting this done. It is something that plagues my thinking a bit, particularly when you visit Indigenous communities and they give you such strong statistics. When we talk about the money part, we absolutely need funding and financing.

At the end, you started to talk about stakeholders and partners. Candidly, how do you see us addressing those final 32 advisories?

Senator Moncion: Thank you for the question. The answer I will give is outside of Bill C-19, but, having participated in the Finance Committee and in some of the meetings of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, the government struggles. The final 32 water advisories that are still in place are challenging beyond what was expected. These are the last 32, but they are the most difficult to deal with. Sometimes that’s just because of location or because of the industries that are around the First Nations.

The government is working very hard to bring solutions to these communities and to finally achieve zero water advisories in any communities.

Regarding the stakeholders, that’s where I see the beauty of the work that is being done. The government is working with Indigenous peoples, and they are training these people to build, maintain and understand the water balances, to be aware of the environment where they are and to identify the risks that the environment in which they live can have an effect on water.

They have been working with all First Nations to resolve these water advisories. They are working with each of these groups and with members of communities to really get this going so they can take ownership of both the clean water and waste water to manage them in the long term. These solutions are long term. They are a long time in coming and they take a long time to fix, but once it is done, it will be done, we hope, for as long as these systems can support these changes.

There is also the maintenance of these systems through the years. Just because you have built a system doesn’t mean you can leave it until you have to replace the whole thing. You must have upkeep and you have to put money into the system so that the technology, water sources and everything is kept up to date.

It is a large undertaking, but I would say the government has done a lot in the last 10 years. There is still a lot to do, but we are getting there.

Senator Simons: I almost feel I ought to give you a standing ovation, because I know how difficult it is to be the sponsor of the budget and carry it through.

However, there is still one part of the budget document that very much concerns me, and that is the insertion of amendments to the Criminal Code to criminalize denial and downplaying of the Holocaust. This was a question I didn’t get to ask the Government Representative, so I’ll ask it of you. Why was this placed in the budget bill, and should we be concerned that this Criminal Code amendment, that impinges upon constitutional freedom of expression rights, has been sort of tucked into the budget where it can’t be pulled out and properly debated?

Senator Moncion: Thank you for the question; it is an important one.

First, the knowledge I have of this specific issue is that it was something that was asked for by the Jewish community. There are people who are saying we don’t need this, and there are people who are saying this is important and needs to be in the bill. I can’t speak for the government, but I believe that bringing the offence into the Criminal Code was a way to provide Canadians with the assurance that this is top of mind for the government.

When we are talking about freedom of the press, I think we have to look at the different views on this. This will probably be challenged on a constitutional basis. I think at some point we might bring change to this, but I really believe that when the government was looking at putting this into the Criminal Code, it was done to send a strong message to Canadians about Islamophobia. It is a problem in our country and a problem, I think, elsewhere in the world.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Danielle and Michael Allen. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Plett.

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