Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. There is no doubt that a legislative review of this act — or any act — is important. I don’t know why a review has not been commenced. I won’t speculate in that regard, but I’ll certainly make inquiries.

Some Hon. Senators: Yea.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, there has been an agreement between the leaders that they will take a few moments to make brief remarks before we suspend for Royal Assent.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

The Hon. the Speaker: informed the Senate that the following communication had been received:

RIDEAU HALL

June 23, 2022

Mr. Speaker,

I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada, signified royal assent by written declaration to the bills listed in the Schedule to this letter on the 23^rd day of June, 2022, at 10:28 p.m.

Yours sincerely,

Christine MacIntyre

Deputy Secretary to the Governor General

The Honourable

The Speaker of the Senate

Ottawa

Bills Assented to Thursday, June 23, 2022:

An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation) (Bill C-14, Chapter 6, 2022)

An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 (Bill C-24, Chapter 7, 2022)

An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 (Bill C-25, Chapter 8, 2022)

An Act to give effect to the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, to amend the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act and the Yukon First Nations Self‑Government Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts (Bill S-10, Chapter 9, 2022)

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures (Bill C-19, Chapter 10, 2022)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (self-induced extreme intoxication) (Bill C-28, Chapter 11, 2022)

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Mr. Joaquim Lopes, member of the Fédération nationale des sourds de France. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Boisvenu.

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

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

The Hon. the Speaker: All those in the chamber who are in favour of the motion will please say “yea.”

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Gold, your time has expired. Although Senator Pate wants to ask a question, there are no additional five-minute allocations; that was agreed upon.

[Translation]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this report be taken into consideration?

(On motion of Senator Black, report placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting of the Senate.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Parliamentary Delegation of the Senate, led by the Speaker of the Senate, that travelled to the Hellenic Republic and the United Kingdom, from April 11 to 21, 2022.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Sharlyn Ayotte and Peter Speak. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Patterson.

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

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Plett, would you take a question?

The Hon. the Speaker: In my opinion, the “yeas” have it.

And two honourable senators having risen:

Senator Seidman: Senator Gold, a legislative review was deemed necessary to monitor the impact of this major change in the law and its effects, including any unintended consequences on the health of Canadians.

Frankly, putting these reviews in our legislation is only effective if the reviews are actually carried out. More and more, to my chagrin and disappointment, we discover that they are not.

How can we ensure that this review is conducted as soon as possible?

The Hon. the Speaker: Are honourable senators ready for the question?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question for the government leader concerns the high cost of living.

May’s record inflation of 7.7% is the biggest year-over-year increase since January 1983 — almost 40 years ago. Statistics Canada reported that Canadians paid 48% more for gas in May of this year than they did just one year prior.

Many countries have helped their citizens deal with high energy costs. On Sunday, South Korea announced that starting on July 1 and until the end of the year, taxes on gas and diesel will be further reduced to help ease the burden on consumers; a fuel tax cut took effect in Germany on June 1; and the Netherlands lowered their gas tax in April, also through to the end of the year. These are just a few examples, leader.

Canadians are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. The Liberal government could do something about this by providing tax relief on gas. Will you do so?

(1450)

Senator Dagenais: Leader, can you explain how a government that is totally incapable of issuing passports will be able to organize COP15 in just three months, a job that normally takes two years? I hope we won’t have to be calling on those same people who are now working on issuing passports.