An Hon. Senator: On division.

(Motion as amended agreed to, on division.)

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at 2 p.m.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. The government’s budget is both a plan and a projection as to how it wants to provide for its operations going forward. It is responsible for governments to identify areas where savings are reasonably expected, and it is almost inevitable that life gets in the way sometimes — as the pandemic most certainly did in the period immediately preceding the questions in February 2020 to which you referred.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, last week I raised with you concerns surrounding your government’s plans to put restrictions on fertilizer use on farms. Today I come to you with a related concern.

Canadian farmers who ordered fertilizer from Russia and Belarus months before sanctions were imposed on March 2 have been hit with a 35% import tariff. I want to be clear, leader: The war in Ukraine is illegal and I support tough sanctions against Russia and its officials. What I don’t support is making Canadian farmers suffer unfairly. Vladimir Putin is not harmed in any way by imposing this 35% tariff on our farmers, as the fertilizer had already been purchased last fall, long before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Leader, will your government exempt Canadian farmers from this 35% import tariff on fertilizer, yes or no?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable colleague, thank you for your question. I don’t know the answer to your question, but I will certainly make inquiries.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.

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

Senator Plett: Honourable senators, last week, in the other place, the Minister of Agriculture said she takes this situation seriously and was looking at various options. Leader, the minister has known about this problem for about a month. I would like to know what options are being considered and how much longer it will take to come to a decision. I thank you for saying you will get back to us. I hope you will do that very quickly.

As well, what impact does the minister think the 35% tariff imposed on Canadian farmers will have on food security and the cost of food, or is that of no concern to your government?

Senator Francis: Senator Gold, I do not have to tell you that this matter is of the utmost importance to the Mi’kmaq and all Islanders. I hope you will convey this message as soon as possible. As Chief Bernard of Lennox Island said earlier, if there is any conflict, the federal government will bear full responsibility.

Let me ask you to raise this question: If no relationship is more important than the one with Indigenous peoples and there is a true commitment to working on a nation-to-nation basis, why is the federal government continuing to prevent the Mi’kmaq from exercising their constitutionally protected rights? How many more decades will it take for Canada to uphold the rule of law, including the Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and at what cost to reconciliation?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Tye Vernon Marks. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Deacon (Ontario).

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

Senator Dawson: He still has it.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to and report adopted.)

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association concerning the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s 2021 Remote Session, held by videoconference, from June 28 to July 6, 2021.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the family and friends of the Honourable Senator Mercer: his wife, Ellen Mercer; his son, Michael Mercer; his cousin, John Mercer and his wife, Neena; and a former staff member, Sherry Petten.

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

Hon. Tony Loffreda: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, earlier this week I met with representatives from Quebec of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. As you know, MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. It is a complex, debilitating and unpredictable disease with mild to severe symptoms. We do not know the cause, nor do we have a cure for MS. What we do know is that Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world. Some 90,000 Canadians live with this disease.

My question is about the proposed “Canada Disability Benefit Act” that the government introduced through Bill C-35 in June 2021, near the tail end of the last Parliament. MS advocates are calling for this bill to be reintroduced. The Liberal Party also promised to reintroduce this bill in its election platform last fall. The minister responsible recently confirmed that it was one of her priorities, as is also stated in her mandate letter.

Senator Gold, can you tell this chamber — most importantly, Canadians living with a disability, including MS patients — when the government will reintroduce this bill?

Senator Marshall: I will mention another review. In Economic and Fiscal Update 2019, the government, once again, promised to launch a comprehensive review of government spending, this time saying it would result in $1.5 billion in annual savings. There is nothing to indicate that the review ever began. During a February 2020 Question Period, I asked for some basic information. I remember asking you the questions: Which programs will be reviewed? Were any outside consultants hired as part of the review? If so, how much did they cost? My questions were never answered.

The issue I have is that, in reviewing the budget, the estimated savings are used to reduce the government’s budgetary requirements and the projected deficit, so the deficit that’s projected is lower. If the savings don’t materialize, the actual deficit increases. That is what I’m interested in.

We’ve seen so many of these commitments in the budget. Why is the government continuing to make commitments in the budget to save money when they never seem to deliver on the commitment?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Certainly.

[English]

Senator Galvez: You say you are not a scientist, but I congratulate you for the resume you have and the IPCC reports that are huge like that. Thank you very much for the support for this bill. I know you are very much interested in transparency.

[Translation]

I learned a lot today from a report that focused on conflicts of interest regarding decisions made by fossil fuel company directors who also serve on the boards of banks or financial institutions. Have you thought about the impact that apparent or actual conflicts of interest could have on the media, our lives and so on?