Hon. Gwen Boniface: Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to Ontario’s fallen police officers. On Sunday, May 1, the Ontario Police Memorial Ceremony of Remembrance took place at Queen’s Park. The annual ceremony is held to honour the lives of police officers who have paid the ultimate price. Every year I rise in this chamber to join them.

Today, I would like to take a moment to remember three officers who were killed when they were off duty simply because they were police officers.

In November 1984, Constable Vernon Miller was shot in the back and killed while in a restaurant on his lunch break in the town of Matheson in northern Ontario. The 17-year OPP veteran was 38 years old. He is remembered for his friendly nature and always looking for the good in people. He was the epitome of community policing. He left behind a wife, three children and a devastated community that has never forgotten him. A hockey arena in town is named after him.

Corporal William F. McIntyre was in his twelfth year of service when he was killed in his own home on April 21, 1984. Bill joined the OPP in 1972 and worked in five detachments before moving on to undercover work. He was one of the best in that difficult and dangerous part of police work. I must also add that he was a lovely person. He was just 33 years old. His death was believed to be connected to his undercover work. His case has never been solved.

On May 31, 1997, Constable Thomas Coffin was killed by a man he had arrested for impaired driving weeks earlier. Constable Coffin was ambushed while off duty in a local bar. Tom was an avid athlete, and he coached the Penetang Kings Junior C Hockey club. His young players were devastated. At the time of his passing, Tom was only 32 years old. He left behind three small children. A park in beautiful Penetanguishene is named after him.

Colleagues, sadly, once a police officer’s shift ends, the dangers they face do not. The threats to those who serve and protect are not limited to the hours they are active on duty. Vernon Miller, Bill McIntyre and Thomas Coffin paid the ultimate price as police officers. These circumstances were devastating for all of us who served with them.

Today, I ask you to remember them, their families who had to go on without them and the communities that remain deeply affected by their murders.

Thank you. Meegwetch.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of guests from Queen’s University: Mark Green, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic); Kanonhsyonne Janice Hill, Associate Vice-Principal, Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation; Craig Leroux, Director, Government and Corporate Relations. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Harder.

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

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Honourable senators, I rise today to build on the insightful comments made by our colleagues Senators Marshall and Boehm last week in drawing our attention to Mental Health Week and to the good work being done by the Senate Mental Health Advisory Committee.

I would also like to acknowledge last week’s work by Senator Ravalia in the Mental Health in Primary Care web series. Certainly, there is much to be done to improve outcomes for Canadians living with mental health challenges and many areas of concern that need to be addressed. When faced with such a big challenge, it can be overwhelming, and the default consideration can be to walk away from the whole thing. When I feel that way, I remind myself of the Biblical story of David and Goliath.

The Israeli army saw a big giant and thought, “What a huge giant. We can’t win.” And they ran away. David thought, “What a huge target. I can’t miss.” And he was right. That is also the way with the challenge of addressing mental health and mental illness. It’s such a big target, we can’t miss, but we need to be focused. David didn’t hurl hundreds of ineffective projectiles at Goliath, hoping that one would hit and stick. He launched a specific and effective one, and that is what we need to do.

In my opinion, the foundation piece for improving both mental health and mental illnesses is mental health literacy. The Mental Health Handbook for Parliamentarians and Staff is an example of this. Your office should have received copies in both official languages last week. I hope that you will take the time to read it, encourage your staff to do the same and share it with others.

Today, I acknowledge a team of Canadian researchers, educators and clinicians who are national and international leaders in mental health literacy. Their work is focused on improving mental health literacy in primary, junior high, secondary and post-secondary schools. Also under way is a collaborative project that will create school-based interventions for Indigenous young people. Included in their work is a certified teacher training program that can be used across Canada during pre-service teacher training or as professional development for active educators. This work is supported by extensive, robust research, not just in Canada but in countries around the globe.

Some of the leaders responsible for these innovations include Dr. Yifeng Wei, who is here from the University of Alberta; Mr. Andrew Baxter of the Alberta Health Services; and Dr. Wendy Carr of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. They, along with their collaborators from coast to coast to coast, are working hard at creating, implementing and scaling up this mental health literacy foundation.

Please join me in acknowledging this good work and in encouraging them to see, like David saw, that while the challenge is huge, they can’t miss. Thank you, wela’lioq.

[Translation]

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Yifeng Wei, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta Department of Psychiatry. She is the guest of the Honourable Senator Kutcher.

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

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Honourable senators, in recognition of National Nursing Week, let’s salute the courage and determination of nurses and the important role they play in promoting the health and well-being of people in Canada and all over the world.

This year’s theme, #WeAnswerTheCall, aims to recognize their daily efforts. These people work tirelessly in Canada’s hospitals, long-term care facilities and public health facilities to ensure the safety of our fellow Canadians. Over the last two years, they have worked long hours on the front lines of the pandemic, putting their own health at risk and coping with physical and mental exhaustion.

Many of them work behind the scenes, for example in contact tracing, policy development and finding solutions to public health issues. Every day, nursing staff continue to take care of the most vulnerable in our society, to administer vaccines and boosters, and to work hard to keep us safe.

The government recently announced a process to appoint a Chief Nursing Officer for Canada, who will make sure that the voices and perspectives of nurses are heard. Let’s commend this initiative.

Honourable colleagues, as we recognize National Nursing Week, please join me in honouring Canada’s nurses. Thank you.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of scientists participating in the Science Meets Parliament program.

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

Hon. Fabian Manning: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, which deals with the subject matter of those elements contained in Part 7 of Bill S-6, An Act respecting regulatory modernization.

Hon. Fabian Manning: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate, no later than September 16, 2022, a report relating to its study on Indigenous rights-based fisheries, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the report be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question today is for the government leader in the Senate.

Leader, in April, CTV News reported that:

A 51-year-old Ontario woman with severe sensitivities to chemicals chose medically-assisted death after her desperate search for affordable housing free of cigarette smoke and chemical cleaners failed . . . .

CTV also reported last month that a 61-year-old woman suffering from mental and physical problems following a car accident chose a medically assisted death last October. As well, a 31-year-old woman is nearing final approval for medically assisted death to escape what she described as abject poverty.

Leader, a few years ago when you spoke to Bill C-7 in this place, you said:

Bill C-7 strikes a reasonable balance between the rights of individuals to seek access to MAID and the safeguards necessary to protect the most vulnerable in society. . . .

Leader, do you still believe that? If so, can you explain how those safeguards have failed these three women?

Senator Plett: Leader, in November of 2020, Krista Carr of Inclusion Canada warned us that, “Our biggest fear has always been that having a disability would become an acceptable reason for state-provided suicide.”

Sadly, Senator Gold, one of you is right. One of the women I mentioned earlier suffered from chemical sensitivities that research shows could have been addressed. Another couldn’t find affordable housing and received little to no help, so she has opted for medically assisted death.

Senator Gold, do you recognize that helping these women to live was proving difficult, so helping them to die was easier? Will you admit that the so-called safeguards in MAID that you argued would protect the most vulnerable in society are, in fact, doing nothing of the sort?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: I will take note of your answer. However, I will say that, having researched the number of modified firearms on the market in Canada, I have reason to believe that there is an urgent need for action, and the most important thing we can do is tighten up the regulations. If I understand correctly, that could be done this very day without even having to introduce a bill.

As you said, another approach is to buy back assault weapons, which we are still waiting for. New Zealand had a successful mandatory prohibited weapons buyback in 2019 that resulted in the buyback of 50,000 weapons. If New Zealand can do it, why can’t Canada?

After two years, the government can’t just keep saying it is working on the matter, so I would like to see signs of tangible progress.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I will certainly make inquiries to better understand the substance of your question.

The changes that may occur to the MAID regime will be a function of the work of the special joint parliamentary committee and whatever legislation is introduced — legislation which, of course, we will have a role to review and oversee.

Hon. Mary Coyle: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, Infrastructure Canada introduced a Climate Lens tool in 2018 that set clear reporting requirements and enabled the estimation of expected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for federally funded infrastructure projects.

However, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the Office of the Auditor General found in their recent report that Infrastructure Canada had “. . . let go of too much.” They had weakened those reporting requirements when they updated the Climate Lens tool in March 2021. This means there is no longer accurate and reliable information on which to assess and report on those government-funded infrastructure projects, neither in terms of climate resilience nor greenhouse gas emissions.

Senator Gold, could you tell us how the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities plans to address this serious gap in reporting requirements, and how the government will ensure that federally funded infrastructure projects align with Canada’s net-zero targets and its newly released Emissions Reduction Plan? Thank you.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the senator for the question. The government is committed to investing in infrastructure that will help us get to net zero, and is committed to working with the provinces, territories and Indigenous communities to ensure that clean energy can circulate and be used in Canada rapidly and efficiently.

Regarding the specifics of your question, colleague, I will make inquiries with the government and report back to the chamber in a timely manner.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I will certainly add this to my inquiries to which I referred, but I take this opportunity — and thank you for providing it to me — to remind the chamber that the report of the Auditor General was unique in the sense that it was promulgated and published during the process through which the government is working on its plan and its implementation. That has given the government the ability to make the course adjustments as necessary to take into account the very valuable input of the Auditor General.

Thank you for your question. I will get back to the chamber with an answer as soon as I can.

[Translation]

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, two years ago, the government banned 1,500 different models of assault-style weapons in Canada. It was a good measure. Not surprisingly, gun manufacturers have already started to circumvent the rules. The group PolyRemembers recently exposed several manufacturers who are selling new assault-style weapons in Canada, which are often easily modifiable to increase magazine capacity but are exempt from restrictions.

In 2019, New Zealand resolved this issue by banning semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and shotguns. In 2020, former public safety minister Bill Blair said he intended to address regulatory gaps to prevent this circumvention.

Will the government act soon to close these loopholes in its assault weapons regulations?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question, Senator.

I fully understand the urgency, the frustration and the importance of this issue. That said, you need to understand that cabinet committee discussions are confidential. I’m not in a position to answer your question, except to say once again that the government is taking this very seriously and will be making announcements soon, I hope.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I will answer as government representative. The short answer is that the government is reviewing the opinion provided by the Court of Appeal of Alberta. It will be considering its next steps, including a strong consideration of an appeal.

Let me say a few words, because this is an important issue with which we’re all engaged as parliamentarians. The Impact Assessment Act was designed to reflect the needs and values of Indigenous people, the public and investors so that they could have confidence that project decisions were made in their interests and that Canada can thrive on sustainable development. The government worked with provincial and territorial governments when developing the legislation to ensure that their views were considered and that jurisdictional responsibilities were respected while working toward the common goal of meeting the needs of Canadians. Whether it is safeguarding our natural environment, creating economic opportunity, protecting our health or preserving the culture, heritage and rights of Indigenous people, the Impact Assessment Act requires a holistic consideration of a project’s impacts. Working collaboratively with provinces supports a single impact assessment process for major projects that considers all project impacts.

For these reasons, honourable senators, the government remains committed to the implementation of the federal impact assessment process. The Government of Canada will continue to work with Alberta and other jurisdictions toward effective and efficient project assessments.

Finally, I return to the court’s decision. Honourable senators, here perhaps you will allow the constitutional lawyer in me to slip into my answer. The decision of the Court of Appeal of Alberta is advisory in nature. As such, honourable senators should understand that the act and the regulations remain in force.

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, my question is to Senator Gold, the Government Leader in the Senate. Senator Gold, my question is about implementing Canada’s feminist foreign policy through humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. As I think you know, since August of last year I have worked with civil society and governments to try to assist Afghan women at high risk to get out of their country to relative safety. The World Food Programme and UNICEF tell us that we can expect over 1 million Afghan children to die of malnourishment in the coming months.

My question is about the proud moment last year when Canada promised over $56 million in humanitarian aid to be delivered inside the country of Afghanistan, but I’m advised by the Afghan Women’s Organization and others with direct communication lines into Afghanistan that it is not at all clear what is happening to that $56 million. Has it been expended? And if it has, has it been on humanitarian aid to those at risk in Afghanistan — women and girls in particular? Canada shut its embassy and Canadian officials were among the first to flee, so it is hard to get accurate information. Can the Government of Canada answer these concerns from civil society and provide details about more than $50 million in humanitarian aid?