Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

(At 4:54 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 2 p.m.)

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Honourable senators, I rise today at second reading stage of Bill S-231, which seeks to increase the identification of criminals through the use of DNA.

As a former police officer, I would say that Bill S-231 will provide our judicial system and our police forces a technological modernity that will ensure that Canadians are better protected because justice will have more means for identifying and convicting criminals. In short, we have to shift from the era of fingerprints to an era of genetic profiling.

You would agree that science and technology have evolved considerably since the arrival of fingerprinting as a tool for legal identification. The use of fingerprinting goes back to 1902, or 120 years ago.

No one is challenging fingerprinting. When a person is charged with a crime, their prints are taken. It is an accepted and legally well-defined practice.

Under the provisions of Bill S-231, the collection and use of the DNA of an individual charged with serious crimes, properly regulated, will give the Canadian justice system new means that will make it possible to formally and scientifically identify suspects and victims and to limit the possibility of wrongful convictions.

In Canada, the RCMP’s National DNA Data Bank was created 22 years ago and already contains the profiles of more than 500,000 offenders. The NDDB, as it is known, has improved its operations and technology over the years, and it has become an invaluable support for our police forces.

The NDDB already plays an important role in the legal system, but DNA science could contribute even more. It could play a bigger role in tackling crime if our laws made it possible to increase the number of profiles collected from offenders convicted of serious crimes in Canada. That is precisely what Bill S-231 would do.

The National DNA Data Bank must become an even more effective tool for investigators. In 2022, investigators should have access to existing scientific evidence that will satisfy our courts as they determine whether someone suspected of serious crimes is guilty.

Fingerprints do not compare to DNA when it comes to scientific accuracy in identifying people. Furthermore, police officers use DNA to do more than identify suspects. It is also used to officially identify victims, even after decades.

Bill S-231 proposes expanding Canada’s DNA sampling, which I hope will eventually lead to a judicial outcome for many of Canada’s unsolved crimes.

The NDDB’s DNA samples and personal information are already well protected, and Bill S-231 does not change these important privacy protections. Instead, it seeks to increase the chances of making a match. To that end, the bill proposes increasing the number of offences that require the court to order the convicted person to provide a DNA sample to the data bank.

This provision of the bill received a lot of support from the National DNA Data Bank Advisory Committee, a group of experts who advise the Commissioner of the RCMP on all matters relating to the operation of the National DNA Data Bank.

For reference, Bill S-231 is the second iteration of Bill S-236, which died on the Order Paper, but was first introduced in the previous Parliament.

On September 6, 2021, the NDDB Advisory Committee commented on Bill S-236, as follows:

A DNA data bank is only as strong as the number of profiles it contains. The proposed amendments [in Bill S-236 from 2021] will not only improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the National DNA Data Bank, but they will also provide Canadians with access to the latest proven methods of DNA identification that have been very beneficial to people in other countries for some time.

Three reports have also recommended that more offences should result in a DNA sample being taken from a convicted offender, and these same reports have also recommended limiting the court’s discretion to not impose the taking of a sample. The first is the 2009 report of the House of Commons committee responsible for the Parliamentary review of the DNA Identification Act. The second is the 2010 report of the Senate committee conducting the same review. The third report is the 2017 report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on its study of delays in the justice system. These three reports from 2009, 2010 and 2017 are consistent with the substance of the bill before us.

Bill S-231 therefore proposes ways to address the flaws that have already been identified. It establishes reasonable recommendations that broaden and simplify the definition of designated offences that allow for the collection of DNA from convicted persons.

More specifically, this bill proposes that, without possible exception, the court order a sample for the National DNA Data Bank when the criminal offence carries a maximum sentence of at least five years imprisonment.

If this bill comes into force, all violent offences against the person in the Criminal Code, since they all carry a maximum sentence of at least five years, will result in the taking of a mandatory DNA sample. The same goes for other crimes that put public safety at risk, such as drug trafficking, or more serious Criminal Code offences with respect to crime against property.

The bill proposes limiting the court’s discretion to refuse an order authorizing the taking of a DNA sample for a conviction on an offence carrying a maximum sentence of less than five years.

This measure has two exceptions. The first exception concerns offences that can only be prosecuted on summary conviction and not by indictment. These offences, referred to as purely summary offences, are considered less serious in criminal law. For this type of offence, the bill upholds the current situation, whereby the court cannot order the offender to submit a DNA sample. The second exception applies in cases where the offender satisfies the court that the impact of such an order on their privacy and security of the person would be grossly disproportionate to the public interest in the protection of society and the proper administration of justice. This last exception already exists in the Criminal Code for certain designated offences.

As for their constitutionality, the measures proposed in the bill that seek to increase the number of collection orders for DNA samples at the time of conviction can also be supported by substantive decisions handed down in several court cases in Canada.

Bill S-231 also proposes other important measures that would make DNA collection in criminal cases more common and more efficient. For example, it proposes to allow, under strict conditions, familial searching in the National DNA Bank. This technique, which would be authorized under the bill, consists in verifying whether the DNA found at a crime scene corresponds to the genetic profile of a close relative or a person listed in the bank. It is essentially the same analysis as that carried out in DNA tests to establish paternity or kinship. In other words, familial searching does not seek to obtain perfect matches between two genetic profiles. Instead, it seeks to find profiles in the bank that are very similar to the profile obtained at the crime scene when there is not an exact match in the bank.

This bill would enable the police to order further research in the bank so they can investigate whether the unknown perpetrator is related to someone on file in the National DNA Data Bank.

Yes, this is a little technical, but it is not really new. Many countries already permit familial searching in their DNA data banks. This investigative method is being used successfully in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and U.S. states such as California, Florida and New York.

Bill S-231 is a little different though. It would amend the legislation to include conditions governing familial searching, which is a degree of oversight over and above what exists in other jurisdictions that already allow this investigative technique.

Familial searching could reopen a number of cold cases if this bill comes into force. It is entirely possible that the option provided by Bill S-231 could give the police the name of a person on file in the bank who is related to the person whose DNA was found at the scene of a crime. This might seem like no big deal, but sometimes it can result in the identification of a dangerous criminal.

I believe that, in many cases, the use of familial searching would help solve very serious crimes for which the offender is unknown and still poses a danger to the public. I am thinking, for example, of cases of murder, kidnapping, sexual assault with a weapon, firearms or carfentanil trafficking, or even terrorism offences.

Familial searching would allow investigators to identify offenders more quickly to stop them from victimizing more people. The RCMP’s National DNA Data Bank Advisory Committee has spoken in favour of this move. I want to share an excerpt from its 2019-20 annual report, in which the committee set out the advantages of and need for familial searching. I quote:

In 2015, the Advisory Committee . . . once again reviewed this matter and concluded that the value of familial searching to solve challenging, serious cases and protect Canadians outweighs the inherent risks associated to its use.

The committee also pointed out a very important aspect of familial searching, stating that it could be used to exonerate the innocent or, in other words, limit miscarriages of justice.

The other important point is that Bill S-231 includes an addition to Bill S-236 regarding familial searching, which was introduced in the previous Parliament. It proposes to expand familial searching beyond the convicted offenders index to include the victims index, the missing persons index, the voluntary donors index and finally the human remains index. This change is the result of a suggestion made by the National DNA Data Bank Advisory Committee. Allowing for familial searching of the data bank would provide an additional tool to resolve investigations more quickly, which could save lives.

Bill S-231 also requires the Minister of Public Safety to prepare a report within two years of the legislation coming into force. The report would seek to determine whether DNA can be taken from persons arrested or charged with an offence in Canada without the need for a warrant from a judge.

In other words, this report will consider whether it is in the public interest to change the law to allow for the collection of DNA from a person presumed innocent in the same way that the Identification of Criminals Act currently allows for the collection of fingerprints. Taking DNA samples at the time of arrest is permitted in the United Kingdom.

This type of change in our laws is crucial. It will help Canada and its police forces, whose fingerprinting methods are 120 years old, by adding a new, proven, scientific and much more accurate method, that of DNA identification. Senators will recall that DNA evidence helped convict Robert Pickton, Canada’s worst serial killer. Therefore, this is an important and modern tool to which Canadian police should have better access.

For all these reasons, I urge you, esteemed colleagues, to support Bill S-231. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Duncan, debate adjourned.)

[English]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Boniface, seconded by the Honourable Senator Hartling, for the second reading of Bill S-232, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy for the decriminalization of illegal substances, to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, I am grateful to join you today from — and to live and work on — the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.

[Translation]

Esteemed colleagues, I rise today to speak to Bill S-227, An Act to establish Food Day in Canada.

[English]

This bill seeks to establish the Saturday of the August long weekend as food day in Canada. As with other speakers, I am eager to celebrate and share the discussion of Canadian locally grown, harvested, prepared and shared food.

A Canadian meal may include seafood, such as lobster from New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, cod from the recreational fisher in Newfoundland and Labrador, shrimp and mussels from Nunavut and salmon from the East and West Coasts.

If seafood with omega vitamins is not your thing, there is nothing quite like Alberta beef or caribou harvested by the Gwitch’in in the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

The main course should include P.E.I. potatoes and other vegetables such as asparagus, Brussels sprouts and peas from Manitoba; a fresh salad with tomatoes and greens from Ontario; cucumbers from Alberta; and carrots from the Yukon. Every meal should have bread made with Canadian wheat from Saskatchewan and a slice of cheese from Quebec — perhaps with butter from a dairy farm in B.C. or Ontario.

The sweet dessert will have started with sugar from beets once grown and processed in Manitoba, now perhaps from Alberta, flour milled in the Yukon and eggs from the Yukon. The sweet dessert might be berry-focused, with cranberries from the Fraser Valley in B.C., Saskatoon berries from Saskatchewan, blueberries from Nova Scotia and haskap berries from the Yukon. Perhaps an apple is more to your liking, a Honeycrisp from Nova Scotia or a McIntosh from Ontario, candied with maple syrup from Quebec.

As many would agree, fine foods are best consumed with an appropriate beverage, such as a glass of Canadian wine from Niagara or B.C., or perhaps a locally brewed beer. According to the Yukon News’s local guide to spring in the Yukon, with five breweries in Whitehorse, we are the Canadian jurisdiction with the most breweries per capita. Or if an after-dinner single-malt whisky is more to your liking, Yukon Brewing has won the best Canadian single malt of the year at the World Whiskies Awards.

That’s just a wee sample, and not exhaustive, of a truly Canadian menu. Yes, you can eat your way from coast to coast to coast.

To celebrate Canadian food that is traditionally harvested on the land in the traditional way, or grown and harvested in the agricultural community, with this bill we are turning our attention to celebrating Canadian food and agriculture, and celebrating those who grow and bring to market those exceptional items that grace our tables.

I would like to thank Senator Black for his tireless efforts to celebrate Canadian farmers and all that agriculture means to our country. We are not allowed props in the chamber to emphasize our point or to express thanks, but I will share that I have a small gift for Senator Black in my office in Ottawa.

Honourable senators will have noted, as I described the meal, that I mentioned Yukon-grown carrots and haskap berries, eggs from the Yukon and flour milled in the Yukon. There is a bag of flour in my office from the Hinterland Flour Mill in the Yukon for you, Senator Black. I thank you for your tireless representation of Canadian agriculture.

And thank you, Senator Quinn, for your recent gift of dulse.

Allow me to grow your knowledge of agriculture in the Yukon. Almost three years ago, the Sunnyside Farm in the Ibex Valley near Whitehorse changed their focus to become a year-round commercial dairy farm. Setting up a dairy farm in the Yukon was recently described by Yukon’s Minister of Agriculture as an epic adventure, with the owners sourcing Jersey cows from Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, and their farm equipment from Ontario, Romania, the Netherlands and Ukraine. Sunnyside Farm has now received a licence to sell commercially and locally produced whole milk that can be purchased at the grocery store near my home in Whitehorse.

The dairy farm is new; agriculture in the Yukon is not.

Honourable senators, in 1997, thanks in part to the efforts of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition and the Downtown Urban Gardeners Society, a non-profit society known as DUGS, was formed. Last year, the Whitehorse community garden donated almost 1,000 pounds of locally grown vegetables to the Golden Age Society, an organization dedicated to seniors.

The Downtown Urban Gardeners Society and the dairy farm are innovations within my children’s lifetimes. I grew up in the Yukon, when most of our food arrived by truck from Edmonton. Despite the stories of Sunnyside Farms, Little Red Hen eggs, Ibex Valley farm eggs and DUGS today, if there is a problem on the Alaska Highway, there will still be a run on milk in the grocery store. Supply-chain issues are not a new story in the North.

There are pictures and stories of vegetables grown in Dawson City with the long summer daylight from the early days of government in the territory.

In an online article, “Agriculture Research Stations” from The Canadian Encyclopedia, author Stephen Morgan Jones reports:

Two experimental stations were opened in YT at Mile 1019, Alaska Highway (1945) and in NWT at Fort Simpson (1947) . . .

Those are experimental farms.

Honourable senators, I will share with you the story of one of the farmers who operated a Yukon experimental farm. In January 1965, a sense of adventure brought James Roderick Myles Tait, better known as Rod, and his family to the Yukon where he became the foreman at the Pine Creek Experimental Farm, five kilometres west of Haines Junction.

Returning to Stephen Morgan Jones’s article I referenced earlier, he wrote about the Yukon and Northwest Territories stations:

. . . both stations subsequently closed due [to] the lack of agricultural potential in the regions that they served.

It was not the first time that Ottawa made a decision that didn’t quite sit well with Yukoners.

As was noted during the tribute to Rod Tait when he passed in 2007:

Unfortunately, Ottawa’s decision makers did not share Rod’s love of farming and the boundless confidence that it could be done successfully and profitably north of 60. After six years at the farm, funds were slashed, leaving only Rod and one loyal helper out of a once-proud number of 30 employees.

Further funding cuts forced Rod into interim employment with Parks Canada before he found full-time work at the Haines Junction weigh scale, while double-shifting in the midnight sun on his own farm, his true vocation and passion.

With cattle purchased from the defunct experimental farm, a land lease and a six-acre market garden application, Rod successfully pursued his dream of growing the finest beef, oats, hay and vegetables in the region.

He leaves a legacy of more than 200 titled acres of farmland, more cleared land, and the reputation of growing the best and most exotic potatoes in the north. His expertise was formally recognized with the presentation of the Yukon Farmer of the Year award in 2000.

The area where Rod farmed and his family lives is at the base of Kluane National Park in the Yukon.

Whether the Yukon Gold potatoes were Rod’s innovation or not, I will always credit, in part, the success of Yukon agriculture to Rod Tait and farmers like him throughout our country.

May I suggest, colleagues, that we best honour our farmers when we lovingly prepare and honour their products? I am delighted to share with you that “Yukon-grown food products proudly sold here” is displayed in grocery stores in the Yukon. Inside on the shelves, I can purchase potatoes, eggs, cabbage, beets, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. There are also locally produced kale chips and mixed spices, celebrated in the recent The Globe and Mail Christmas gift list.

The flight kitchen of Air North, the Yukon’s airline, demonstrated their resilience during the pandemic, offering bison, shepherd’s pie and other dishes ready for your freezer and to go on your plate. Those meals and other homemade-ready meals from Home Sweet Home business, using local ingredients in the Yukon, are also available in the store.

We also celebrate the farmers’ market. I note that the very first Yukon farmers’ market will be held this evening on the shores of the Yukon River in downtown Whitehorse.

Honourable senators, this bill asks us to celebrate all Canadian farmers, and to purchase and consume their products all year, particularly on the Saturday of the August long weekend.

Therein, Senator Black and those who have supported this bill, lies my difficulty. The Yukon does not celebrate the August long weekend the way you do. Our August long weekend is the third Monday in August, the date closest to Discovery Day — the date gold was discovered in the Klondike. While Yukon Gold potatoes might be the gold we eat, changing the Discovery Day holiday would encounter the same sort of difficulty that Prime Minister Chrétien encountered when he wanted to rename Mount Logan in Kluane National Park, Canada’s highest peak. It’s not a winning proposition in the territory.

That said, trying to choose a date appropriate for all of Canada and to get all regions of Canada to agree upon a date is not an easy proposition. Celebrating Canadian farmers and Canadian food is a winning proposition, and I wholeheartedly support the bill’s intent.

Respectfully, Senator Black, perhaps the other place will make an amendment to the bill to celebrate Canada food day as the first Saturday in August, rather than reference a long weekend that only part of the country celebrates.

However and when it occurs, I look forward to the support from and this bill’s return from the other place. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the Yukon with all of you once again, and thank you for this chance to discuss the importance of agriculture and the availability and quality of sustainable food sources in the Yukon and throughout Canada and, notably, to share the story of agriculture in the Yukon and to express my support and a slight reservation with Bill S-227.

Mahsi’cho, gùnáłchîsh, thank you, colleagues.

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

I was not aware that the committee, which operates independently, had decided that it had sufficient input to complete its reflections or to inform its reflections on this issue, but it is for the committee to decide how it wants to proceed, and, indeed, it is for the committee to decide how frequently it wants to meet.

We passed a resolution here, as did our counterparts in the other place, to extend the deadline for the report, and I have every confidence that the committee will do what it needs to do to provide the recommendations, to which we all look forward to receiving.

Hon. Tony Dean: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak in support of Bill S-232, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy for the decriminalization of illegal substances, to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts — also known as the health-centred approach to substance use act.

I start by thanking Senator Boniface for her thoughtful leadership on drug policy in Canada, and specifically on the abuse of opioids, which grows ever more potent and deadly. When I spoke to this bill last year during the previous legislative session, I noted that opioid-related deaths reached a record high in the first year of the pandemic.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, in 2020, there were 6,500 opioid-related deaths compared to 3,669 deaths in 2019. This represents a 95% increase in opioid deaths during the first year of the pandemic compared to the year before, with an average of 20 deaths per day. Colleagues, the opioid crisis is getting worse.

In 2021, between the months of January and September, there were almost 5,500 deaths. While data is not yet available for the full year, the rate of deaths indicates that the number deaths in 2021 may surpass those in 2020.

Furthermore, a recent report from the British Columbia Coroners Service indicated that 2,224 people died of suspected overdoses in B.C. in 2021. That is the most ever in a recorded year, a 26% increase from 2020.

In their most recent report, the Public Health Agency of Canada notes:

A number of factors may have contributed to a worsening of the overdose crisis over the course of the pandemic, including the increasingly toxic drug supply, increased feelings of isolation, stress and anxiety, and changes in the availability or accessibility of services for people who use drugs.

And colleagues, this epidemic is no longer concentrated in well-known and established drug ghettos in major cities. It is affecting every community — both large and small — including small, rural communities, as we have heard from Senator Richards. Neither is it confined to those living on our streets. It is affecting middle-class families as a result of the abuse of pain medications and, of course, for many other reasons.

No one is immune from this epidemic. No one. It has become a national tragedy that is spiralling out of control — seemingly beyond our ability to catch up with it.

In all of this, colleagues, I’m reminded of the way governments and public policy-makers used to think about the scourge of poverty. It seemed so thorny; it seemed nasty. It seemed to be something that we couldn’t tackle, intractable. We used to refer to this, among other big policy challenges, as a “wicked” policy challenge. So it went on for decades until poverty became too big and too expensive to ignore, and we had to figure out a way to tackle it.

We now know that initiatives such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement have greatly reduced poverty among seniors. The same is true for kids and families. Since the Canada Child Benefit was introduced, the poverty rate for children under 18 fell from 16.4% in 2016 to 9.7% in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.

Big and nasty problems can be addressed. The wicked issue of opioid addictions and deaths can no longer be ignored. We need a very different approach.

Colleagues, while the opioid crisis continues to take more lives every year, it is not for lack of trying to address the issue. Budget 2022 proposes $100 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to Health Canada to support harm reduction, treatment and prevention at the community level. This comes on top of $116 million provided in Budget 2021 and $66 million in the Fall Economic Statement 2020. Since 2017, the government has dedicated over $700 million to address the opioid overdose crisis. I repeat: $700 million.

It seems to me that if almost three quarters of a billion dollars has been spent trying to address a crisis that is only getting worse every year, it’s time to try a different approach. Colleagues, Senator Boniface’s bill does just that.

Senator Boniface suggests a comprehensive approach with multiple elements that goes well beyond making naloxone available or the important effort to expand safe injection sites across the country.

As a reminder, Bill S-232 would mandate the Minister of Health to consult with governments at all levels, including representatives of Indigenous peoples, to inform the development of a national strategy for decriminalization of simple possession of illegal substances, including repeal of provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which relate to these charges.

A national strategy is an appropriate tool for an issue as complex as this crisis, as it would lay the foundation for an integrated approach from governments at all levels as well as the police, health care providers and other key stakeholders.

The strategy would require establishing a framework for decriminalization and additional treatment programs and support services, ensuring that there are public health measures in place to support decriminalization. It assumes that nothing less than an integrated and concerted federal, provincial and territorial strategy will overcome the challenge of opioid addictions.

Following these steps, the Minister of Health would have to prepare a report setting out a national strategy, cause that report to be laid before each House of Parliament two years after the act receives Royal Assent and then post the report on the departmental website within 10 days after the day on which it is tabled in Parliament.

That sounds like a plan. Doesn’t it, colleagues? We desperately need a plan, and we need it quickly.

If I can add anything to this approach, colleagues, it is that sophisticated efforts to tackle harms — be they in the world of regulation, as they affect vulnerable people, disease, poverty or a myriad of other harms affecting our populations — require moving upstream to look at both the causes and early indicators or fault lines that are both predictors and causes of harms, some of the more obvious in this case being prescribing practices in the health care system, mental health challenges and the various forms of abuse.

Why is decriminalization an effective tool? B.C.’s Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson stated that decriminalizing small amounts of drugs would help to reduce the stigma associated with them.

The BC Coroners Service report found that between January 2019 and January 2022 more than half of opioid overdoses resulting in death happened at home, indicating that there are still significant shame and stigma associated with drug addiction. Individuals struggling with addiction may be reluctant to seek help because of this.

Colleagues, decriminalizing small amounts of illicit substances would ensure that these individuals would not be penalized for their addiction, but that they would be recommended for treatment services.

Minister Malcolmson said:

It’s never going to be decriminalization alone. That alone will not save lives. But if we have the health-care supports for people to turn to, they don’t feel the shame and stigma about drug use. They’re willing to talk to their primary health care provider.

Some municipalities and provinces have already started to move in this direction. In May 2021, the City of Vancouver requested an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. B.C. then made a province-wide request in November 2021. The City of Toronto followed in January 2022, and just a few weeks ago so did the City of Edmonton.

Colleagues, there are a broad range of actors telling us we need to get this done, including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, who tell us that they:

. . . agree that evidence suggests, and numerous Canadian health leaders support, decriminalization for simple possession as an effective way to reduce the public health and public safety harms associated with substance use . . . .

In their July 2020 report, they concluded that decriminalization should be a key component in responding to the opioid crisis in concert with a number of other policy tools already being implemented across the country, including safe injection sites, safe supply and treatment programs.

The report states:

In a decriminalized environment, frontline policing would likely assume increased responsibility to divert people suffering from substance use disorder into treatment.

A national framework would ensure that there are treatment programs and other supports set up prior to decriminalization to alleviate the burden on police services.

The British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police also released a report after the province announced it would be seeking an exemption for decriminalization of small amounts of illicit substances. In the report they expressed their support for the policy.

The report states:

The BCACP supports decriminalization of personal amounts of illicit drugs as part of an integrated approach to divert persons who use drugs (PWUD) away from the criminal justice system and toward health services and pathways of care with the goal of improving health and safety outcomes for those individuals.

Colleagues, this is a massive and deadly crisis. It is affecting all communities, large and small, and it is continuing to grow.

Senator Boniface’s bill recognizes both the scale and the complexity of the issues associated with the opioid crisis. Most importantly, it’s a framework piece of legislation that sets out the key goals while prompting the government to pursue a variety of strategies. It recognizes and acknowledges that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and it is appreciative of the fact that this is not going to be resolved quickly or easily, but that it can be addressed.

That is why I am supporting Senator Boniface’s bill. It acknowledges the complexity of the issue and would establish a framework for a multifaceted, thoughtful range of approaches to a massive problem that we’re not addressing right now.

Honourable senators, with government, law enforcement, health practitioners and a large portion of the general public supporting decriminalization as one of a suite of approaches to the opioid crisis, we should listen and we should follow their advice. Thank you, Senator Boniface, for your leadership. Honourable senators, let’s move Senator Boniface’s bill to committee. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Duncan, debate adjourned.)

[Translation]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Galvez, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gignac, for the second reading of Bill S-243, An Act to enact the Climate-Aligned Finance Act and to make related amendments to other Acts.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Diane Bellemare on November 24, 2021)

The monetary policy framework which will guide monetary policy for the next five years was announced on December 13, 2021. The agreement reached between the government and the bank stipulates that monetary policy’s primary objective will continue to be achieving a target inflation rate of 2%, of the midpoint of a 1% to 3% control range. The government and the bank also clarified the existing ability of the Bank of Canada to use the flexibility of the 1% to 3% control range to actively seek the maximum sustainable level of employment and to help address the challenges of structurally low interest rates.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Elizabeth Marshall on November 30, 2021)

Pursuant to subsection 49(1) of the Financial Administration Act (FAA), the Minister of Finance provides Parliament with an annual report on debt management, which provides transparency and accountability on the money borrowed and the management of the public debt for the most recently completed fiscal year. The Debt Management Report (DMR) satisfies this legislative requirement, and in large part relies on data from the Public Accounts for the relevant fiscal year. Subsection 49(1) of the FAA requires the minister to table the report in each house of Parliament within 30 sitting days after the Public Accounts are tabled in the House of Commons. In compliance with the FAA requirements, the government tabled the DMR for fiscal year 2020-21 on March 25, 2022.

In addition to the DMR, which provides historical information, the government continues to provide regular updates to its ongoing and future plans associated with debt management, which can be found in the 2021 Economic and Fiscal Update (Annex 2) and Budget 2022 (Annex 2).

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Elizabeth Marshall on November 30, 2021)

The Public Accounts of Canada 2021 were tabled on December 14, 2021, and can be found at https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/2021/index-eng.html.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Yonah Martin on December 14, 2021)

After a lifetime of hard work, our seniors have earned the right to a secure and dignified retirement. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) enhancement will raise the maximum CPP retirement pension by up to 50% over time. To fund these enhanced benefits, annual CPP contributions are being increased modestly over seven years, starting in 2019.

In September 2016, the Government of Canada released analysis showing that enhancing the CPP would significantly reduce the share of families at risk of not saving enough for retirement and would have long-term positive economic impacts.

Changes to the CPP, like this one, require the formal approval of the Parliament of Canada and 7 out of 10 provinces representing at least two-thirds of the population.

The CPP enhancement addresses important challenges faced by young Canadians saving for retirement, and it is important that federal and provincial governments stay the course at this critical time for Canadian workers.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Jane Cordy on February 10, 2022)

The government understands that some Canadians build their families using surrogacy – it is an opportunity to have the family they have always wanted.

Budget 2022 proposes to allow medical expenses related to a surrogate mother or a sperm, ova, or embryo donor that are incurred in Canada for 2022 and subsequent taxation years to be claimed. This would include costs that have been reimbursed to a surrogate for in vitro fertilization expenses.

Budget 2022 also proposes to allow fees paid to fertility clinics and donor banks in Canada in order to obtain donor sperm and ova to be eligible under the Medical Expense Tax Credit for 2022 and subsequent taxation years.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Paula Simons on February 21, 2022)

The payments to the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Orphan Wells Association (OWA) were part of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, to provide targeted and time-limited economic stimulus to sustain jobs in the energy sector while cleaning up the environment in provinces that have a comparatively high reliance on the sector: $1 billion was provided to Alberta to clean up inactive wells, and $200 million was provided to the OWA to clean up orphan wells; the OWA will fully repay this amount.

As part of the federal payment, Alberta committed to strengthening its regulatory regimes to limit the creation of new orphan wells. Private operators are responsible for remediating wells when they become inactive. Provinces are responsible for implementing regulatory regimes that create a sustainably funded system where companies pay the cost of their environmental liabilities, including orphan wells. Questions regarding the provincial regulatory regime should be directed to Alberta.

To date, these funds have supported 3,865 full-time jobs, and addressed over 34,600 inactive wells and 300 orphan wells. Alberta and the OWA are responsible for administering their respective well-closure programming. Questions regarding the funds disbursed, assessment of applications and any potential changes to programming should be directed to Alberta and the OWA.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable David M. Wells on February 24, 2022)

The measures in the Emergency Economic Measures Order are no longer in force since February 23, 2022. Consequently, no accounts remain frozen pursuant to the Order.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Percy E. Downe on March 1, 2022)

The federal public service, drawn from all regions of the country, brings together people from a variety of backgrounds, skills and professions, and we recognize that this is a unique resource for Canada.

Indeed, it is worth noting that most public servants already work outside the National Capital Region (Ottawa‑Gatineau). According to March 2021 data (https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/innovation/human-resources-statistics/population-federal-public-service-geographic-region.html), of the 319,601 federal public service employees, less than half, or 134,817, were located in the NCR, including the core public administration and separate agencies.

With many public servants having worked remotely over the last two years, research is underway to determine what form post-pandemic workplace flexibility will take, including exploring options to increase flexibility in the work arrangements of federal employees. Officials at TBS and across government are researching how best to maintain and maximize flexible work arrangements for employees while maintaining quality services to Canadians. This work also entails assessing the lessons learned in terms of what has worked well and what could be improved, including taking into account operational needs and workforce preferences, but will also include business drivers such as enhanced efficiency and productivity, increased diversity and inclusion in the public service and social and environmental effects and impacts.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Stan Kutcher on March 2, 2022)

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our country and the world. This uncertain environment is ripe for exploitation by threat actors seeking to advance their own interests. State-sponsored information manipulation utilized by certain states, including Russia, to undermine the rules-based international order is of particular concern. As CSIS noted in its Public Report 2020, most recently, such state-sponsored manipulation, including through disinformation, has sought to reshape or undermine certain narratives to sow doubt about the origins of the coronavirus and pandemic as well as the means required to counter it; discredit democratic responses to COVID-19 while casting their own responses as superior; and erode confidence in Canada’s values of democracy and human rights. While Canadian security agencies and law enforcement cannot discuss specific investigations, we can say that the Government of Canada coordinates with hundreds of domestic and foreign partners on threats to national security, and actively investigates all threats of foreign interference to support a whole-of-government collective effort to ensure individual Canadians as well as Canadian democratic institutions remain resilient to hostile activities by state actors.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable V. Peter Harder on March 2, 2022)

Canada responds to complex humanitarian crises, including in Ukraine, by providing funding to an established international humanitarian response system made up of United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement, and experienced non-governmental organizations. To date, Canada has provided $245 million to support the humanitarian response to meet urgent needs on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. The flexible funding enables organizations to procure relief items and deploy equipment and trained personnel quickly and efficiently through established and coordinated humanitarian networks. Canada also deploys humanitarian and logistics experts to augment United Nations capabilities on the ground so that aid reaches affected populations.

Recognizing gaps in supply chains, the department is also coordinating the delivery of relief and medical supplies from Canadian stockpiles to support the operations of humanitarian partners, and offering advice and logistical support to provincial Ministries of Health in this regard. The department is working with the Canadian Red Cross to coordinate the logistics planning and delivery of these supplies to partners on the ground. Leveraging these partnerships, to date, the department has delivered 1,052 family tents and 376,000 essential relief items from Canada’s stockpiles.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Larry W. Smith on March 2, 2022)

Businesses regulated by the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), including businesses dealing in virtual currencies, must comply with the sanctions against Russia and Belarus applied through regulations under the Special Economic Measures Act. These businesses must block transactions that directly, or indirectly, involve sanctioned individuals or entities and report assets in their holdings to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which enforces compliance.

Businesses dealing in virtual currencies must register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), verify client identity, and report suspicious transactions. Budget 2022 proposes FINTRAC receive $89.9 million over five years.

Canada continues to coordinate with G7 countries to scrutinize potential sanction loopholes and provide technical expertise. Canada coordinates monitoring and exchanges information with international partners to ensure the effectiveness of sanctions.

Budget 2022 announced the government’s intent to establish a new Canada financial crimes agency and implement a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry by the end of 2023. The government also intends to work with provinces and territories on a beneficial ownership registry of real property. Further, Budget 2022 announced the government is developing legislative changes to enhance the detection, investigation and prosecution of financial crimes.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Marilou McPhedran on March 2, 2022)

Canada is aware of the upcoming first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled for June 21-23, 2022. Canada takes note of the invitation extended to states not party to the Treaty to attend this meeting as observers. While not a party to the TPNW, Canada acknowledges that the treaty reflects well-founded concerns about the slow pace of global nuclear disarmament – concerns that Canada shares. In order to achieve meaningful progress towards global nuclear disarmament, Canada engages actively with other states including via cross-regional groupings such as the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non‑Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in support of the full implementation of the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Canada will continue to consider all possibilities to constructively engage with other states in pursuit of a world free from nuclear weapons.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu on March 4, 2022)

The Government of Canada would like to also recognize the upcoming anniversary of this horrendous event, and acknowledge the impact on the families and communities.

With regards to family member participation in the inquiry, please note that the Mass Casualty Commission (Commission) is an independent body. Under Part I of Canada’s Inquiries Act and Nova Scotia’s Public Inquiries Act, the commissioners have the power to summon witnesses and require them to give evidence on oath or solemn affirmation, and require the production of documents and things the commissioners consider necessary to carry out a full investigation. The Government of Canada does not have the ability to provide directions to the commission.

Regarding the testimony of RCMP members in regards to the three Portapique Foundational Documents, as stated on the commission website, the commission has directed that certain members be subpoenaed to appear either as individual witnesses or as a witness panel. Some of the RCMP members that will be testifying were at the scene the day of the event, and some members testifying are simply in the chain of command. Please see the link for more detail:

https://masscasualtycommission.ca/updates/an-update-from-the-commissioners-march-9-2022/

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Marilou McPhedran on March 4, 2022)

Canada is aware of the upcoming first meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled for June 21-23, 2022. Canada takes note of the invitation extended to states not party to the Treaty to attend this meeting as observers. While not a party to the TPNW, Canada acknowledges that the treaty reflects well-founded concerns about the slow pace of global nuclear disarmament – concerns that Canada shares. In order to achieve meaningful progress towards global nuclear disarmament, Canada engages actively with other states including via cross-regional groupings such as the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non‑Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in support of the full implementation of the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Canada will continue to consider all possibilities to constructively engage with other states in pursuit of a world free from nuclear weapons.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Rosa Galvez on March 23, 2022)

The analyses undertaken by BMO and TD both confirm that the project will likely allow the government to recoup its expenses with the potential for a positive financial return, and be profitable for future owners. The government does not intend to publish those analyses, given contractual and commercial confidentiality limitations.

The government is confident that there remains strong interest from prospective purchasers of Trans Mountain Corporation, given the expansion project is underpinned by 20-year shipper contracts. The expansion project continues to be an important investment in Canada’s economy which is creating thousands of Canadian jobs and which will responsibly deliver Canadian natural resources to meet demand in global markets.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable David M. Wells on March 24, 2022)

The measures in the Emergency Economic Measures Order are no longer in force since February 23, 2022. Consequently, no accounts remain frozen pursuant to the Order.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Mary Coyle on March 24, 2022)

As of April 1, 2022, Canada has contributed over $259 million towards COVID-19 vaccine delivery and health systems in low- and lower-middle-income countries, including:

•$100 million to support vaccine delivery and distribution through COVAX COVID-19 delivery support;

•$10 million to design and operationalize COVAX’s dose-sharing mechanism;

•$40 million to cover ancillary costs associated with donated surplus vaccine doses;

•$9.6 million to UNICEF Canada for the #GiveaVax Fund, matching dollar for dollar the donations of Canadians. The funds are enabling UNICEF to cover the costs to transport vaccines, keep vaccines viable by protecting the cold chain and train health care workers to effectively administer vaccines and safely dispose of waste; and

•$100 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support the Health Systems and Response Connector (HSRC). The HSRC supports countries to identify needs and gaps to enable the rollout of COVID-19 tools, coordinate with partners to address bottlenecks, and monitor country progress.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Leo Housakos on March 29, 2022)

The Excise Act and the Excise Act, 2001 adjust excise duty rates on an annual basis for tobacco and alcohol products, on April 1 of each year. The automatic Consumer Price Index adjustment for the 2022-23 fiscal year has already occurred, and came into effect on April 1, 2022. This type of indexing is not an uncommon practice to ensure that duty rates are not eroded with inflation. The adjustments to excise duties do not represent an increase in real dollar terms – they are intended to preserve the effectiveness of the excise duty rates over time and to ensure that the excise duties continue to meet their policy objectives.

Indexation to the Consumer Price Index is a common feature of the tax and benefit systems, used in many other taxes, such as the tobacco excise duties; income tax bracket thresholds; and the key tax credit amounts Canadians use when calculating their tax returns, such as the basic personal amount and the goods and services tax credit. This practice is in line with many other countries that also annually adjust their alcohol taxes to account for inflation.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Percy E. Downe on March 29, 2022)

The Public Service Commission of Canada has provided relevant information in the response to Parts 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 of Senate Written Question No. 106.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Marilou McPhedran on March 29, 2022)

Canada is aware of the upcoming first meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled for June 21-23, 2022. Canada takes note of the invitation extended to states not party to the treaty to attend this meeting as observers. While not a party to the TPNW, Canada acknowledges that the treaty reflects well-founded concerns about the slow pace of global nuclear disarmament – concerns that Canada shares. In order to achieve meaningful progress towards global nuclear disarmament, Canada engages actively with other states including via cross-regional groupings such as the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in support of the full implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Canada will continue to consider all possibilities to constructively engage with other states in pursuit of a world free from nuclear weapons.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu on April 5, 2022)

The Government of Canada would like to acknowledge that it has been two years since the April 2020 mass casualty in Nova Scotia took the lives of many people, and forever impacted families and communities.

The Government of Canada reiterates that it does not have the ability to provide directions to the Mass Casualty Commission. The commission is an independent body. Under Part I of the federal Inquiries Act and Nova Scotia’s Public Inquiries Act, the commissioners have the power to summon witnesses, require them to give evidence on oath or solemn affirmation, and require the production of documents and things the commissioners consider necessary to carry out a full investigation. Decisions related to these powers lie solely with the commission.

The commission is not conducting an investigation under one of the laws mentioned in the definition of “offence” in the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (i.e. the Criminal Code). This said, any questions pertaining to the applicability of certain laws to the public inquiry should be directed to the commission.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Marilou McPhedran on April 28, 2022)

Canada is aware of the upcoming first meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled for June 21-23, 2022. Canada takes note of the invitation extended to states not party to the treaty to attend this meeting as observers. While not a party to the TPNW, Canada acknowledges that the treaty reflects well-founded concerns about the slow pace of global nuclear disarmament – concerns that Canada shares. In order to achieve meaningful progress towards global nuclear disarmament, Canada engages actively with other states including via cross-regional groupings such as the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in support of the full implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Canada will continue to consider all possibilities to constructively engage with other states in pursuit of a world free from nuclear weapons.

Hon. Lucie Moncion: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Senator Galvez’s Bill S-243, An Act to enact the Climate-Aligned Finance Act and to make related amendments to other Acts.

I am particularly drawn to this bill because it combines two issues that interest me, namely finance and the environment.

Given my past work in financial institutions, and particularly my experience as former president and CEO of L’Alliance des caisses populaires de l’Ontario, I fully understand why Senator Galvez is looking to redefine financial risk management to account for environmental risks, using a systemic approach.

[English]

This bill targets the big players, those with the greatest interest in the financial stability of our country. These are federally chartered financial institutions and other entities, including the Bank of Canada, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and certain pension funds. In managing and assessing risk, financial institutions are concerned about so-called “black swans.” A black swan is an unpredictable event that, if it occurs, could have serious consequences on financial markets. Examples include the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy or the 2007 commercial paper crisis, which represented a $33 billion financial risk for Canada.

In environmental matters, we use the term “green swans” to refer to the risks associated with climate change. Again, these are risks whose impacts are extremely difficult to predict or manage, but which can have catastrophic consequences for our country. These catastrophic consequences are not always of a nature to disproportionately affect financial markets; think of forest fires, floods, wind storms, ice storms and the like. Over the past five years, these climatic events have cost insurance companies more than $13 billion, but have not destabilized the financial markets. The question then becomes whether a weather event could have a high enough impact to cause a financial crisis.

[Translation]

The legislative framework Senator Galvez proposes in her bill is innovative because it covers risk management to mitigate these green swans. This is an excellent solution for financial institutions and other targeted entities.

We need to be careful, though. This proposed legislation would fit into a unique economic context in which financial institutions are resistant to change and slow to get on board with more effective environmental risk management. Why are they so resistant?

The pace of our green transition is important and needs to be evaluated in terms of transition-related risks.

Transitioning toward a new environmental risk management approach is difficult in part because major financial system players are also the entities that finance major polluters. I will come back to this.

[English]

Throughout my time in financial institutions, financial risk management was omnipresent. We had to identify significant activities and evaluate our business practices, analyze our financial position, determine our risk profile and have the funds in reserve to remain profitable under any circumstances. Over the years, and with advances in environmental science, our understanding of climate risk has evolved significantly. Today, we better understand the interrelationship between climate change and the economy, and many environmentalists are sounding the alarm — the green swan alarm.

At the same time, certain industries whose practices do not always align with climate commitments are the livelihood of many Canadians and, in the same vein, Canadians are in large part dependent on these industries. How do we reconcile this dichotomy?

[Translation]

In finance, the “transition” risks associated with an accelerated transition to a low-carbon economy coexist with climate change-related risks.

The relationship between these two types of risk factors that, on the surface, appear contradictory should be taken into account and studied by a committee so we can make sure the measures proposed in Bill S-243 will ensure a sustainable and inclusive transition. We have to try to strike the best possible balance between the risks and the opportunities presented by climate change.

[English]

Senator Galvez is proposing an ambitious, thoughtful and comprehensive legislative framework to allow the big players to manage risks upstream rather than have to pay the price downstream. Let’s remember that if we don’t compel entities to act, the status quo remains and nothing changes. Bill S-243 invites us to reflect, and proposes and invites these entities to step out of their comfort zone and act to bring about change. Thus, in order to ensure market stability in the medium- and long-term, it is incumbent upon the federally regulated financial sector to adapt their operations in a way that mitigates climate change or, at the very least, does not exacerbate it. When this bill is studied in committee, I think it will be important to consider the following elements.

One is assessing the economic impact of the transition on Canada’s GDP. Canada is an oil-and-gas-producing country and part of its economy is based on this sector. How will we finance the transition from oil and gas to other energy sources, and what will the economic impacts be? How fast can this transition take place? Are the timelines reasonable? Realistically and honestly, this transition will take longer than environmentalists would like. How long are we talking about?

The current geopolitical situation has just destabilized the global oil and gas balance. How does this affect decisions made in Canada? What role will Canada have in the global oil and gas supply market? What are the impacts of Europe’s dependence on the transition to clean energy? All of these issues deserve special attention.

While the objective of the bill is laudable, it must also be assessed in a context that takes all factors into account.

[Translation]

Assuming that Canada is serious about the environment and climate change, resistance from key stakeholders can easily put this project on hold indefinitely.

Senator Galvez’s bill proposes seven separate measures. The first concerns the consideration of climate risks. The second is about the alignment of various organizations with climate objectives. The third measure is an obligation for setting targets, planning and reporting. The fourth concerns climate expertise on boards of directors. The fifth has to do with establishing capital adequacy requirements. The sixth is about aligning financial products with climate commitments. The final measure concerns the public review processes on the progress made.

Senator Galvez did an excellent job presenting these measures in her speech, and I invite you to refer to them. I thank her for her leadership and for all the work she does to educate us about the environmental situation in Canada and elsewhere in the world. We have a duty to support her work, which can help ensure a better future for our children and grandchildren. I urge you to vote in favour of this bill at second reading and refer it to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce for study. Thank you for your attention.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the consideration of the second report (interim) of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, entitled Use of displays, exhibits and props in Senate proceedings, tabled in the Senate on April 5, 2022.