(Response to question raised by the Honourable Diane F. Griffin on February 21, 2022)

The government continuously monitors Canada’s insolvency laws to ensure that they remain responsive to the needs of Canadians and marketplace developments.

With respect to the treatment of Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, it is important to note that the RESP features that provide flexibility in case a child does not pursue further studies also increase the risk that an RESP could shelter assets from creditor claims in a bankruptcy, without ensuring that RESP funds would benefit the child. RESPs as currently structured are not “locked in” – the subscriber can access contributions at any time, and RESP funds can be used for non-educational purposes. As part of our monitoring of insolvency laws, we will continue to look for any changes in RESPs, such as a lock-in mechanism, that could allow for an equitable balancing of interests among creditors and RESP beneficiaries, while preserving the integrity of Canada’s insolvency regime.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Tony Loffreda on March 24, 2022)

The disbursement quota (DQ) is determined as 3.5% of a charity’s assets that are not used directly in charitable activities or administration, subject to certain thresholds. These assets are reported at line 5900 of Form T3010, but line 4140 can also be used to estimate these assets.

An analysis of 2019 T3010 data found that of the 14,918 charities that appeared to meet the asset thresholds, approximately 82% met their DQ requirement. However, these statistics are only estimates, as the data provided by charities in their Form T3010 has not necessarily been verified for accuracy by the CRA. Generally, an audit would be required to determine whether a charity is subject to, and met, the DQ requirement.

Some charities may not meet their DQ for various reasons – for example, they may experience operational difficulties which limit their ability to expend funds. Charities can request a DQ reduction if they experience circumstances beyond their control and have exhausted other means to make up a DQ shortfall. On average, the CRA receives three of these requests per year.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Rosemary Moodie on April 5, 2022)

Within the first year of the Disaggregated Data Action Plan, Statistics Canada released new data disaggregated by specific racialized groups, Indigenous persons and women by improving and expanding data collection of key surveys, including the Labour Force Survey, Canadian Community Health Survey, General Social Survey and the new Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. Population projections for Indigenous persons and racialized groups have been developed for the next several decades. Groups have been engaged to develop options for appropriately collecting and disseminating data on interactions with police. Based on 2021 Census data, Statistics Canada released its first comprehensive profile of the gender-diverse population on April 27. Access to all the data is provided through the enhanced website of Statistics Canada’s Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub. The Disaggregated Data Action Plan allows for a deeper understanding of the socioeconomic conditions and lived experiences of sub-populations and its information is already being taken into account in decision making.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, senator, for the important question. To the best of my knowledge, the government is still actively reviewing the issue. I did make inquiries and have not yet received a response.

The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you very much, Senator Carignan.

Senator Carignan: You seem to be looking for mandates to give to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. Would you be amenable to letting the Official Languages Committee investigate why the Privy Council Office is incapable of finding bilingual people for senior management positions or for lieutenant-governor positions?

Senator Gold: I certainly will. Thank you.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I will have to make inquiries about the specifics of your question and report back to the chamber.

Senator Carignan: Aren’t you worried the exception might become the rule?

Senator Carignan: Would you take a question, senator?

Senator Saint-Germain: No.

[English]

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, my question is a follow-up to an answer that you gave last month regarding the Canada Infrastructure Bank. At that time, you mentioned two specific projects, including the Manitoba Fibre broadband project, which will create 50 permanent jobs. Although the Canada Infrastructure Bank has been operational since 2017, this is the very first project it has announced in the province of Manitoba. A media report about a year ago said the project was expected to get a financial close last spring. Instead, it wasn’t finalized until last August.

Just like every other Infrastructure Bank announcement, the Manitoba Fibre project has not been completed. In fact, I can’t find any evidence, Senator Gold, that construction has even begun. Leader, has the work begun? If not, when is it expected to start?

Hon. Claude Carignan: Honourable senators, my question is for the Representative of the Government in the Senate. Three Liberal MPs from New Brunswick have spoken out over the past few days. Serge Cormier, René Arseneault and Jenica Atwin have publicly condemned the government’s decision to appeal the court ruling on the bilingualism of New Brunswick’s Lieutenant-Governor.

If the government won’t listen to members of the opposition, will it listen to members of its own party and review the decision to appeal the ruling?

Senator Gold: The issues that the reasons raise include the process for amending the Constitution, the interpretation of provisions of the Constitution Act, 1867, and the scope of the Charter. My understanding is that these issues must be clarified. That is why the decision was appealed.

(For text of Delayed Answers, see Appendix.)

Hon. Claude Carignan: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. I want to revisit your answer to my question yesterday about the place of francophones in the senior ranks of the public service.

In 1962, the president of CN, Donald Gordon, justified the absence of francophones among the 17 vice-presidents of the company he led by stating that they did not necessarily have the skills required to fill these positions. That statement came to epitomize the contempt some anglophones have for francophones, who supposedly are simply not sufficiently qualified.

Senator Gold, your answer yesterday was strangely reminiscent of Mr. Gordon’s in 1962. Do you maintain that your government appoints unilingual anglophones to positions that require bilingualism because there are no francophones competent enough to fill those positions? Are you the Donald Gordon of 2022?

Hon. Claude Carignan: Yesterday, in an exchange with the Government Representative in the Senate, I made it sound as though he had contempt for the Senate. What I meant to say was that he misunderstood the role of the Senate. I would ask that this be corrected in the Hansard, please.

Senator Carignan: You went over the bills the government introduced in the Senate, but did you also realize that, during this session, the Senate is studying more bills at first reading than at second reading? Right now, we have more bills up for pre-study than we do for an objective second reading. Did you add up those numbers?

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Senator Dasko: Thank you, senator. I am not the person to answer questions about the timing of the bill. I think you should address your questions to the Government Representative. Maybe you’ll get some good answer there.

Let me put you on notice, senator, that I will be contacting you to discuss this issue with you in the coming days, so, thank you very much, and you will be getting a call from me. Thank you.

[Translation]

Senator Carignan: In your previous life, did you ever experience translation problems that meant that you could only meet once a week instead of twice and could therefore only do half of your job?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: First of all, your internet connection is not very good so I missed some of what you said. Putting that aside, there is no one specific moment when we need to conduct a study or pre-study. You keep repeating that the session is ending in four weeks.

I have to admit that I find it absolutely unbelievable to start hearing from senators in May that we no longer have time to do things. I must say that this is not in keeping with my former experience as a journalist, where we used all the time at our disposal to get things done. I know that politics is different, and I am aware of that, but it’s quite concerning when I hear, “No can do, we’re out of time.” We are discussing the fact that we have no time left, instead of doing what needs to be done. That is just absurd.

I am not saying that we need to do a pre-study on everything. As Senator Saint-Germain stated, we are not quite back to normal. We don’t have enough time in committee. I’m sure this has an impact on the pace of our work. I am convinced that we should probably conduct pre-studies for bills that are more important, more complex and, in this case, controversial. It’s obvious that there will be more controversy.

My stance on this is pretty firm, but I understand that you don’t agree with me, Senator Housakos. We can debate this in our committee and try to bring in good witnesses to answer our questions.