Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The government does not intend to be the long-term owner of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, and the government will divest its ownership in a way and at a time that benefits all Canadians. The government, indeed, announced that no additional public money will be spent on the project and that Trans Mountain Corporation would secure the necessary funding from third-party sources to complete the project.

I’m advised, colleagues, that the corporation has now secured third-party financing with a group of Canadian financial institutions, and this will be used to fund the project construction costs. As part of this process, the government is providing a loan guarantee to the participating financial institutions, and this is a well-known practice for projects of this size. It does not reflect any new public spending.

This project is in the national interest, and it will make Canada and the Canadian economy more sovereign and more resilient. In that regard, and in all respects, the government remains committed to having good energy projects that fit in with our climate plan.

Senator Galvez: This is now the third letter from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Canada is late submitting its twenty-first to twenty-third combined periodic report to the committee, which was due last year. Does the government plan to respond to these letters and fulfil its reporting commitments?

Senator Gagné: I completely agree. I also believe that, seeing as we have a very complex bill dealing with a quasi-constitutional law that has not been reviewed for over 30 years, along with the experience and content we’ve been able to gather from the 300 witnesses who appeared and the more than 70 briefs we received, all with very specific recommendations, I think we are in a position to have a second look when we receive the bill for the second, or even third, time.

Senator Gagné: Thank you for the question, senator.

The committee is currently studying the immigration policy, which is extremely important in the context of the bill. The bill includes an obligation to develop an immigration policy, so it’s an integral part of the bill.

As I mentioned in my speech, whenever we hear from witnesses, the immigration policy in Bill C-13 inevitably comes up, both in the questions and in the answers.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of May 18, 2022, moved:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at 2 p.m.

Senator Gold: I thank the honourable senator for the question.

The government condemns racism in all its forms and recognizes and understands the importance of combatting systemic racism and discrimination in Canada and, indeed, has taken concrete steps over the past years to address these issues. In the last two years alone, the government has committed close to $100 million through Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy, including $70 million to support community organizations across Canada addressing issues of anti-racism and multiculturalism. Budget 2022 will invest $85 million to support the work under way to launch a new anti-racism strategy and national action plan on combatting hate.

With regard to the specifics of your question, I will make inquiries with the government and hope to report back to the chamber in a timely fashion.

Hon. Brian Francis: Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold. Islanders who applied for Employment Insurance, or EI, during the pandemic were automatically put on to CERB without their knowledge and without confirmation of their eligibility. Now Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, is sending letters to Islanders asking them to repay up to $2,000, which has created confusion and frustration. To us, $2,000 may not seem like a lot, but it is for Islanders struggling to make ends meet. P.E.I. has the highest inflation rate in the country, in addition to high unemployment and rising fuel costs.

Senator Gold, why is Canada Revenue Agency requesting repayments from Islanders who applied for EI but were automatically switched to CERB? That approach is not fair or reasonable, especially for those without the financial means to pay.

Senator Gold: Again, thank you. I don’t have the specific answer, senator, but I will certainly make inquiries. I hope to have an answer in a timely fashion.

Hon. Jim Quinn: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, there is a growing concern across the wine, liquor and beer industry that next year’s automatic excise duty rate increase, which is tied to inflation, could reach or likely exceed 6%. With respect to beer alone, this would be the equivalent of some $41 million in new taxes. The potential 6% increase is due to the implementation of the automatic escalator clause that was introduced in the 2017 Budget Implementation Act, despite concerns of the Senate at the time.

Former Senator Day said it:

. . . takes away power and responsibility of parliamentarians to oversee government expenditure, to act in the interest of the people of Canada to protect the public purse.

In my view, this starts to distort the constitutional principle of no taxation without representation. By creating an administrative efficiency to avoid going before Parliament yearly to increase taxes, we are now faced with a situation of inflexibility with rising rates. This, I believe, distracts or takes away from what was intended in 2017, when inflation rates were low, and we were experiencing significantly lower interest rates.

Senator Gold, will the government repeal the escalator clause related to the excise tax on alcohol products?

Hon. Jane Cordy: Honourable senators, I am extremely pleased to speak today in recognition of National Fiddling Day, which falls on this coming Saturday. In just two days, fiddlers and music lovers will be coming together to share their enthusiasm for fiddle music right across the country.

You may recall the bill establishing this commemorative day was a passion project for our former colleague Libbe Hubley. In her remarks at second reading, Senator Hubley said:

I am convinced that fiddling is the perfect metaphor for Canada. Like Canada, it has deep classical roots but it is strong and confident enough to allow for many regional differences and nuances that give rise to a beautiful harmonic unity. . . . Like Canada, it embraces and accommodates many different styles and traditions, allowing each to thrive and flourish even while we create an entirely new sound.

Senators, it’s true. Indeed, there are styles of fiddling found across Canada, and they each influence one another to create beautiful music. For instance, my home province of Nova Scotia is no stranger to the fiddle.

Cape Breton, in particular, has its own unique style, which can be found across the Maritimes. The Mi’kmaq style is another, and it, in turn, has greatly influenced fiddling in Cape Breton and in mainland Nova Scotia. Where once Cape Breton-style fiddlers dominated, this spring, a young Mi’kmaq fiddler from Wagmatcook First Nation in Cape Breton was nominated for three and won two East Coast Music Awards. Morgan Toney is just 22 years old, but already he’s been called an “emerging fiddle sensation,” gracefully melding Mi’kmaq ancestral songs with a Celtic style. He’s one to watch on the fiddle scene.

Newfoundland has its own style as well, with Irish roots and an Acadian influence. In Quebec and Acadia, you’ll find the French-Canadian style. In Manitoba and elsewhere in the Prairies, you’ll hear the Métis style. In other areas of the West, it’s the Anglo-Canadian style — a mix of Scottish, Irish, English, German, Ukrainian and U.S. swing-style tunes. If you’ve heard Don Messer, a proud New Brunswicker, you know it already. There are as many styles and subsets of fiddling as there are artists to interpret the music.

Since fiddling can be found nearly everywhere, I encourage all senators to seek out events happening this weekend in their own provinces and territories. You will find them in pubs and Legions, on stages and even in kitchens. Have a joyous National Fiddling Day, and enjoy the toe-tapping, delightful sounds that can bring us all together. Thank you.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week, an initiative that is celebrated in the second week of May.

As some of you may know, maternal and newborn health is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. In the past, I took the lead, as the rapporteur for the Inter-Parliamentary Union, or IPU, Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, in drafting a report on the role of parliaments in assisting women and children’s health services. I also played a critical role in a landmark resolution on the matter, and I am proud to say it was the first time a resolution of its kind was adopted by the IPU. As a result, I was named the IPU’s Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

Over the years, my work on maternal and newborn health sadly fell to the sidelines while I focused on a number of other human rights issues. It is now time to bring this issue once again to your attention.

As we finally turn to a post-pandemic future, maternal and newborn health must be an integral part of our conversations. Close to a thousand women die from preventable complications related to pregnancy or childbirth each day around the globe. This a conservative number, as we continue to lack reliable data on maternal deaths in many countries. It is also estimated that in 2020, 2.4 million newborns died worldwide. If current trends continue, it is estimated that 48 million children under the age of 5 will die between 2020 and 2030, half of them newborns.

A Globe and Mail article recently shed light on our country’s lack of standardized review of maternal deaths, even though about 50 to 85 women die each year in childbirth or in postpartum, and over half of these mothers’ babies die as well. To make matters worse, First Nations and Inuit infants die two to four times more often than non-Indigenous infants. Although we are considered a wealthy country, Canada is currently ranked thirty-ninth in the world in maternal mortality according to the World Health Organization, and I plan to speak considerably more on this issue in the future.

Honourable senators, I would like to thank former senator Asha Seth for her continued advocacy for maternal, newborn and child health. Thanks to her work in the Red Chamber, we recognize the second week of May as Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week. Thank you.

Senator Housakos: Government leader, you’re absolutely right. This is a very serious issue, and it requires serious action. Two senior British judges stepped down from their roles with the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal in March, one of whom issued a statement saying that he:

. . . cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression.

Since these resignations took place earlier this year, has there been any communication between the Government of Canada and the former chief justice about her continued membership on this court? Please, government leader, don’t say that it would be inappropriate to do so, because your government had no problem reaching out to Ms. McLachlin during the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

So, yes or no, has your government been in touch with the former chief justice on this matter? If not, why not?

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Two weeks ago, Quebec announced that it would create courts specializing in intimate partner violence cases in more than 20 cities throughout Quebec. As you know, Quebec has passed Bill 24, which will require offenders released from provincial prisons to wear electronic tracking bracelets. Furthermore, in late 2021, Quebec also adopted an intimate partner violence prevention strategy. In the past seven years, the federal government has done nothing to tackle intimate partner violence. This form of violence has been steadily increasing for the past three years.

Senator Gold, how do you explain the fact that your government has not pursued a single strategy to address intimate partner violence and violence against women?

Senator Boisvenu: Thank you for your response, Senator Gold. However, my question was not about whether the government has made investments. I know it has invested a lot in hiding women in shelters.

What is the government doing to protect women who report their attacker?

Canada now has two justice systems for women: the Quebec system that will protect women by monitoring their attackers once they leave prison, and the Canadian system that will not protect women. Does that make sense to you?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. As you know, the administration of justice comes under provincial jurisdiction, so of course there are different systems across Canada, since each province has the right, the privilege, the power and the jurisdiction to legislate in that regard.

The role of the federal government is complementary. It has the jurisdiction to legislate on matters of criminal law, and the systems work together. In a federal system like ours, it is normal that there are different roles and responses from different levels of government.

Senator Gold: Our committees are well known for conducting studies, not investigations. I may have misunderstood your question. The committee and the Senate are responsible for the committee mandates. I will wait for such a motion to be tabled in the Senate before deciding how I will vote, but I am sure that the committee, which has done good work in the past, will continue to do so in an open and non-partisan spirit, as the Senate must do.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the honourable senator for the question. The temperature rises every time you ask me a question.

No, I am not the Donald Gordon of 2022. Donald Gordon’s response comes from a bygone era, fortunately. I will not repeat the response I gave you yesterday. However, I would like to note that the Government of Canada is committed to continuing to ensure that the promotion of French-speaking officials or other leaders is a priority for the government.

Hon. Sabi Marwah: Honourable senators, just last year, a Canadian bank celebrated its one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary. This bank has a storied history and a history of firsts. It was the first institution in Canada to hold a trust company licence, the first bank to link its branches to a central computer system, the first to install automated banking machines and now the first major Canadian bank to appoint a woman as CEO.

Colleagues, if I asked you which bank that would be, I doubt many of you would have guessed Laurentian Bank. Founded in Montreal as the Montreal City and District Savings Bank in 1846, it has made many acquisitions over the years and was renamed the Laurentian Bank in 1987 following its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In October 2020, Laurentian Bank appointed Rania Llewellyn, who is with us today, as President and CEO. Born in Kuwait to an Egyptian father and a Jordanian mother, Ms. Llewellyn is a first-generation Canadian, having immigrated from Egypt in her teenage years after the Gulf War. The family moved to Nova Scotia, where Rania holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, a Master of Business Administration as well as an honorary doctorate from Saint Mary’s University.

Rania began her career as a part-time teller at Scotiabank in 1996. She spent more than two decades at Scotiabank, where she held a variety of progressively senior positions, including Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking, President and CEO of Roynat Capital and Executive Vice President of Global Business Payments.

Rania has a reputation as a transformational change leader, building high-performance teams and creating a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion. Her focus on improving the customer experience and driving shareholder value has earned her many awards, including The Top 25 Women of Influence in 2021 and Women in Payments award for top leader in 2019. Most recently, she was named in this year’s Maclean’s Power List of 50 Canadians who are forging paths, leading the debate and shaping how we think and live.

Over the course of 2021, under Ms. Llewellyn’s leadership, Laurentian Bank underwent a comprehensive strategic review of its operations and announced a new five-point strategy for sustainable, profitable growth: building one winning team, which would work across boundaries, putting the bank ahead of individual or team interests; leveraging size to create a competitive advantage in specialized markets; creating a culture with a relentless focus on the customer; streamlining internal operations; and integrating environment, social, governance, or ESG, practices in everything they do.

These are ambitious plans. In a recent interview, Rania came in a sweatshirt that said, “Underestimate me – that will be fun.” I’m certainly not going to start doing that, but I have no doubt that Laurentian Bank will be a winner in the years ahead. Thank you.

Hon. Bev Busson: Today, honourable senators, an unsung Canadian hero is being laid to rest. Staff Sergeant (Retired) Bill Fridgen lived to be 105 and was, until last Wednesday, May 11, one of the oldest World War II veterans and the oldest living RCMP veteran.

George William Fridgen was born in Saskatchewan, the first of 10 children, on April 27, 1917. He joined the RCMP in 1941, and after volunteering to be seconded to the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, served 33 years in the force, primarily in P.E.I., Regina, Sarnia, Toronto and Ottawa.

To put Bill’s incredible career and legacy in perspective, I should tell you that his RCMP regimental number shows that there have been approximately 55,000 members engaged between then and now. As his grandson stated, he was older than Betty White. Bill’s grandson has recounted a couple of light stories that Bill loved to tell his grandchildren.

As part of the personal protection detail in Ottawa in the 1950s, Bill saw his fair share of world leaders.

As a highlight of his career, he and his partner were assigned by the commissioner of the day to guard the U.S. President and Mrs. Eisenhower at a Quebec fishing camp and watch over their VIP party from another boat. They were told sternly, “Never let the President out of your sight!”

The next day, with the police duo losing few fish that bit their lines, they lost a more important catch: in the chaos of a sudden thunderstorm, they lost the President and his fishing party.

As the rain abated, the other boat was finally found nearby — behind the shelter of a small island.

After Bill and his partner gifted their catch to the VIPs, the President departed in an RCMP float plane. Bill never received feedback from his superiors, except a copy of a cryptic letter from President Eisenhower thanking the RCMP for special services.

Ever a peaceful and charming man, Bill only had to draw his service revolver one time. In Summerside, P.E.I., he was assigned the task of breaking up a moonshine operation deep in the bush. After days of suspenseful surveillance in the woods with only cold, canned food to eat, Bill and his partner confronted their unsuspecting targets, pistols drawn. His excited partner blurted out, “Okay, hands, put up your boys,” to the confused suspects.

During those days, members of the RCMP were forbidden to marry for five years after joining and were required to obtain permission to do so. Despite this delay, Bill and his wife, Mary, had 4 children — 2 boys and 2 girls — resulting in 11 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Today, in Iroquois, Ontario, a large gathering of family, friends and well-wishers — accompanied by the RCMP Honour Guard — are together to celebrate his long, fruitful and meritorious life.

Thank you for your service, Bill.