Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Would the senator take a question?

Senator Pate, thank you very much for your speech on the social revolution surrounding violence against women. However, that is not what my bill is about. That is not my goal.

I heard Senator McCallum’s questions. I had the pleasure of speaking to her about the treatments offered to violent men in Indigenous communities, which are very successful.

You seem opposed to the monitoring measure set out in Bill S-205. Are you also opposed to mandatory treatment for abusers?

[English]

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for Senator Gold. In 2019-20, a number of newspapers reported on serious revelations about partisan judicial appointments by the Liberal government.

The Liberals were accused of vetting judges using the Liberalist, a database containing confidential information on candidates’ interactions with the Liberal Party of Canada over the years, such as supporting the Prime Minister, participating in federal campaigns and, most importantly, donating to the Liberal Party.

It was also revealed that François Landry, an adviser to the Minister of Justice at the time, wrote emails to his chief of staff saying that he and other aides were being pressured by the PMO about judicial appointments. He said, and I quote:

What we are doing is similar to what led to the Inquiry Commission on the Process for Appointing Judges back in 2010 in Quebec.

We have now learned that Paul Rouleau, the judge presiding over the independent public inquiry into the invocation of the Emergencies Act, had previous involvement with the Liberal Party.

Do you agree with the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint one of his friends to head an investigation that Canadians have been waiting for and that is specifically meant to be independent?