Some Hon. Senators: Question.

Senator Gold: I agree with every point. Thank you for putting it more elegantly than I could.

Senator Simons: I have it in front of me. That’s okay.

Senator Boniface: Thank you for the question, Senator Simons. How Canfield was interpreted — and I hope I spoke clearly on it — was that the court recognized there would be something between what would be the routine check and the reasonable grounds. I will send you the paragraph number to be clear.

Senator Boniface: May I have five more minutes if the chamber permits?

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Senator Boniface, you have 20 seconds left. Do you wish to ask for five minutes more? We have five more senators who want to ask questions.

Senator Wells: Just one supplementary question, Senator Gold. I recognize the sensitivity around this, but I think a good solution — and I don’t know if it has been requested; perhaps you could pass along this request to the parliamentary secretary who is in charge of this file — is to simply request that they be allowed to return to Canada while the investigation is ongoing. I’m sure they would be happy to testify once that investigation is over.

Senator Wells: Agreed. I asked the question and I was waiting for the answer.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Senator Gold, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, testified before the Senate Banking Committee. He has recognized that he and his lieutenants in the Bank of Canada have gotten it all wrong when it comes to inflation. He has also recognized that they have completely misjudged the strength of inflation. Mr. Macklem said:

If you go back to January, we were saying that inflation would peak at about 5%, and by now you start to see some signs it’s coming down. It’s now 6.7% and it’s going to take longer to come down. . . .

Government leader, will you acknowledge that Prime Minister Trudeau and his government should start recognizing the lead taken by the Governor of the Bank of Canada and recognize that they have also gotten it all wrong when it comes to inflation? Furthermore, will you also agree with me that it’s high time that Mr. Trudeau starts thinking about monetary policy?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Speaking of the Prime Minister, while the Prime Minister may never have to worry about the cost of the carbon tax or the cost of anything else, the hundreds of thousands of men and women who work in our energy sector do.

In its 2019 election platform, the Liberal Party promised energy workers a “Just Transition Act,” “giving workers access to the training, support, and new opportunities needed to succeed in the clean economy.”

Leader, Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco reported on Tuesday that the NDP-Liberal government has no implementation plan, no formal governance structure and no monitoring and reporting system in place to support a “just” transition.

Was this your government’s plan all along — to talk down the sector, destroy livelihoods and call that “just”?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, the answer is no. Thank you for your question, senator.

The purpose of the just transition and all the other programs is for the government to do what it can to assist industry, workers and families who depend on those industries to, in fact, weather the transition that the world, capital markets and our own commitment to fighting climate change necessarily impose upon us.

Senator Gold: Again, I thank you for your question. But I think the premise is incomplete if not incorrect.

It is up to the parties, including the party of which you are a member, to decide whether it wants to participate so that Canadians can have the benefit of a fair, transparent and appropriate process or to continue to posture around the issue.

Senator Klyne: Yes. Certainly, thank you, Your Honour.

Senator Gold, what is the government’s targeted plan to address the dismal level of broadband internet access on First Nations reserves? Also, is the government planning to implement a digital transformation strategy to ensure that Indigenous peoples will be mobilized and ready to actively and meaningfully participate in the new digital economy?

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Klyne, if you have a question, could you please get to it?

Some Hon. Senators: Hear! Hear!

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for bringing this back to the chamber’s attention. Regrettably, I don’t have a response, but you do have my assurance that I will follow up and try to get one as quickly as I can.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Senator Moncion, would you take a question?