The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Are honourable senators ready for the question?

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Those in favour of the motion and who are in the Senate Chamber will please say “yea.”

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

Senator Gold: Again, in an attempt to respect the confidentiality of the agreement — thank you for your question — no, we brought this forward. I tabled the motion without any agreement as such for exactly how the debate would be structured or what people would say in debate. I had no knowledge of amendments or tactics.

Senator Gold: I think I have answered the question. I really have nothing else to add to the answer I have provided.

Some Hon. Senators: Yea.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Do honourable senators agree that we grant an additional five minutes, maximum?

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 Gold: Thank you, colleague. I certainly will pass that on and make inquiries to satisfy myself that I know as much as I can know about this file.

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?