Senator Lankin: I am also interested, Your Honour, in the question of transition. Because I don’t think it is just about getting more committees going. For example, one of the things that could be considered — in speaking with someone from the House of Commons, indicating that their particular caucus was returning to in-person sittings, with the exception of people who had health challenges; for example, someone who had a compromised immune system because they had been receiving treatment for cancer, let’s say. It would be recognized that there is a wise public health protection provision to allow them to continue to work and be productive and increase productivity or continue productivity, but to allow them to work remotely.

In a transition, when you come forward after June, you would have to — have there been discussions or would you undertake to lead discussions with the other leaders about provisions such as that? Under what circumstances could some individuals continue — where it is warranted — to work remotely and therefore not be docked in terms of attendance and participation or criticized because they are working from their home but nonetheless working?

Senator Lankin: Thank you. I will make this my last question, Senator Gold. I have to say that I was very attentively listening to the arguments that were made. I actually feel it was so refreshing compared to the speeches that I heard at the end of March on this same kind of motion, a much more serious tone, much less just taking shots and digs and whatever.

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I listened and it is a reasonable approach that is being suggested. It would have been nice had it been suggested and discussed before we were here in the Senate Chamber so that we could look at what other kinds of options might be needed.

Specifically, I want to ask you about your reference to hybrid in the future. You know that there are senators who think that for reasons of innovation, technology or carbon footprint, there is a debate. I agree with you that that is not the debate today.

But I want to make sure that you are not precluding that with anything we decide today, one way or the other, on the motion that is the amended motion or this, that that’s in the future.

Second, I want to say that if we are looking at transition plans, I want to see a transition plan — which can’t be accomplished by the motions today, unfortunately — that takes into account those senators over the course of the next two months who are not in a position to be able to return yet, but who are able to contribute and to continue working.

While I thought I was actually going to support Senator Plett’s amendment, and I have no objection following on that with Senator Seidman, I find that it falls short in terms of addressing those particular colleagues, and not just senators.

I know of people in the staff who would benefit from having clarity about how they continue to work and not put themselves at risk when they have, themselves, an immune-compromised situation. Had that been done, I think you would have kept me with you on your side. But maybe that’s something, between now until the end of June, that we could work on.

Hon. Frances Lankin: I have a couple of different points that I want to raise questions on. May I start with understanding in terms of what I’ve heard around the process?

There are some elements of the motion that you moved that actually contain the beginning of a plan for transition, in terms of increasing hours of Senate committees. I’ve heard that Senator Plett contributed to that thinking and I want to say I appreciate that. I think setting out some kind of transition and helping us understand and boosting our opportunity to do really important work, as we see the Budget Implementation Act and other things coming through, is important.

Is that, in fact, the only area of discussion that there was either agreement by some and opposition by the other? Or was there, in fact, also agreement which usually happens in leaders’ meetings to the process that will follow that this would be tabled, it would be called at a certain point in time, that there would be a vote, maybe standing, maybe on division? I do not understand. Normally these agreements are accompanied by a process agreement as well.

Senator Martin: Leader, last June, when I asked why your government had failed to bring forward the “Just Transition” legislation as promised, you blamed “the environment we’re in, including a minority Parliament.”

In fact, according to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the Trudeau government had not developed the legislation. I don’t see how your government’s inaction can be blamed upon a minority Parliament. The commissioner was blunt when he said the NDP-Liberal government was “unprepared and slow off the mark.”

Leader, the just transition consultations — which were also criticized by the Commissioner of the Environment — end this Saturday, April 30. Can we expect even more delay after their conclusion — before we finally learn just what a “just” transition really means to this NDP-Liberal government?