The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, are you ready for the question?

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, pursuant to the order adopted December 7, 2021, I would like to inform the Senate that Question Period with the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P., Minister of Environment and Climate Change, will take place on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 3 p.m.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, Senator Mockler.

[English]

The current situation in Ukraine, as you point out, and I think we all would understand, underscores the importance of energy security of our allies in Europe and, indeed, around the world. The news of companies interested in investing in Canada is, of course, welcome news. As we work with our European allies to address the geopolitical and socio-economic challenges that are presented by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government is considering all measures to preserve energy supply chains in Canada and, where possible, worldwide.

Canada is well positioned to become a major player in the global LNG industry. The government is taking action to become the world’s cleanest producer of LNG. Now, on specific projects, such as the one that may emerge in Saint John, the government oversees and is committed to fair and thorough impact assessments grounded in science and traditional knowledge. The government remains committed to addressing the potential impacts of development, while ensuring that good projects go ahead.

Some Hon. Senators: Yea.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of February 24, 2022, moved:

That the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance be authorized to examine and report upon the expenditures set out in the Supplementary Estimates (C) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022; and

That, for the purpose of this study, the committee have the power to meet, even though the Senate may then be sitting or adjourned, and that rules 12-18(1) and 12-18(2) be suspended in relation thereto.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Those opposed to the motion to adjourn and who are in the Senate Chamber, please say “nay.”

Hon. Senators: Question.

Hon. Colin Deacon, pursuant to notice of February 24, 2022, moved:

That the Senate adopt the following Environmental and Sustainability Policy Statement, to replace the 1993 Senate Environmental Policy, adopted by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration:

The Senate of Canada is committed to reducing the Senate’s carbon footprint to net zero by 2030 and to implement sustainable practices in its operations. Achieving this goal requires a whole-of-organization approach which prioritizes reduction of outputs and utilizes standard-leading emission offsets. The road to net zero will include quantifiable regular reporting on progress towards target. These actions are to demonstrate leadership as an institution on climate action, to encourage accountability of federal institutions and to inform the legislative process.

The Senate is committed to achieving its objective through adherence to the following principles:

That the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration examine the feasibility of implementing programs to establish:

(a)an accountability framework and annual reporting cycle;

(b)the promotion of climate-friendly transportation policies and reduced travel;

(c)enhanced recycling and minimizing waste;

(d)a digital-first approach and reduction in printing;

(e)support from central agencies to allow the Senate to charge carbon offsets as part of operating a sustainable Senate; and

(f)a process for senators and their offices to propose environmental and sustainability recommendations; and

That the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration acquire any necessary goods and services to examine the feasibility or to implement these recommendations.

Hon. Diane F. Griffin: Honourable senators, thank you for your support. I wasn’t sure we were going to get to this stage tonight, but I really appreciate your indulgence in allowing me to speak to this motion today. I will be brief.

My comments will serve as a prelude to the more fulsome remarks that Senator Deacon will give either later this day or another. I’m the warm-up act for the main attraction.

Senator Deacon, Senator Carignan, Senator Anderson and I worked together since last May on a report that was presented to the Internal Economy Committee in February this year. We were tasked with some recommended short-, medium- and long-term actions that the Senate could take to make our institution more environmentally sustainable.

Our advisory working group report, which is available on the CIBA website, includes 11 recommendations. But the motion before you today asks you to approve two things: the proposed environmental policy statement, and the path that the Internal Economy Committee will take going forward.

The new principles-based policy statement would replace the Senate’s current environmental policy, adopted in 1993. We propose this principles-based policy statement, rather than a policy, in order to take a whole-of-organization approach. The statement is not prescriptive. We have a collective goal of reaching net zero by 2030, but what is practical for one directorate may not be for another. Therefore, we recommend the creation of “green teams,” and Senator Deacon will tell you more about this in his presentation. These green teams will be within individual directorates and an accountability framework to ensure integration into Senate-wide operations. Objectives and targets will be defined and reported.

The second part of this motion that will come from the group would empower Internal Economy to further examine the recommendations and include it in our report which: one, would secure external expert advice; two, empower the directorates of the Senate, senators and their staff; three, integrate a robust accountability framework into Senate governance.

Honourable senators, I thank Senator Deacon and his staff. They have done a lot of hard work on this, as well as Senator Carignan, Senator Anderson, their teams, our collaborators in the Senate Administration, the Library of Parliament analysts and Public Services and Procurement Canada. I know it’s starting to sound like a cast of thousands, but it was a small working group and we reached out to many. It was a great opportunity.

We have an opportunity here to show leadership and to serve as a model for other legislators in Canada and elsewhere. I therefore encourage you to support this motion when it comes to a vote. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Wells, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Omidvar, seconded by the Honourable Senator Audette, for the second reading of Bill S-217, An Act respecting the repurposing of certain seized, frozen or sequestrated assets.

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill S-217, An Act respecting the repurposing of certain seized, frozen or sequestrated assets.

I want to start by thanking Senator Omidvar for bringing this bill forward, for reaching out to me to discuss it and to seek my support. Senator Omidvar has already tabled this bill on two occasions, and I admire her tenacity. I also hope the third time is the charm.

I can tell you off the top that I absolutely do support this bill, just as I hope there will be support for a bill I intend to bring forward with an amendment to our Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, or the so-called Sergei Magnitsky Law, providing for more transparency in the ownership of assets of officials being considered for sanction.

I believe it will further strengthen the Magnitsky Act and strengthen our ability as a country to properly deal with corruption and human rights abuses around the world. That, in a nutshell, is what Senator Omidvar is seeking to do with this legislation: strengthening the way we deal with the likes of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and those who benefit from doing their bidding, not only to exact some degree of justice for their victims but also to show them that their egregious behaviour will not be tolerated by Western democracies. The need to do that couldn’t be better illustrated than by what we’re seeing right now with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

I spoke in the last Parliament about Sergei Magnitsky, for whom the Magnitsky Act is named, when our former colleague Senator Thanh Hai Ngo and I called for Magnitsky sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials for what was happening in Hong Kong and for what was happening, and is still happening, to the Uighur Muslim people at the hands of the communist regime of China.

I think many of our colleagues often think these motions and calls for sanctions are merely symbolic or perhaps an attempt to score partisan political points, but I hope you’re now starting to appreciate that they’re anything but. The truth is we need to be unafraid to start applying these kinds of measures and this kind of thinking when dealing with the world’s thugs and bullies.

That’s why I’m supportive of this legislation. I believe it takes the natural next step of providing justice for the victims and, in practical terms, alleviating some of the stress for those countries and agencies who are left to pick up the pieces from the damage caused by these tyrannical regimes. It is also punitive and, in my opinion, we need more of that. We need justice; we need fairness.

One of the principles behind this bill is very simple: corruption shouldn’t be rewarded, period. So if you’re corrupt, we will find you. We will name you. We will take all of the wonderful treasures you amassed as a result of your corruption, and we will use those ill-gotten gains to take care of the innocent people whose lives you ruined or tried to ruin because of your thirst for power.

We need to send a loud and clear message that the days of corruption, paying off and living the high life off the misery of others while they live in fear and squalor are over and should never ever be tolerated.

Canada wouldn’t be alone in moving on legislation of this kind. With both countries agreeing to sanctioning oligarchs as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland already allows for the repurposing of frozen assets, and the U.K. is considering similar legislation.

Just yesterday, Alaska Congressman Don Young announced plans to introduce legislation that would allow U.S. authorities to seize Russian mega yachts and auction them off to fund humanitarian aid and other just causes. We should be doing the same, but to do so we need to pass this bill quickly.

We could go one step further, as suggested by Senator Omidvar, in the case of Ukraine. Canada could lead the way by proposing a global fund consisting of the monies purloined by Putin and his oligarchs to sustain the humanitarian and reconstruction needs that would follow, a fund that could be administered by the legitimately elected government of Ukraine. But, again, any such action would require this bill to become law.

Let’s not waste any more precious time, colleagues. Let’s get this bill into committee, get it passed and over to the other place without delay. Many voices are calling for it.

We have all been watching the tragic events unfold in Ukraine over the past week. No matter what happens in the coming days and weeks, the human toll is enormous. We’re already seeing tens of thousands of people flocking to the borders as they flee their homeland. They will now be added to the more than 82 million other displaced people around the world, more than half of whom are children, in what Senator Omidvar rightfully called a “displacement calamity.” More than 82 million people have fled their homes because of armed conflict, violence, persecution and human rights abuses by bullies and thugs.

As Senator Omidvar pointed out:

This is the second-highest number of the forcibly displaced since the Second World War and the numbers continue to rise daily. This has created a significant strain, especially on those jurisdictions that border the places they came from, and they themselves are challenged to meet the needs of their own citizens, let alone thousands of arriving refugees.

The truth is we have a tendency to get very caught up in the news of the day, to be moved by the pictures and videos from countries like Ukraine — and before it, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Venezuela — and then, unfortunately, we very quickly seem to move on, business as usual. It’s easy to go back to our own lives and almost forget about what’s happening all the way over there. But now in Ukraine, we are seeing a threat to international order and stability that is so grave we will no longer have that luxury, colleagues. I believe that what we are facing now are not simply isolated acts of aggression and human rights abuses but rather a global rise of totalitarianism. We need to confront that head on, without reservation and unequivocally. While we are also quick to want and pledge to help in the early days of these types of tragedies, the truth is we eventually return to our own lives while the work of taking care of these people has only just begun.

Resettlement doesn’t happen overnight. Take the situation last year in Afghanistan, for instance. We all would have opened our homes in that instant as we watched the horror of people swarming the airport trying to get out of Kabul. But the truth is many of those people and many more who did manage to get out of Afghanistan prior to Kabul falling are now displaced. They remain displaced.

I know many of our offices have been working with Afghan refugees, thanks to the tireless efforts of Senator McPhedran, and while there have been some success stories, this is a long, arduous and expensive process. But what Senator Omidvar is proposing is, as I said, a practical and logical solution.

Colleagues, while I appreciate Senator Omidvar referring to what’s being proposed here as thinking outside of the box, it really isn’t. I don’t say that as a criticism or to be dismissive, but only because I want to point out that it’s not so radical that it should consume us for any great length of time. It is straightforward and already has broad support.

As a matter of fact, as Senator Omidvar pointed out, it’s something that we in the Conservative Party of Canada had in our electoral program in 2021, and it was in the Liberal Party of Canada’s electoral program in 2018. It was also in the mandate letter to then foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne, which has me questioning why it hasn’t been acted upon already. But I don’t want to be accused of being partisan, so I would say it’s obvious that both the current government and Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition support the intention of this legislation. I see no reason to delay its passage, and we should commit this to the committee stage as soon as possible.

The purpose of this legislation is:

. . . to seize the frozen assets of corrupt foreign officials held in Canada through court order and repurpose them back to alleviate the suffering of the people who have been harmed most by their action.

This, colleagues, is a no-brainer. It’s obvious.

Now, I know that on its face it may make some people feel uncomfortable, especially having recently witnessed our own government arbitrarily freezing bank accounts and the mayor of Ottawa musing about the city taking possession of protesters’ property to sell and use the proceeds to pay for policing and cleanup. Yes, that is and should be troubling. But what Senator Omidvar is proposing is nothing like that. If anything, this bill guards against that sort of overreach because her legislation would remove politics from the equation, instead placing the decision making in the hands of our courts.

It’s similar to what we see in class action lawsuits in which assets are frozen and can ultimately be used to fund any damages awarded. What Senator Omidvar is proposing would ensure that same due process, adherence to the rule of law and compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It would provide transparency of the process but also of the assets that have been seized, which we currently do not have. Our government publishes the names of the officials who have been sanctioned, but not their assets. As noted by Senator Dalphond, this process is already entrenched in Canadian law in the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, so we aren’t reinventing the wheel here.

No offence to Senator Omidvar — I’m in no way attempting to diminish her proposal or the work done on this bill by her and her office and the World Refugee & Migration Council. I applaud you for applying this principle to this issue.

My motivation for driving home the point that the intended purpose of this bill isn’t entirely radical is for the benefit of our colleagues so that they can be comfortable with it. The principle of taking from a perpetrator, especially one who benefited financially from their crimes, to give to the victim or victims is one in which I believe wholeheartedly, if for no other reason than it being called justice. Furthermore, it alleviates the toll on the system as a whole. It really is straightforward, colleagues.

The criminals get punished. The victims receive some justice and much-needed support, and the system doesn’t break under the weight of it all. It’s all done through the rule of law and due process. And with that, I reiterate my whole-hearted support for this bill and implore my colleagues to do the same and get this bill to committee forthwith and approve it as soon as possible.

Thank you, colleagues, for your attention.

Hon. Brian Francis: Honourable senators, I rise to speak to Bill S-220. I want to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you from traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin people.

I also wish to thank Senator McCallum for the powerful speech she delivered last Thursday.

I am a proud L’nu, also known as Mi’kmaq. I am living proof of the resistance and resilience of my people. We are still here despite the colonial and genocidal actions perpetrated by Canada and its institutions and actors. We continue to fight to regain control over our lives and futures while working to heal from historical and ongoing trauma.

In my role as a senator from Epekwitk, also known as Prince Edward Island, I have the distinct privilege and responsibility to speak up in support of First Nations and all Indigenous peoples, and in this particular instance to share my perspective on the importance of ensuring that, in the context of reconciliation, Indigenous languages are treated as equal rather than subservient to English and French.

Colleagues, generations of Indigenous peoples in Canada have been deprived of opportunities that others take for granted. We suffer from lack of access to basic services and infrastructure due to chronic underfunding. We suffer from poorer health outcomes and lower life expectancies. We suffer from higher rates of poverty and homelessness. We suffer from lower levels of education and economic success. And we suffer from overrepresentation in the criminal justice and child welfare systems. The odds are against us since before we were born.

I have serious concerns about Bill S-220. In my opinion, the bill reflects a lack of awareness and understanding of the harsh realities faced by Indigenous people across Canada. Moreover, it amounts to a continuation of the status quo, which has directly contributed to exclude, rather than include, Indigenous peoples from participation in all aspects of public life.

The appointment of Mary Simon as the first Inuk and Indigenous person to serve in the role of Governor General of Canada is historical and inspirational. It should be celebrated by all as an important step forward in recognizing the linguistic plurality of Canada. Rather than putting into question her capacity to serve in this role, we should applaud that Mary Simon speaks English and Inuktitut and has committed to improving her French. In 2022, French and English should not be considered more valuable or superior to Indigenous languages.

Like Mary Simon, I am a survivor of the Indian day school system. Like Mary Simon, I was not given the opportunity to learn French in my childhood. The close to 200,000 of us who attended these federally run institutions received a substandard education. There was a greater emphasis on religion than academics. As a result, many of us were left with a lack of basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Unlike Mary Simon, I am not fluent in my Indigenous language, due to the intergenerational impact of the Indian residential and day school systems. There are not many around me who can fluently read, write and speak in Mi’kmaw. Those of us who became fluent in English struggled for many years.

Thirty years ago, educational outcomes for Indigenous youth were grim. Not enough has changed since. The graduation rate for non-Indigenous people is 88%; for on-reserve Indigenous people, it can be as low as 36%. Is it any wonder, then, that Indigenous people obtain a bachelor’s degree at one third the rate of non-Indigenous people?

Not many get to have the long and distinguished career — inside and outside of the public service — that Mary Simon has enjoyed. Very few, if any, have walked in her shoes. That she was able to retain her Indigenous language of Inuktitut at a time when Indigenous languages were suppressed or extinguished makes her story even more remarkable. Her remarkable success is not the rule but the exception.

I’m not here to say that learning French or English or becoming bilingual is not important, however, too often, Indigenous peoples have been squeezed between the squabbles of colonial interests. In the context of the assimilationist and genocidal actions inflicted by the state on generations of Indigenous people, it is not difficult to see how Bill S-220 would serve to perpetuate harm rather than alleviate it.

My language was taken from me. I was forced to learn English. Too many Indigenous peoples across Canada endure the same fate. To those who decry that Mary Simon had many years in the public service to learn French in order to succeed, I would urge them to reflect carefully on why she never did. Then I would ask them: Do you not see the cruelty in telling Indigenous peoples, whose language and culture were violently stolen, that they must learn yet another colonial language to be deemed worthy or deserving of serving Canada?

Colleagues, many Indigenous people continue to struggle to reclaim their culture and languages, but it does not have to be this way.

I wish to highlight the success of the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia. In the 1990s, when high school graduation rates were close to 30%, the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia began to exercise control over their education in their communities, including by creating successful immersion programs where children thrived in both English and Mi’kmaq. Today, the high school graduation rate for Nova Scotian Mi’kmaq students is 90%. Like Mary Simon, many of those students are retaining their Indigenous language. In my opinion, that should be the standard across Canada.

However, Bill S-220, if successful, would signal to these students that even after succeeding academically and retaining their Indigenous language, they would still not be good enough to serve the public good in Canada. Is that really the message we want to send to our Indigenous children and youth?

For the price of my culture and language, I received a substandard education that left me struggling to compete with my peers. For the price of my culture and language, I was taught English but not French. For the price of my culture and language, I am now being asked to rebuild the barrier Mary Simon broke down. Is that fair? No, it is simply not.

Colleagues, I suggest to you that as it is currently envisioned, Bill S-220 would be a step backwards from the good work we have accomplished in recent years. In my first years sitting among you in this chamber, the Indigenous Languages Act was passed. Against the myth that only French and English are foundational to Canada, the preamble of the act recognizes Indigenous languages as the original languages spoken on these lands. Yet, the Indigenous Languages Act stopped short of making Indigenous languages official federal languages. I say “federal” here because Inuktitut, among others, is an official language in the Northwest Territories as well as in Nunavut. This omission must be corrected.

The Indigenous Languages Act spoke to Call to Action 14 of the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was also a small step towards Call to Action 13: “We call upon the federal government to acknowledge that Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights.”

In the context of the bill before us today, Senator McCallum called for Indigenous languages to be enshrined in the Constitution, and I agree. We must consider how this could be accomplished, and how Call to Action 13 may be better served.

Only two languages are explicitly protected by name in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in our Constitution. Importantly, the Charter does not fully outline or advance the language rights of English and French. Instead, as two examples, the advancement of language rights is found in acts such as the Official Languages Act and the Language Skills Act. Simply put, acts like these operationalize those rights.

Indigenous or Aboriginal rights are also recognized and affirmed by the Charter. This language is important because the Charter is not the source of those rights. Slowly and judiciously, Indigenous rights have been laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada, and those outlined are not exhaustive.

In terms of language rights, I wish to point out that the Official Languages Act does not extinguish the legal and customary rights of other languages.

Colleagues, I cannot support Bill S-220, because of its exclusionary intent. However, if the bill goes to committee, I support Senator Dalphond’s suggestion to look at the constitutional validity of using the Language Skills Act to put restraints on the appointment of the Governor General.

I would add that we should use this opportunity to consider how we can begin to operationalize Indigenous language rights. As an example, we could consider changing “both official languages” to “any two official languages.” This change would not diminish the prevalence of French or English as official languages, as assuredly these two languages are more common in Canada.

But while some may lament that Mary Simon does not speak both official languages, I would respond that she does speak two official languages of Canada — one of the original languages and one of the later languages — and I hope that more of our original languages will make that transition to official languages provincially, territorially and federally.

Many of us now begin our speeches with a land acknowledgement. As Senator Dalphond rightly noted, Mary Simon told us, during the recent Speech from the Throne, that land acknowledgements must move beyond symbolism.

This brings me to my final point. I want to preface my comments by saying I have the utmost respect for my colleagues, and I believe them when they voice their support for reconciliation. But I wish to express a dire warning that supporting Bill S-220 in the current context is not in line with efforts to reconcile past and ongoing wrongs.

If we are not willing to withstand some discomfort in the face of noteworthy achievements by Indigenous peoples, reconciliation becomes a hollow, performative act. True and lasting reconciliation is not meant to be easy. It has to be accompanied by actions to disrupt racist and colonial discourses and practices, including the myth that Canada was founded on linguistic duality. The truth is that Canada was not built on linguistic duality, but rather it paved over a linguistic plurality.

We are charged here with legislating on matters that will impact Indigenous peoples, but it feels like time and time again there is a lack of understanding and awareness of the true history of Canada. If we really want to ensure that Indigenous people are not unduly impacted by our decisions, we must urgently address this gap.

To make it a prerequisite for the Governor General to speak English and French — rather than English, French or an Indigenous language — undermines the path towards meaningful and tangible reconciliation.

I understand French may be dying, but Indigenous languages across the country have been strangled for decades, and many have already been killed. In my opinion, protecting the French language does not need to happen at the expense of protecting Indigenous languages. Why should it?

Colleagues, Bill S-220 disregards historical and current realities preventing Indigenous peoples from not only learning or maintaining our Indigenous language, but also becoming fluent in English or French, and, even less, both.

As Senator McCallum said, we are not asking you to learn our languages; we merely ask that you do not stand in our way, as has so often been the case. Please keep this in mind as you deliberate on Bill S-220. Wela’lioq, thank you.

(On motion of Senator Duncan, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Black, seconded by the Honourable Senator Griffin, for the second reading of Bill S-227, An Act to establish Food Day in Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the third time?

(On motion of Senator Omidvar, bill referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.)

(2040)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator Housakos, for the second reading of Bill S-220, An Act to amend the Languages Skills Act (Governor General).

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance be authorized to examine and report upon the expenditures set out in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023; and

That, for the purpose of this study, the committee have the power to meet, even though the Senate may then be sitting or adjourned, and that rules 12-18(1) and 12-18(2) be suspended in relation thereto.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question.

As I explained many times last week, the government was convinced that all of the measures that were put in place and the invocation of the emergency measures were necessary to respond to the crisis.

Fortunately, the state of emergency is over, and the measures that were put in place are no longer in effect.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. Once again, the answer is clear. All of these measures were necessary to put an end to the occupation of Ottawa, which caused a lot of harm to Ottawa residents and in other parts of Canada.

Hon. Stan Kutcher: First of all, I want to thank you for the master class in the discussion on the testing. Outstanding. Thank you so much for that.

I completely agree with the accountability issue that you raised. I’ve been struggling with that, and I wonder if you could think more loudly about it. We have accountability for the federal government with exactly where the tests came from and the accountability of what the provinces are doing with the tests when they go to the provinces. Some provinces sat on them for months and months. Then there’s the accountability from the province to the citizens. Are the citizens getting the tests they need? I happen to live in Nova Scotia. We’ve actually done a really darn good job at rapid testing. If we can do it, other provinces should probably be able to do it as well.

How would you address it? I’m with you on that accountability thing. How do we address that?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. Since coming to power in 2015, the government has made significant investments in official languages, strengthening the institutions and infrastructure that support official languages minority communities, or OLMCs. As part of these positive obligations under the Official Languages Act, the government encourages and supports governments in fostering the development of francophone and anglophone minorities by providing municipal services in both official languages and having them receive instructions in their own language.

I also note that the new version of the bill includes support for non-profit organizations that provide many support services to OLMCs.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, senator, for the question. Let me also add my voice to congratulate Senator Griffin on her contributions over the years.

The situation where Ukrainians are seeking to leave, and Afghans and others, is a tragic one. I can’t answer your question definitively. I’ll make inquiries at each level, but I can tell you this: For over a month now, the government has been giving priority to processing applications from Ukraine and bolstering Canada’s operational capacity in the region. Since January 19 the IRCC has approved nearly 2,000 applications from Ukrainian nationals and other peoples residing in Ukraine across various programs. The government has announced — I won’t go down the list, colleagues — additional measures to support Ukrainian and Canadian citizens in the region, including establishing a dedicated service channel for Ukrainian inquiries and so on. As the situation unfolds, the government is preparing additional measures and will increase our efforts to welcome Ukrainians in Canada.

Senator Omidvar: I should remark that the sound quality is pretty bad, and I only heard a small portion of what Senator Gold said. I will read it in Hansard, but perhaps you would note this, Your Honour.

Senator Gold, Canada is incredibly fortunate to have the second-largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world. As we know, they’re deeply connected to friends, families and communities and are deeply concerned about them because they are now living in unimaginable precariousness and danger.

Will the government announce new numbers for private sponsorship so that the energy and enthusiasm of Ukrainian Canadians can be a bridge to safety for vulnerable Ukrainians?