Senator Seidman: I actually have a question for you Senator Gold, maybe a couple of questions, if you will take them.

Senator Gold: Of course.

Senator Gold: That’s a good question. I think we would all acknowledge that at the very beginning of the pandemic, with so little known then as compared to what we know now, that it would have been hard to predict in all respects what was needed. The government understands, and we expect and look forward to obtaining the lessons learned as we emerge.

What is clear, senator, is over the last number of months the government has been able to predict, and has responded responsibly to the escalating and exponentially increasing demand. That is why the government spent billions of dollars already. That is why the government exhausted its existing spending authorities, to make sure Canadians had access to as many tests as we could provide in January and February. The problem is the demand is still there and is likely to increase, and there are no spending authorities left to respond. There won’t be any until either Bill C-10 is passed or we arrive at a point where the supplementary estimates are passed which, as we all know, is many weeks from now. I hope that answers your question.

Senator McCallum: You partially answered the question I had in your response to Senator Ringuette, but I was wondering if there was anything else you wanted to add. Is there any way that the provincial, federal and territorial governments could have predicted the need for rapid tests in the past, at this late stage and in the future?

Senator Gold: Yes, of course.

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Senator Gold, may I ask you one question?

Senator Gold: That is not only the nub of my argument, but you have expressed it far more economically and elegantly than I could have.

Hon. Jim Quinn: Will the honourable senator take another question, please?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(The sitting of the Senate was suspended.)

(The sitting of the Senate was resumed.)

[Translation]

Hon. Scott Tannas: Senator Gold, I have a few quick questions. It might have come up at committee. You may know or you may not. Will the government be procuring these tests directly from manufacturers, or will there be intermediaries involved?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for highlighting the importance of this issue. I also thank you for your commitment and dedication to this cause.

With regard to police investigations, I have nothing to say at this time because it would not be appropriate to comment, even if I had all the information to answer those questions.

With regard to the awaited bill, the government has not yet announced a specific date, but as soon as the bill is introduced, we will have the opportunity to examine it in detail in the Senate.

To answer your question more generally, like all Canadians, the government is concerned about the harm that pornography, particularly child pornography, does to those involved, and it will continue to closely monitor this issue.

Senator Bovey: In picking up on the questions by Senator Ringuette and Senator Cordy, many of us will soon, we hope, be seeing our families for the first time in well over two years. I for one now have plans, I hope, to see all my family, children and grandchildren in the U.K. for Easter and this will be the first time in almost two and a half years.

Government policy says that, obviously, I will need rapid tests. I agree with Bill C-10 and will vote against the amendment. But are you saying that if Bill C-10 does not pass unamended today, I may not be able to access those rapid tests and thus won’t be able to see my family after all of these two years plus?

Hon. David Richards: Thank you very much, Senator Gold. We all hope you are right on that. This question is comparable to Senator Wells’s question that he asked a few moments ago.

I have asked this question before. What steps is Canada taking or prepared to take to counter Russian and Chinese activities in the Far North? Does our government even have the will, knowing we do not have the means, to address this growing concern?

You mentioned NORAD the last time this question was posed by me, but we know, as far as the North is concerned, the U.S.A. has its own strategic interests — at times very independent of Canadian concerns — and has asked Canadians, on many occasions, to step up with their own abilities in the North and that Canada has not done so.

Senator Gold: Well, that’s a good question. I think the answer is perhaps some combination. I think the minister or the officials in testimony outlined the different ways and challenges they have. Some are directly from manufacturers and some are from distributors so to speak. I don’t have more details than that, Senator Tannas. All I do know is — and the testimony was very clear — that there is a very competitive marketplace for procuring these. Canada has worked carefully and responsibly to approve large numbers of tests, including rapid tests. Within that basket of approved Health Canada tests, they are seeking to procure them in the best way possible, getting the most secure, safe and the best-priced supply as is possible in this environment.

Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Therefore, honourable senators, in amendment, I move:

That Bill C-10 be not now read a third time, but that it be amended on page 1 by adding the following after line 13:

Thank you, colleagues.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): As I have said on many occasions, the government will make an announcement when it has made a decision. This chamber will be amongst the first to know.

Hon. David Richards: Senator Ringuette and Senator McCallum asked the question I was going to ask, but I’ll put it in a slightly different way, Senator Gold, if I could.

Have we tracked the percentage of people who are demanding rapid tests over the last three or four months and if that demand has gone up or down? Is there is any way to know how it varies?

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

The Hon. the Speaker: The vote will take place at 11:50.

Call in the senators.

(1150)

Motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Seidman negatived on the following division: