Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I stand before you once again. My hometown of Peshawar bleeds, 56 people killed this afternoon, over 200 injured and all they were doing is going for prayers. I want to acknowledge the devastation that has been directed upon Peshawar again and again. I don’t know a single family, including my own, that has not been affected by the years of terrorism, for which there is never any acknowledgement. I want to stand and acknowledge all the lives lost in Peshawar today and in the years gone by. Thank you, Your Honour.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I give notice that, later this day, I will move:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 2 p.m.

Hon. Paula Simons: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative. On Monday this week, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference served notice that its members who work for CP Rail as engineers, conductors, trains persons and yards persons had voted in favour of strike action, with 96.7% voting in favour. The federal government, as I understand it, has appointed a mediator and talks are ongoing. However, given all the recent shocks to our rail system and supply chain, people in my province who depend on CP Rail are understandably nervous about the prospect of a freight rail strike.

In the circumstances, this is perhaps not an entirely fair question to ask, but what assurances can you offer us that the government will do what it can to make sure there is not another major disruption in Canadian rail shipping?

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

[English]

Senator Seidman: It is my impression and understanding that the amendment I have proposed coheres completely with an amendment that was made to Bill C-8 when the government committed $1.72 billion for tests in December. Would you agree?

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 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. Mary Jane McCallum: Senator Gold, will you take another question?

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.