Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I rise today to bring attention to the unsettling reports we have seen over the last few days regarding the most recent escalation in the ongoing conflict in the Republic of Artsakh.

On March 24, Azerbaijani forces made various incursions into Artsakh’s territory, representing a gross violation of the trilateral ceasefire arrangement of November 2020, which was intended to bring an end to hostilities.

The attack of March 24 came just days after the disruption of a gas pipeline that runs through Azerbaijani-controlled territory in a deliberate attempt to deprive hundreds of thousands of civilians of vital gas supply. Additionally, there are reports that Azerbaijani forces have been threatening residents of front-line villages with violence if they refuse to flee.

Peaceful civilians are being forced to abandon their homes and their Indigenous lands. Women and children are being evacuated. Drones and artillery are being used to claim innocent lives and to engage in intimidation tactics meant to displace thousands of civilians, representing the worst escalation in the region since the November 2020 ceasefire arrangement.

Colleagues, there is absolutely no doubt who the aggressor is here. While Armenia has adhered to the terms of various ceasefire agreements, Azerbaijan has violated each and every one of them, making it abundantly clear that it is not interested in putting an end to hostilities through peaceful resolution. Rather, this attack represents its most recent attempt to fulfill its ultimate goal: the depopulation and ethnic cleansing of the Armenian people.

These continuous attacks by Azerbaijan must be called out for what they truly are: blatant war crimes and a clear violation of international law. It is our responsibility as Canadians, as defenders of democracy and as upholders of the rule of law to be unequivocal in our condemnation of these aggressions and to denounce the abhorrent crimes against humanity we are witnessing right before our eyes.

That is why, today, in the strongest possible terms, I stand to condemn Azerbaijan’s unprovoked aggression in Artsakh and to call upon the Azerbaijani government to abide by the November 2020 ceasefire agreement and refrain from escalating the situation. It is my hope, honourable colleagues, that the Canadian government will do the same. We must stand firmly with the people of Artsakh as they continue to live and fight in their historical homeland, and as they work to develop and strengthen their independent statehood.

Thank you.

Hon. Wanda Elaine Thomas Bernard: Honourable senators, I join you today from East Preston, Nova Scotia, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq.

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day, and in Nova Scotia April is Autism Acceptance Month. I would like to acknowledge the strides we have made toward equity, diversity and inclusion, while noting that there is still much more work to be done.

As we move from awareness to acceptance and now action, it is time to use employment equity more effectively. CASDA’s upcoming Canadian Journal of Autism Equity issue on employment highlights the necessity of ongoing supports for people with disabilities, particularly people with autism.

Colleagues, accommodation is not a burden.

Over the past two years, we have seen the devastating impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities. We have also seen an increase in racism and hate crimes, and employment is one of the places where racism and discrimination flourish. People living at the intersection of marginalized identities, such as Indigenous peoples, African Canadians and other racialized people, have been disproportionately affected by those dual pandemics. Business closures, restrictions due to COVID-19 and social-distancing requirements have all contributed to a labour market that, more than ever, presents significant barriers for persons with disabilities to remain in, enter or re-enter.

Currently, one in four persons on the autism spectrum or with an intellectual disability is employed, representing the lowest labour-force participation rate of all disability groups in Canada. We must take action to include those with intersecting marginalized identities into Canada’s economic recovery plan as we build back better.

Honourable senators, in honour of Autism Acceptance Month, please commit to actions that will lead to meaningful changes in employment for those caught at the intersection of autism and racism. Asante, thank you.

Hon. René Cormier: Colleagues, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, an Acadian and Canadian politician who inspired us all.

Honourable senators, as Francophonie Month wraps up, and knowing that artists play a more important role than ever in our uncertain world, I would like to pay tribute to an Acadian filmmaker and screenwriter who is using her formidable talent to do good work.

Renée Blanchar was the first Canadian woman to attend the famous Fémis school in France, and in 1989, she was the youngest-ever jury member at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

She could have pursued her career in the big city, but after completing her studies, Renée Blanchar returned to her hometown of Caraquet in Acadia, founded a production company and began to produce numerous documentaries and fiction films. Her two latest projects are particularly important to Canadian cinematography.

Driven by her search for truth, Renée Blanchar made The Silence, a National Film Board of Canada production that sheds light on the abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests against young boys in many francophone towns in New Brunswick from the 1950s to the 1980s. In this shattering documentary, men who are now in their fifties offer emotional accounts of the harms done to them by Catholic priests over decades of abuse.

The NFB describes it as follows:

With The Silence, she takes us as close as she can to the humanity of these broken men, revealing the forces that, today as in the past, have the power to unite or divide Acadian communities.

This film lifts the veil of secrecy on unspeakable abuse and suggests that only a national inquiry could truly break the silence surrounding these events that continue to mark our communities.

This remarkable director’s second recent project work is a television series on the life of the fascinating and prolific Franco‑Manitoban author Gabrielle Roy. Inspired by and adapted from the author’s writings, Le monde de Gabrielle Roy unfolds in eight episodes that tell, and I quote:

The coming-of-age story of celebrated novelist Gabrielle Roy, growing up in the family home on Deschambault Street in Saint-Boniface.

This series was shot entirely in Manitoba with a talented cast and crew from Acadia, Quebec and Manitoba.

Gabrielle Roy’s literary output, consisting of roughly 30 novels, collections, short stories and novellas that are at once imaginative, intimate and autobiographical, is now a cornerstone of Canadian literature. To our delight, the talented director Renée Blanchar has brought Gabrielle Roy back to life right before our eyes.

With these two works, Renée Blanchar has offered us something to think about and celebrate during these difficult times. She has given us two invaluable gifts that do us good and help us better understand the country we call home.

Thank you, Renée Blanchar, for contributing so much passion and talent to Canadian film. Keep making films that provoke and move us.

Thank you.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate) moved third reading of Bill C-15, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.

She said: Honourable senators, I am pleased to rise today to introduce the appropriation bill for the 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates (C).

Through this appropriation bill, the government requests Parliament’s approval of the planned spending proposals that are detailed in the Supplementary Estimates (C).

[English]

As my esteemed colleagues well know, the appropriation bill is a vehicle through which payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund are authorized for government programs and services.

The voted amounts in these supplementary estimates represent maximum “up to” ceilings or estimates. It is, therefore, not out of the ordinary if these amounts are not fully spent over the course of the year. The actual expenditures are listed in the Public Accounts of Canada, which are tabled after the end of the fiscal year.

The estimates family of documents, which consists of the Main Estimates, supplementary estimates, departmental plans and departmental results reports, in conjunction with the public accounts, help parliamentarians scrutinize government spending. This scrutiny is a key element of our parliamentary system. This scrutiny, we must acknowledge, is not always a straightforward matter.

A number of our colleagues on the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance did express some difficulty in ascertaining information in a timely fashion. I want to assure my colleagues that the Government Representative Office in the Senate has taken note, and continues to consistently deploy its best efforts to bring this to the attention of the government.

[Translation]

That said, I will talk about the Supplementary Estimates (C), 2021-22, which form the basis of this appropriation bill.

As my colleagues know, supplementary estimates present information on additional spending requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or that were subsequently refined to account for recent developments.

The Supplementary Estimates (C), 2021-22, were tabled in the Senate on February 21, 2022. These are the third and final supplementary estimates for the current fiscal year.

In general, they provide information on $13.2 billion in new voted spending for 70 federal organizations. They also present information on an additional amount of $3.9 billion in planned statutory budgetary expenditures.

It is important to note that these statutory expenditures were authorized either under existing laws or in the proposed—

(Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, to receive a Minister of the Crown, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety, appeared before honourable senators during Question Period.)

Hon. Percy Mockler: Honourable senators, it is with great sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to an extraordinary woman, a friend, a proud Acadian, New Brunswicker and Canadian, for her leadership and for always being there to help the most vulnerable. Claudette Bradshaw passed away on Saturday after a long and courageous battle against cancer. New Brunswick has lost a great champion, an unprecedented icon of the Canadian Parliament.

Minister Bradshaw and I had the same social portfolios in the early 2000s, she for the federal government and I for New Brunswick, under the direction of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Premier Bernard Lord respectively.

[English]

Madam Bradshaw was a great ally, and we also had another common denominator with our files: Both of us had personal experience with welfare and its challenges. Claudette Bradshaw was remarkable.

[Translation]

Honourable senators, her desire to help her community began nearly 50 years ago with the founding of Headstart in Moncton. This initiative was aimed at meeting the urgent needs of the region’s most vulnerable residents.

Like me, Claudette Bradshaw always strove to make our region, our province and our country a better place to live, work, and raise our children and, above all, to help the most vulnerable. Claudette Bradshaw was a woman of principle, a woman of strong values. She always demonstrated great loyalty to her community.

[English]

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien described Claudette as a shining example of someone who dedicated her life to the service of others. For my part, I would also add that many people, many families, have benefited from her hard work and dedication. She found it an honour to serve the community. She was a tireless advocate for early intervention services.

Honourable senators, there’s no doubt in my mind that she changed the lives of many New Brunswickers and Canadians. Her lifelong dedication to assisting those in need had an immense impact on countless Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Claudette was very proud of her family: Christopher, Nicholas and her spouse, Doug.

[Translation]

I offer my deepest condolences to her family.

[English]

Honourable senators, as I conclude, Winston Churchill once said:

. . . it is better to be both right and consistent. But if you have to choose—you must choose to be right.

Honourable senators, I have personally witnessed that Minister Bradshaw was always right, and she was always consistent in defending the most vulnerable.

[Translation]

Claudette, I tip my hat to you. Rest in peace.

Thank you.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you very much, senator. Before I get to the substance of my response, I want to thank you and all of the senators for welcoming me to my maiden voyage here in this Question Period. It is truly an honour and a privilege to be joining you in this chamber. It is an impressive body of work that you contribute to our democracy, and I want to begin by expressing my gratitude for all of the work, the studies and the interventions that you bring on behalf of Canadians.

Senator, you raise an important question around 5G, and you are quite right that the government is committed to rendering a decision and issuing a statement as soon as we possibly can. I will say that it is also important that we get this decision right, and that we look as the principles and the values that underscore the decision but, equally, that we understand the threats to our national security as they have evolved as it relates to any potential challenges that may be presented in the context of 5G and of our cyber infrastructure. I assure you that we appreciate the urgency that you have expressed in your question. As soon as we can communicate a decision, we will do so.

Senator Housakos: Thank you, minister. Clearly, you do not appreciate the urgency because it has been three years and we’re still waiting for a clear and unequivocal answer on whether we will ban them or we won’t.

In December, The Washington Post reported 100 confidential PowerPoint presentations that lay out Huawei’s participation in mass surveillance of Chinese people by their communist regime, including the local tracking of political persons of interest. The document also shows how Huawei is involved in human rights violations against the Uighurs in Xianjing province through surveillance, cameras and facial recognition. One document appears to show that Huawei did technology design work on their prisons. Is this not enough reason to ban Huawei, minister? If this is not reason enough, what will it take for your government to ban them? And, please, it should not take three or four more years until we get a final decision.

I want to assure you that as we undertake a careful review of all of the factors that go into this important decision that we are not sitting idle, that we are deploying a number of strategies and countermeasures to ensure that any hostile actors, be they state or non-state, are being mitigated and addressed in real time. We’ve made significant investments into our national security apparatus with the various agencies that report to my portfolio, as well as others within government, so that as we leverage the new technologies and innovations that are important to keep Canadians and others connected through the internet and cyberspace we are doing so in a way that recognizes that there have been evolutions to the threat landscape, including those which may be perpetrated by hostile state actors. We’re very mindful of the concerns that you have expressed. We do recognize that there is an expectation and an urgency to communicating the decision and we will do so as quickly as we can.

Hon. David M. Wells (Acting Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Thank you and welcome, minister. This is my third time rising in this chamber to ask this question for which the Government Representative in the Senate was not able to provide an answer. You are the Minister of Public Safety, so I would hope that you would have this answer.

In February, more than 200 bank accounts, worth nearly $8 million, were frozen through the authority of the Emergencies Act. Those are 200 accounts of ordinary Canadians — not truckers, just ordinary Canadians. Given that the authority under the act was revoked on February 23, a full five weeks ago, will you tell this chamber — and indeed all Canadians — if any of the accounts remain frozen and, if so, under what authority given the revocation of the Emergencies Act?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you very much for the question, senator. I would begin by underlining that the illegal occupation that took place here in Ottawa, as well as the blockades that occurred at a number of our ports of entry in British Columbia, Manitoba and various ports of entry here in Ontario, presented a grave and serious threat to our security. It had a significant impact on our economy. Many Canadians were idled in their employment as a result of it. That is why we had to invoke the Emergencies Act, which included among its targeted powers the —

Hon. Kim Pate: Welcome, Minister Mendicino. While we recognize that Correctional Service Canada does not have control over who is sentenced to prison, correctional policies and decision making, as you know, have the power to either reinforce or help redress the current mass incarceration of those who are most marginalized.

What are your specific plans with the department to first build upon existing exchange of service agreements between provinces and territories to ensure and expand the use of transfers of prisoners with disabling mental health issues to provincial health care facilities, as authorized by section 29 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act — so that they can receive the appropriate health care and treatment they need — and second, to eradicate current policy and practical limits imposed by Corrections on sections 81 and 84 of the CCRA that legislate the transfer and conditional release of Indigenous prisoners and other marginalized prisoners to the care and custody of communities?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you, senator, not only for the question but for your ongoing advocacy in this space. You know that I am passionate about these issues, having worked in the criminal justice system myself.

I will say that I think it is imperative that we work with provincial reformatories and governments in the correctional space to ensure that there are appropriate transfers according to the principles that are laid out in the statute, but I also want to take a moment to underline what the core of the problem is.

The core of the problem is the long and historic overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples, particularly in our jail systems, as a result of the systemic challenges and racism that we have seen within our criminal justice system. That is something that we have to change.

Among the many things that we are doing in Correctional Service Canada is allowing for the transfer flexibility and supports required are given to those who are serving out their sentences in our inmate facilities. We have to address the upstream challenges as well. That means making sure that we can divert Indigenous peoples away from the criminal justice system before they get there. That means investing in mental health, housing, education and continuing to make the progress that is needed around safe water. Those are root causes of the problems that you identified in your question, but certainly when it comes to transfers and other supports that we can provide, we will do that in a way that is consistent with rights under the Charter.

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: The short answer is as soon as possible. We are in the midst of discussions with leaders of Indigenous communities and the organizations that represent them at the national level. We are making a lot of progress in that regard, but we also need to start working with local communities.

The first practical step involves using federal investments to co-develop a bill to advance reconciliation in a way that respects the report and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. That is the first step.

Also, to finish my last answer to Senator Carignan, yes, a bill is planned to increase mandatory minimum sentences.

[English]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, thank you very much for the question. I will start by answering the last component of your question.

We are introducing transformative, new investments to both stabilize Indigenous policing for those communities that have access to it, but equally to expand Indigenous police services to those who are still in need of it. It is my sincere hope that we’re going to be able to move forward with legislation that will ensure that Indigenous policing is seen as an essential service, which it is, because Indigenous peoples, like all Canadians, have a right to be safe in their communities.

I will say that my mandate lays out very clearly a number of ways in which we hope to move forward, in conjunction with the RCMP, when it comes to transforming the police service. I am very encouraged by the conversations that I have had with the commissioner around making changes to our Management Advisory Board, which is an adjunct body that provides independent advice to the commissioner, by making additional changes around the way in which grievances are brought forward, particularly as it relates to those claims involving sexual harassment and violence within the service, to make sure that that process is independent and, lastly, to be sure that the RCMP is reflective of the diversity of our country.

In conclusion, I would say that I am very proud that the RCMP has deployed to the International Criminal Court to advance the investigation into war crimes in Ukraine.

Hon. Vernon White: Minister, thank you very much for being here. Since 2006 and just prior, the federal government made a decision to shift the three separate legacy agencies working at our borders to become a new agency: the Canada Border Services Agency. With the change came new training, equipment, firearms, use of force and new peace officer powers, but the officers are not police officers and cannot carry out the duties of police officers. I have asked ministers for the past decade why we do not shift the CBSA’s role at our inland and border crossings to provide them with the police officer designation, with immediate responsibility and accountability.

As we saw from the recent challenges at our border crossings — and there were many other incidents across Canada over the past years — it could have been helpful. Arguably, it would be helpful every day, as the access to police officers at the more than 100 Canada-U.S. border crossings is not always available. Canada is one of the very few countries, if not the only one, not to have that in place.

Why can we not action such a move from the current half measure to a more fulsome model of border security and law enforcement?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: First, we would say to them that the government is very aware that there have been far too many tragedies caused by gun violence. You’re right, senator, it’s a serious threat not just in Quebec, but across Canada.

Roughly two weeks ago, I had a productive meeting with my Quebec counterpart, Minister Guilbault, and we agreed to do more work on this issue, which is having a major impact on the province of Quebec.

We have a very effective strategy, but we must invest more in our police forces, as we have already done, to help them prevent illegal gun trafficking at the border.

Last week, I also had a meeting with my U.S. counterpart. In the past week, there has been a record number of arrests. Progress has been made, but we must make more investments to help prevent gun violence.

Finally, this government promised to introduce stricter controls to ensure public safety in communities. There is a three-pronged strategy in place, and the work will be done in collaboration with the provinces.

Hon. Renée Dupuis: Welcome to the Senate, minister.

Your mandate letter says that you are responsible for co‑developing a bill on First Nations policing. On March 22, your department and the two other ministers responsible for these issues launched an engagement process to consult with First Nations.

Funds have been allocated. You said earlier that you want to stabilize existing police services and also expand them to communities still in need of such services. Can you tell me how the funds are being allocated, since the situation in First Nations communities varies a lot from province to province?

Also, can you tell me what steps you plan to take following these initial consultations in order to be ready to introduce a bill, and what the deadline is for completing this process?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Minister, the Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for seizing goods produced by forced labour at the border.

Such seizures are very rare, partly because the standard of proof is almost impossible to meet. In addition, Canada releases hardly any information about the seized goods or the company involved, because it says this information is protected under the Privacy Act.

In the United States, however, the authorities are much more transparent. They have carried out 31 seizures in three years. They publish the date, the type of goods and the name of the supplier. Obviously, this information can then be used by American businesses to avoid sketchy suppliers.

By hiding information about seizures of goods produced by forced labour, isn’t Canada putting businesses’ commercial interests ahead of workers’ human rights?