Senator Plett: We attended briefings on this bill as we always do. No, I did not ask the government for anything personally.

[Translation]

Senator Dupuis: I wanted to know whether the government offered to provide you, as sponsor of this bill, with this analysis, either in its full version or in summary form.

[English]

Hon. Raymonde Saint-Germain: Honourable senators, I ask leave for today’s sitting to begin with 15 minutes of Senators’ Statements concerning the situation in Ukraine, followed by regular statements.

Hon. Donna Dasko: Honourable senators, I speak to you today as a proud third-generation Canadian of Ukrainian background. My grandparents immigrated to rural Manitoba, the Pine Ridge community, from western Ukraine, in 1909. Although I have no existing family ties with Ukraine after a century of my family being here, my Ukrainian identity is strong, and I cherish my ties to friends and family, especially in my hometown of Winnipeg.

I was delighted to shake hands with President Zelenskyy here in Toronto at the Ukraine Reform Conference in 2019.

I was honoured to be a panellist at the Ukrainian Women’s Congress in Kyiv later that year. I could see there with my own eyes what I had been reading about for many years — that Ukraine was becoming a pluralist, open society where people could advocate for social change and vote in free elections.

It was so different from the Ukraine that I first visited back in 1987 during the end days and the dark days of the Soviet regime.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has set out on a path toward democracy and an open economy. That path has taken many turns and has had many ups and downs, but the direction has become clearer and stronger over this past decade.

Vladimir Putin despises this western-facing direction. His goal is to destroy this new Ukraine and return it to the dark days of authoritarian rule.

Russia declared war on Ukraine today, and world history has changed. There is now a world before February 24, 2022, and a world after February 24, 2022. The Europe that was previously at peace has now ended.

This invasion threatens the international order, the rule of law and democracy. The free world must rally to the Ukrainian cause and do so immediately.

We have to implement stronger sanctions against Russia’s economy, banks and the property that oligarchs own, and Russian assets in the West need to be seized.

Ukraine needs more assistance with weapons with which to defend itself. A no-fly zone needs to be implemented over Ukrainian airspace by Ukraine’s friends and allies.

Ukraine will need economic support and humanitarian aid in the days ahead.

In the 1930s, the world was slow to recognize the danger that Adolf Hitler posed to our civilization. We cannot make that same mistake again. Thank you.

Hon. Percy E. Downe: My concern, Senator McCallum, about this bill is the intention. Although it’s very credible, I’m concerned that the unintended impact is that it is restrictive. It doesn’t recognize that when French and English came to this part of North America, there were already at least 90 Indigenous languages. This has become more a bill of exclusion than the original intent. I’m wondering if you share my concern on that.

Senator McCallum: Yes, I do share your concern. That’s why I said it should go to committee, because we need to explore all the areas around language and see where it is that we need to go with the Aboriginal languages. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Wells, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Pate, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dean, for the second reading of Bill S-233, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income.

Hon. David Richards: Would Senator Griffin take a question, please?

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I rise today to share with you a success story. I think we could all use some positive news in light of the tragic events in Ukraine today.

On January 31, 2022, the Government of Canada awarded a seven-year contract worth $592 million to operate and maintain the North Warning System to Nasittuq, a joint venture between Pan Arctic Inuit Logistics Corporation, also known as PAIL, and ATCO’s Frontec Logistics Corp. The contract could be extended a further eight years, for a total valuation of $1.38 billion.

PAIL is a wholly owned Inuit venture that represents Inuit beneficiary organizations throughout Inuit Nunangat, making Nasittuq an Inuit-majority-owned company. As a result, great emphasis is being placed on recruitment and training of Inuit. Funding to the tune of $25 million have been set aside for training, and Nasittuq is actively recruiting for all positions, including management roles.

According to PAIL Chairperson, Harry Flaherty, in a February 2, 2022, Nunatsiaq News article:

Having managers, supervisors and labourers that are all Inuit would help improve communication on the job.

Colleagues, this is a major step in diversifying the economic opportunities of Inuit and ensuring that Inuit play a central role in the defence of their homeland. The next step is to ensure that there is sufficient space for Inuit in any current and future plans to expand and modernize the North Warning System.

A December 20, 2019, Treasury Board directive ensured that preference would go to Inuit contractors within the Nunavut Settlement Area in line with obligations under Article 24 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. That was a good start, but we must continue to push for procurement strategies that create opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses that have, for far too long, been shut out of the government procurement process.

I commend the government for doing the right thing by awarding this major contract to Nasittuq and urge them to continue to put an emphasis on supporting Inuit-led companies in future contract bids across the North.

Thank you, qujannamiik, taima.

Hon. Rosemary Moodie: Honourable senators, I rise today in recognition of Black History Month. In Nova Scotia, it is also known as African Heritage Month. I ask you to join me in celebrating all Black Canadians.

For the past two challenging years, Black Canadians have kept our communities safe and healthy through hard work and caring for each other. Today, I recognize and thank our doctors, nurses, personal support workers, teachers and all front-line workers.

The Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity is a Black-Canadian-run project created to share information about COVID-19 with Black Canadians and to address concerns about COVID-19-related issues. It is just one of the great initiatives that has grown in the past two years.

I was also proud to visit Taibu Community Health Centre last fall to see the incredible work that they have done in Toronto’s Black community, including vaccinating thousands of people within their facilities, while working to increase awareness and health education.

Examples like these demonstrate the extraordinary resilience and determination of Black Canadians, who will always rise to the challenge to support and build our systems and institutions every day.

Today and every day, we celebrate the results of both our advocacy and the support of our allies. Black youth are thriving and having an impact as their voices are given space to flourish: an ever-growing list of Black trailblazers in the sciences, technologies, engineering and math; a reinvigoration of Black entrepreneurship and businesses that is gradually increasing generational wealth creation in African-Canadian communities; and more Black voices in Parliament, championing the needs of all communities.

We in the Senate must look to the work that lies ahead as we tackle issues in child care, housing, economic growth, health care and combatting climate change, all with a more inclusive, intersectional and equity-seeking lens.

Traditionally, we take this month to reflect on our past. This February, and forever, we commit to bringing our voices forward in every policy, every decision and in every debate. We stand determined as we build our future together. Black history is every day, every month and every year. It speaks to who we are as a people, to our story and to our culture.

Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I rise today to congratulate Basile Chiasson, winner of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Law, a national prize awarded by the Canadian Bar Association to honour an outstanding contribution in law reform, legal scholarship or legal research. Mr. Chiasson is the first Acadian lawyer and the first New Brunswicker to receive this distinction, and the second from the Atlantic provinces.

Originally from Shippagan, Mr. Chiasson was called to the New Brunswick bar in 1983 after graduating from the Université de Moncton’s Faculty of Law. He now practises law in Bathurst, New Brunswick, with Chiasson & Roy, a firm established almost 30 years ago in 1993.

This award is presented annually by the Canadian Bar Association, which has over 36,000 members nationwide. The Canadian Bar Association’s award of excellence recognizes one of its members for their overall career, not just a single achievement. Mr. Chiasson’s Rules of Court of New Brunswick Annotated is a standard reference for litigation lawyers and members of the bench. Mr. Chiasson also wrote a book entitled Jugement sommaire : le virage culturel, or Summary Judgment: The Shifting Culture, published by the Association des juristes d’expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick. An established author, Mr. Chiasson has published over 60 legal articles, and his books serve as a reference for many legal litigators.

This award is not the first in Mr. Chiasson’s career, which has spanned over 40 years so far. In 1989, he won the Lawyer of the Year award from the Association des juristes d’expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick. In 2004, he won the Distinguished Service Award from the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.

Colleagues, please join me in congratulating Basile Chiasson on receiving this national award and on his exceptional career.

Thank you and have a good day.

[English]

Hon. Marty Deacon: Honourable senators, even today, in the light of a global crisis, I will take this moment to once again acknowledge and celebrate the efforts, the work and the sacrifices of our athletes at the Olympic Winter Games.

On the final day of the games, Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa was Canada’s flag bearer — a wonderful young lady returning to Canada with gold, silver and bronze speed skating medals around her neck.

Sunday, the last day, continued with Justin Kripps and his crew needing to have a perfect, clean run down the bobsled track to make it to the podium. Very late on Saturday night for us at home, they did — winning a bronze.

There was also Cendrine Browne, who battled through the elements for a sixteenth-place finish in the freestyle version of the 30-kilometre mass start in cross-country skiing — Canada’s best ever Olympic result on that quiet Sunday.

As you know, these athletes did not have their families there. For some, they spoke to their mom or dad at the starting gate or before they stepped on the ice, but if you were following the games on TV or social media, clips will demonstrate they did their best to connect as a team while in a tight bubble throughout three villages in China.

What was Canada’s performance goal at these games? It was primarily to get athletes safely to Beijing, safely to competition and safely back to Canada. It was also to create the conditions for their best performances, some athletes having not competed in more than 500 days.

Under these conditions, 23 medals would have been fantastic. In the end, we had 17 best-ever Canadian results at an Olympic Winter Games. Our athletes are bringing home 26 medals, 8 fourth-place finishes, 9 fifth-place finishes, and 68 top-eight finishes. Being this close is a heartbreak for athletes, but it indicates the depth of talent, performance and resilience of this team.

Following the first-ever bronze medal in ski jumping, Canada joined the United States in having won at least one medal across 14 Olympic winter sports — the most among all national Olympic committees.

On Sunday at the closing ceremony, you saw many athletes celebrate. As they reached into the back collar of their jackets, a gift, our Canada flag, was released from every jacket as they walked into the stadium. The Maple Leaf was everywhere.

Many athletes will arrive home Tuesday to no media or fanfare, all due to COVID, but we clap, cheer and thank every one of those 490 members of Team Canada. We also thank the volunteers and staff who, in many cases, spent 40 days in Beijing ensuring a million small things went just as they should.

Colleagues, I invite you to join me in congratulating all of Team Canada. Thank you for your participation in National Health and Fitness Week and wishing our Paralympic athletes the very best next week.

Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Leo Housakos introduced Bill S-237, An Act to establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code.

(Bill read first time.)

Hon. Sabi Marwah, Chair of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, presented the following report:

Thursday, February 24, 2022

The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to present its

SECOND REPORT

Your committee, which is authorized by the Rules of the Senate to consider financial and administrative matters, and pursuant to the Senate Administrative Rules, to prepare estimates of the sum that will be required from Parliament for the services of the Senate, has approved the Senate Main Estimates for the fiscal year 2022-2023 and recommends their adoption.

A summary of these Estimates is appended to this report. Your committee notes that the proposed total is $121,821,702.

Respectfully submitted,

SABI MARWAH

Chair

(For text of report, see today’s Journals of the Senate, Appendix, pp. 297-303.)

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 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.

[Translation]

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 1, 2022, at 2 p.m.

Hon. Colin Deacon: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

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. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, in accordance with rule 12-7(14), be authorized to examine and report on such issues as may arise from time to time relating to human rights generally; and

That the committee submit its final report to the Senate no later than June 12, 2025.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Thank you, Your Honour. My question today, again, is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Leader, the Emergencies Act is revoked, but the Trudeau government mandates that sparked the protests remain in place. Provinces all across the country are dropping their mandates and giving hope to Canadian families and businesses.

Just yesterday in this chamber, as we were debating the Prime Minister’s non-existent emergency, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia were putting forward their plans to ease restrictions. Yet the Trudeau government still hasn’t said that it will shelve their proposed vaccine mandate for interprovincial trucking.

Leader, I asked you recently to confirm that this foolish idea is off the table, and you didn’t really answer my question. Now that in itself isn’t a big surprise. Today, I’m going to give you another chance. Also, you gave me an opportunity yesterday to answer a question with either a “yes” or “no.” So today I’m going to afford you the same opportunity: a yes-or-no answer. Will the Trudeau government call off its interprovincial trucking mandate?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. Notwithstanding the revocation of the state of emergency, the Emergencies Act still provides that the parliamentary review committee shall be established. Indeed, it requires that the committee report back to both houses of Parliament, within seven sitting days. It is the intention of the government, as it has been for some days now, to move with as much dispatch as possible for that committee to be established.

Honourable senators may already know, if you are following Twitter, that there have been proposals already made public by both the Conservative Party of Canada and by the government for how this committee would be established — or rather, proposals for what the committee would look like in terms of the number of senators and the number of members of the house. My understanding is that discussions continue to be underway with the House leader in the other place and his counterparts in all other opposition parties to seek a consensus to move forward as quickly as possible. I am intimately involved on an hourly basis to be kept aware of that.

With regard to the first part of your question, I think it’s important to understand that the committee will clearly have access and the ability to seek all the information it deems relevant, subject, of course, to whatever legal requirements or legal limitations there may be on the information that can be shared even to that committee, as I explained at some length and on some occasions the other day.