The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the time for Question Period has expired.

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

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

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

(On motion of Senator Carignan, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

(1430)

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you kindly, Senator Mercer.

(At 4 p.m., pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate earlier this day, the Senate adjourned until 2 p.m., tomorrow.)

Appendix—Senators List

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, Senator Omidvar, for your question and for giving me some time to inquire. Regrettably, I have not received an answer yet.

I have been assured the government desperately wants to see Mr. Badawi reunited with his family and remains committed to supporting him and them. When I do hear back from the government with particulars, I will report it in a timely manner.

Senator Bellemare: As you know, Quebec is dealing with a serious labour shortage. In September, Quebec’s job vacancy rate was 7.3%, which amounts to 280,000 unfilled positions. This is unprecedented in Quebec or anywhere else.

In the meantime, the number of people actively looking for work was more than 255,000. To address this problem, yesterday the provincial government announced a $3.9-billion five-year plan to provide bursaries and allowances for people willing to participate in training and skills development in certain key sectors.

Senator Gold, don’t you think we could make better use of EI to address these problems?

As the Government Representative in the Senate, you are also able to share our questions with the government. I would like to make a small suggestion. Why doesn’t the government task the Senate with conducting public consultations on employment insurance in the provinces? These reports could then be sent to the government with a view to reforming the system. What do you think?

Hon. René Cormier: Today is World AIDS Day, a reminder that this pandemic, which first emerged 40 years ago, is still going strong, and that sustained resources are needed to eradicate it.

Exactly one year ago today, on December 1, 2020, I moved a motion in this chamber that was adopted by the Senate, calling on the Government of Canada to evaluate the cost of implementing its five-year action plan on sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, to establish national targets in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to increase funding for the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada.

Yes, there was the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, there was an election. Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections did not cease to exist, however. National targets in the fight against HIV/AIDS are still essential to eradicating this disease, and more money is needed to fight HIV/AIDS now than ever before.

Senator Gold, what does the Government of Canada plan to do during this Forty-fourth Parliament to respond effectively to the needs identified in that motion?

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate. Senator Gold, yesterday, your predecessor right here in this chamber waxed poetic about the wonderful things and accomplishments of this new independent Senate and the policies that have been implemented here in regards to the new-found independence of the Senate. And I get it; you’re both very proud of the work your government has done, as all senators who have come before us through this august chamber are proud of the work this great institution has done. But one of the things that Senator Harder lauded about yesterday was the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments. Of course, that prompted me to think that there have been countless occasions in this chamber where we’ve asked the government to be forthright in regards to the activities of that board, and we’re still waiting for answers to those questions.

As you all know, that board is obligated to file reports in the spirit of transparency and accountability in regards to its financial obligations and its activities to taxpayers. Out of curiosity, I went back to the site, and I see that the last time there was any filing in regard to the Advisory Board for Senate Appointments was December 5, 2018. Even by the Trudeau Liberal government’s standards, you have to admit, government leader, that’s a little bit excessive. Three years is a little bit much when it comes to not being accountable.

My question is very simple: Why hasn’t this board filed public accountability reports, as they’re obligated to do? And in the last three years, has the government received any reports from this advisory board?

Senator Housakos: Senator Gold, we’ve been asking repeatedly in regards to the activity of the board and the fact that it has not been public and transparent, both in terms of expenses and the processes that they’ve been carrying out.

Leader, I’ll give your government this: I will give it full credit for consistency, because they consistently fail to provide transparency when we ask these simple questions. Yesterday, our colleague Senator Marshall asked again a simple, basic question where the public accounts come into effect: Where is the debt management project? Simple questions. She’s still waiting for answers. And today, I’m forced again, prodded by a speech by Senator Harder, to ask a simple question: Where are the reports of the Advisory Board for Senate Appointments? It has been three years and we’ve been asking repeatedly about this. So can we have a transparent, accountable question when it comes to the Advisory Board for Senate Appointments? When will they make it public?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, on November 23, 2021, the Senate adopted an order that “the position of Speaker pro tempore be filled by means of a secret ballot by all senators to be held at the earliest opportunity, using the process established by the Speaker for the election of the Speaker pro tempore in the Second Session of the Forty-third Parliament, with timelines adjusted for the current session at the Speaker’s discretion”.

The process established last session was that the election of the Speaker pro tempore be by ranked ballot.

For the current session, a senator who wishes to be a candidate will have to communicate his or her interest by email to the Clerk of the Senate by noon on Monday, December 6, 2021.

At the start of the sitting after Monday, December 6, I will announce the names of the senators who are candidates. Instead of proceeding to Senators’ Statements, we will then hear from the candidates for a maximum of three minutes each, irrespective of the total time required. If there are fewer than six candidates, any balance of time can be used for regular statements.

The voting will start shortly after we have heard from the candidates. Details about the confidential system will follow shortly before voting is to start. Only the Clerk will have access to information about the vote. He will not reveal any of this information to anyone.

Senators will be able to vote until 6 p.m. on the day after voting starts. That deadline could be extended, if required, for technical reasons. When they vote, senators will rank as many candidates as they wish, with one being their first choice, two their second, and so on. If, however, there are only two candidates, senators will only be asked to select one candidate.

After the voting, the Clerk will count the votes in private. After the initial count, the candidate, or candidates, with the fewest votes will be dropped and those votes redistributed to the next active preference on the ballot, if one is indicated. The process will continue with successive rounds until a candidate has a majority of votes that are still active. If, after all possible distributions, two or more candidates have the same number of votes, a run-off election will be held.

The name of the chosen candidate will be announced at the start of the sitting following completion of counting. A motion to name that senator as Speaker pro tempore will then be deemed moved, seconded, and adopted, without debate, amendment, or further vote. No further details will be provided, and the Clerk will keep all information related to the vote confidential.

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Honourable senators, I would like to take part in the debate for a moment to note that the topic we are discussing here is very important. I would also like to congratulate Senator Boisvenu, the sponsor of this bill, as well as Senator Moncion, who described her experience as a jury member. I would like to add a few comments, so I will adjourn the debate for the balance of my time.

(On motion of Senator Dalphond, debate adjourned.)

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. I will be pleased to provide a written response when I receive the information. My oral response will no doubt be somewhat predictable in that I will inquire with the government and come back with a response.

I would like to note that although it wasn’t mentioned in the Speech from the Throne, I am advised that the government knows that Canada and Canadians need a modern employment insurance system. This issue hasn’t been forgotten just because of the COVID-19 pandemic or the election.

Hon. Diane Bellemare: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, perhaps you saw the ad published in Saturday’s edition of Le Devoir by Quebec’s Conseil national des chômeurs et chômeuses. The purpose of the ad was to draw attention to the urgent need to reform the EI system.

On October 23, the Institute for Socio-economic Research and Information published a research paper on a proposal to reform the employment insurance system to meet the challenges of the 21st century. These public statements are the latest in a series of policy stances taken by a multitude of stakeholders representing the private sector, workers and several community groups.

In its 2021 budget, the federal government promised consultations on EI reform. The budget provided $5 million over two years to conduct these consultations. However, the Speech from the Throne did not mention EI once.

Senator Gold, where is the government on its EI reform plan? What is the status of the consultations planned in the last budget? Can you provide us with a clear road map of the steps in the planned public consultations? Can you also provide us with a written response to that effect? I think a number of groups would be happy to have that information.

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, while it may have been rolled out with the best of intentions, the CERB program was fraught with problems from the get-go. We’ve certainly heard all the stories of people receiving payments for which they didn’t qualify. Now, according to a report from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), we know that organized crime knowingly and actively defrauded the CERB program by filing multiple applications using stolen identities.

I think we can all appreciate how incredibly frustrating this must be for taxpayers, especially for Canadians who have to jump through hoops to qualify for various other programs from your government.

Senator Gold, what if anything is being done to recover these taxpayers’ dollars from criminal organizations? What is being done to ensure that criminals are punished for this defrauding of taxpayers’ funds?

Senator Gold: I do agree with your question, and I certainly will make those inquiries.

I am the grandson of an immigrant, and many of us here are children of immigrants. We, along with First Nations, Inuit and others, built this country together, so I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ll make every effort to get a quick answer for you.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: It’s the position of this government that any law that it brings forward into the other place or this chamber is one that conforms to the Charter of Rights and the values that define us, in that regard, as a free and democratic society. Again, when the bill arrives or is tabled, whether here or the other place — and I have no information on the timing or process — we’ll have occasion to dig in and study it properly.

[Translation]

Hon. Percy Mockler: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. My question is on the same topic as Senator Martin’s question.

Senator Gold, hundreds of thousands of forestry workers across Canada are worried about their job security in light of Canada-U.S. relations.

[English]

My question for the Government Representative in the Senate today concerns the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to raise its tariffs on softwood lumber exports from my province of New Brunswick.

Historically, mills in New Brunswick were excluded from the American tariffs or trade restrictions for our softwood lumber. The reasons for that included the fact that a high percentage of our wood supply in the Maritimes comes from private woodlot owners and also large industrial private land.

Senator Gold, what is the government doing to ensure that New Brunswick regains its exclusion from American softwood lumber tariffs?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I can’t answer specifically with regard to the current discussions that are underway in Washington or what has gone on between the minister and her counterpart in New Brunswick, but it has always been the case that this government, whether in the context of free trade agreements or in the context of responding to unjustifiable initiatives — whether in softwood lumber in the past, aluminum in the more recent past and so on — has always worked closely with their provincial counterparts to make sure that provincial interests and viewpoints are reflected in the Canadian approach to dealing with the Americans. I have every assurance that will continue to be the case in this controversy.