Hon. Peter Harder (The Hon. the Acting Speaker): Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Cordy, would you take some questions?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I ask for leave that the bill be deemed read a third time and passed with consent of the chamber.

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

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, yesterday was the deadline for senators who wished to be candidates for the position of Speaker pro tempore to communicate that fact to the Clerk of the Senate. The Honourable Senator Bovey and the Honourable Senator Ringuette advised him that they wished to stand as candidates. As announced on December 1, we will now hear from the candidates for a maximum of three minutes each. I will call on them in alphabetical order.

[English]

Senator Dawson: You also know that a foreign-owned hedge fund is the largest shareholder of Canadian National Railway Company, or CN’s, direct competitor, Canadian Pacific, or CP Rail. Are there any plans for the government to refer this highly troubling matter to Competition Bureau Canada for examination? Transport is an important issue in Canada — we’re in a room built for rail transportation. I hope the government will intervene to ensure that Canadian interests are best served, Mr. Leader.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the Clerk will distribute information shortly about how to vote, and you will be able to vote until 6 p.m. tomorrow. The information will be sent to the Senate email address that you use to access Zoom for sittings of the Senate or a committee meeting. As there are only two candidates, senators will be asked to select only one.

We will now proceed with Senators’ Statements for the 12 minutes remaining.

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. The position of Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime has been vacant since October 1, 2021. For the past two months, victims of crime have had no official representative within the federal government. The last time this position was vacant, in 2017, it took the Minister of Justice a year to fill the position, whereas around the same time, the position of Correctional Investigator, the ombudsman for criminals, was filled in a month.

Can you explain to the victims and to this chamber, during this week of action against violence against women, why the position is still vacant and when the Department of Justice plans to fill it?

Hon. Dennis Dawson: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie concerning the Parliamentary Seminar on Parliamentary Oversight and Public Policy Evaluation, held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, from November 14 to 15, 2019.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the honourable senator for the question. As for the reason the position has not been filled and when it will be filled, I will ask the government the question and come back with an answer.

Hon. Sabi Marwah: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration entitled Financial Statements of the Senate of Canada for the year ended March 31, 2021.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: I thank the honourable senator for his question. As you know, at the beginning of this Parliament, the government and the new cabinet made fundamental changes with respect to victims of sexual assault in the Armed Forces.

With regard to your question, I will ask the government about its intentions, and I will get back to you as soon as I receive an answer.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senator, thank you for the question and for your leadership on health issues in this chamber. Thank you also for giving me some advance notice of this question, as I’ve made inquiries. It’s an important question, as you and many others have pointed out in this chamber. I’ve not yet received a response. When I do, I shall report back to the chamber in a timely fashion.

Senator Kutcher: Senator Gold, we know that COVID infection rates and the subsequent morbidity and mortality are much higher in the unvaccinated and that unvaccinated Canadians are a reservoir for continued mutations and spread of this virus. This reality puts vaccinated people at risk of contracting the disease and continues to put pressure on our ability to deliver needed health care for non-COVID conditions.

What additional measures is the Government of Canada planning to take to ensure that the risk to Canadians who are following best available public health advice is not increased because of the unwillingness of the few to do so?

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. The Government of Canada continues to work closely with its partners in the provinces and territories and with health care professionals and advisers to find and promote the best ways to encourage Canadians to be vaccinated and to encourage Canadians, whether vaccinated or not, to take public health measures to minimize the risk of exposure. It will continue to do so.

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. According to a December 3 article by Mr. Deglise in Le Devoir, on August 3, 2021, less than a month after Jovenel Moïse was murdered, the Haitian government officially asked the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to create an “international commission of inquiry” and a special court.

Senator Gold, the investigation is stalled against a backdrop of violence, corruption and political obstruction to court hearings. Can you tell us if Canada will come out for or against Haiti’s official calls for the UN to create an international commission of inquiry? Or will it abstain altogether?

Senator Mégie: I would like to add that the request has in fact been made, so your response leaves me perplexed, Senator Gold, given that the article in Le Devoir clearly indicates that.

Senator Gold: I will look into it further, even though, to my knowledge, the request has not been formally received. However, I apologize in advance if I am wrong. I will do more research with the information I was provided.

[English]