Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the honourable senator for the question. You raise an important issue that is front of mind: the housing situation for Canadians, especially young Canadians.

It is not true that the government is not doing anything about it. On the contrary, as it announced in the Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada remains committed to making housing more affordable. That includes, among other things, the $4-billion Housing Accelerator Fund, a commitment to work for the less fortunate and to put an end to this terrible problem in our country, a more flexible First-Time Home Buyer’s Incentive, and a rent-to-own program that will help Canadians become homeowners.

[English]

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): My supplementary question is again for the government leader. Government leader, a study released this morning shows that Canadians will pay $1,000 more for food next year. The cost of vegetables is expected to rise by 7% and dairy products by 8%. This is more money out of the pockets of Canadians already dealing with higher costs of housing and transportation. Canadians across this country are feeling the pinch, government leader. Meanwhile, with the agreement between the Government of Canada and the Bank of Canada on inflation targets set to expire at the end of this month, Bloomberg is reporting this morning — colleagues, listen to this — that the Trudeau government is thinking of changing the mandate to allow for a higher inflation target.

Senator Gold, if this report is actually accurate, do you really believe Canadians can afford to pay even more than they already pay for basic living needs? If you take the affordability crisis seriously, why won’t your government commit to maintaining the reasonable 2% inflation target?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the honourable senator for her question. We have to quickly adopt measures in response to the new Omicron variant to protect Canadians. I want to point out that late last week, the government granted a temporary exemption from testing to Lufthansa, enabling Canadians to return to the country. I have been assured that the government is following the latest Public Health Agency of Canada guidelines and that the government will adapt its measures as the situation evolves, and that includes its testing guidelines and requirements.

Senator Miville-Dechêne: I am surprised that you are talking about following international guidelines, considering the World Health Organization has criticized Canada for refusing to accept these tests.

It seems to me that if the government is rejecting tests from 10 countries, including South Africa, it must suspect that the tests are defective, falsified or easy to circumvent.

Can the government provide us with the data it used to come to that conclusion, since that could help us and other countries too?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question, senator.

As the government learns more about this variant of concern, it will continue to work with the provinces and territories and its international partners to keep Canadians safe. The government is currently working closely with Canadian public health experts and global partners to monitor the Omicron variant around the world.

I will reach out to the government about the evidence and the decisions and get back to you as soon as possible.

[English]

Hon. Pamela Wallin: Senator Gold, yesterday an all-party committee of the National Assembly of Quebec called on the province to allow advance requests for medical assistance in dying following the diagnosis of an incurable or incapacitating disease. Canadian law currently excludes people with degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. The committee stated that capable people who will ultimately be incapacitated should be able to formulate an advance request for MAID as a result of the diagnosis. They added that the recommendations reflect an evolution in thinking and attitudes. To ensure the patient is acting in a free and informed manner, the committee recommends an advance request for MAID be completed and signed in front of a doctor, as well as countersigned by two witnesses or be made in a notarized form.

This is essentially what the Senate of Canada approved at the beginning of the year, but it was rejected by the government. Will the government please now reconsider?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, and for your ongoing advocacy on this important issue. Indeed, it was the view of the Senate that the time had arrived to provide for those provisions. Our view was not accepted in the other place. I certainly will communicate your views, comments and questions to the government and will report back if I receive an answer.

Senator Wallin: Senator Gold, the committee’s recommendations have been called practical and dignifying, and to guide the advance requests they agreed to rely on the principle of self-determination of the person. They agreed it was up to the individual to determine, within his or her values and convictions, what constitutes a life of dignity. Since March, that committee held 75 hours of hearings, two consultation phases, 46 steering committee meetings, heard from 77 people and organizations, accepted 75 briefs and received 3,421 responses online — all done in nine months, completely virtually.

Can the Government Representative please ask the government of its intention to restart the joint parliamentary committee and secure a commitment to do that immediately upon the return of Parliament at the end of January or perhaps sooner?

Senator Gold: I will certainly make that request, Senator Wallin. I will take this opportunity to thank you for underlining the important work that is being done in Quebec, which in this particular instance is leading the way, in many respects, for other provinces in Canada.

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, my question is to the Government Representative in the Senate, Senator Gold. I want to ask a follow-up question to the previous reference I made to young women athletes. October 15 was actually an excellent day for Canada. That was the day when we saw 200 girls from an Afghan school flown into Canada and resettled here in record time. Would that it be the standard we are seeing most of the time, but it is not.

My question is about whether the Government of Canada, and in particular Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Minister Sean Fraser, could advise through a question from you whether they are conducting gender-based analysis on the evacuation and resettlement of Afghans coming to Canada. The anecdotal evidence would suggest that — even though we have a feminist foreign policy and we have the previous minister Marco Mendicino making a very strong set of statements promising that women at extreme risk would be in a priority area — our numbers relative to other countries are, in fact, low. If you would, seek clarification on this, please.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the honourable senator for his question.

I don’t have any details about the case you just described or why that request was made. I will find out and come back with an answer as soon as possible.

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, an article in last Friday’s edition of La Presse mentioned that a party was held in Montreal in 2020 with money fraudulently obtained through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the CERB. The police found almost $100,000 in these criminals’ pockets. Most of them had lengthy criminal records. Some of them even accessed the CERB while in jail. We believed that the Correctional Service of Canada intercepted all mail bearing the little red flag. It seems not. During the same period, your government was advised several times to establish mechanisms to prevent fraud, especially by inmates.

The police investigation also revealed that money illegally obtained from CERB was used to fraudulently purchase firearms. We know that firearms are a scourge in Montreal.

Can you tell the Senate how many criminal organizations used law-abiding citizens’ money to finance gun, drug or human trafficking operations?

Senator Boisvenu: The government’s feelings about this are neither here nor there. It should have had a fraud prevention strategy.

Yesterday, three Conservative MPs, Mr. Paul-Hus, Ms. Dancho and Mrs. Kusie, asked Public Safety Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada to launch an investigation into this matter, specifically with respect to the Montreal region.

Since you don’t know how many criminal gangs fraudulently used taxpayers’ money, I’m sure you won’t oppose this type of public investigation to shed light on the situation. Right?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate. Yesterday, the Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, said it would take two years to bring Afghan refugees to Canada. I understand the challenges, Senator Gold, but given that the government knew the challenges it would face — if not years ago, at least months ago — does the government expect that some of these refugees who are on the run and hiding home to home, who are also facing a humanitarian crisis, will still be alive after two years?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The Government of Canada obviously cares about and hopes for the security of all those who are in peril. In announcing that timeline within which we hope to bring those Afghan refugees to Canada, the minister was doing his best to be open and transparent with Canadians. You have made reference to, and understandably and properly so, the myriad challenges that this government and other governments are facing in this humanitarian effort. Canada will continue to do its very best to bring as many people as quickly as possible to safety.

Senator Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, the government was being open and transparent, and that’s why we called an election on the day Kabul fell.

What do I say to the young man who was already picked up by the Taliban, who jumped out of the car and ran to escape them, running through the markets, whose family is reaching out to me saying they don’t know what to do. They are looking for him. What do I say to him?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The government’s first priority was and remains to do everything it can to assist victims’ families. The actions of Iran and its lack of transparency have been condemned by this government and it continues to do so. It is committed to working closely with its allies and other grieving nations — Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom — in seeking justice for the victims.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for that series of questions. I will certainly make those inquiries and report back in due course.

With regard to your reference to my speech about hybrid sessions, I stand by what I said. We are summoned to serve in the Senate. We do not have a choice whether to go. Therefore, it is totally appropriate that we put into place measures so that those who are summoned to serve our country in this place can do so in a safe way. They have no choice but to serve, and we were happily able to accommodate the health needs of those who, for whatever reason, are unable to or feel it unsafe to travel as you described.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. The government has used Magnitsky sanctions in the past. It takes very seriously its obligations to review the facts before it comes to that conclusion, and it will continue to do that in such cases.

With regard to the International Court of Justice, I do not know what the current thinking of the government is. I will make every effort to determine what it is and report back.

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold.

In your speech on your motion to continue hybrid sittings of the Senate, you spoke of the dangers associated with honourable senators catching one or two flights to get here and walking through the various crowded airports across the country, yet the Trudeau government thought nothing of flying 300 people to meet in person in Glasgow last month at COP26, including NGO representatives, bureaucrats, politicians, journalists and more.

Senator Gold, can you tell us how much taxpayers’ money was spent by the government to enable all those people to participate in COP26? Specifically, can you table in this chamber who had their trips and other expenses paid by taxpayers so they could go? On behalf of your government participating in what ended up being a super-spreader event, according to many media reports, would you commit to tabling that information here in the Senate in an expeditious fashion?