The Hon. the Speaker: If you are opposed to leave, say “no.” So ordered.

Senator Batters, do you have a question?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I ask for leave that the order for second reading of Bill S-3 be discharged from the Order Paper and the bill withdrawn.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. Although the government remains convinced that we had precedence on our side for introducing both Bill S-2 and Bill S-3, as we did with the appropriations clause given the statement of the Speaker in the other place, the Government of Canada decided the most efficient and responsible way to move Bill S-3, the Judges Act, forward is to introduce it as a C-bill with a Royal Recommendation in the House of Commons.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, with respect, I have a more important question for the Leader of the Government in the Senate in the few precious minutes that we are allotted for this privilege each day.

Senator Gold, the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need for much better connectivity for all Canadians. From education to health care, connectivity allows those living outside urban cores access to high-quality public services. An important part of the government’s commitment to connecting every Canadian to high-speed internet is the next spectrum auction. The spectrum auction will be useful in connecting northern, rural and remote communities. It is a public good auctioned by our government. It should be used for the betterment of Canadians, not left to sit without connecting vast parts of our country, which is unfortunately often the case. For various reasons, not all carriers are deploying their spectrum to connect communities.

So with respect to the next auction set to take place in 2023, Senator Gold, what actions will the government take to ensure that carriers build the infrastructure needed to deliver wireless internet when they buy spectrum, instead of not deploying their spectrum and even, in some cases, holding on to spectrum and then selling it at a profit years later?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I will make inquiries and be happy to report back when I get an answer.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate. As co-chair of the Canada-Bulgaria Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, I am well aware of the strong ties that have developed over the past 55 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries. However, there is no Canadian embassy in Bulgaria. Currently, the mission for the region is in Bucharest, Romania. Bucharest is 464 kilometres away — a seven-hour drive — from Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia. That is a one-hour non-stop flight, or four-and-a-half hours with a connection. This can be very inconvenient for Canadians and Bulgarians needing emergency consular assistance or passport services while in Bulgaria.

Leader, given that we are the only G7 country that doesn’t have an official presence in Sofia, Bulgaria, what is the Government of Canada’s position on establishing an embassy there? Is this something that your government is actively considering?

Senator Marshall: To be honest with you, I don’t see Committee of the Whole addressing any of the issues or concerns that I’ve raised or expressed.

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

Canadians are starting to learn that the Trudeau government has set a record — a record that had stood for more than 18 years. Unfortunately, that record is an inflation rate of 4.7%, which is making gasoline, furniture, food and clothing very difficult for middle-class and particularly poor Canadians to be able to manage. Furthermore, Canadians are learning that, this fall, food costs in this country are at the highest levels they’ve been in many years.

While the inflation rate has grown to 4.7%, the average income for Canadians over that same time period has only grown by 2.8%, making it difficult for Canadians to stretch their paycheques to get the bare necessities. It’s becoming unaffordable for Canadians to survive.

My question is very simple, government leader, especially given the fact that the financial statement tabled yesterday clearly said to expect higher inflation in the future, so the government not only has a solution but they’re quite pessimistic about what’s around the corner. My question is this: How much more does the Trudeau government think the average Canadian family can afford to pay going forward?

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: Honourable senators, I will be very brief, but I wanted to highlight some of the issues that I raised yesterday — just to make them clear — of the challenges that we faced when we were reviewing Supplementary Estimates (B), which supports Bill C-6, the supply bill. As I mentioned yesterday, the Supplementary Estimates (B) document is a very difficult document to read, especially if you want to look at the relationship to the budget and the public accounts. We go from the Main Estimates to the budget to the Supplementary Estimates (A), (B) and (C). Then after the fiscal year, we look at the public accounts and try to match it all up.

We are just trying to trace the money from one document to the next, and we’re often relating information in each of these documents even to another fiscal year. Therefore, it would be very helpful if Treasury Board would undertake an initiative to make the estimates document easier to review and understand, especially as it relates to the budget and the public accounts. They started a project about three or four years ago, and then they stopped. However, it was a worthwhile project, so I think they should initiate that project again.

Yesterday, Senator Gagné mentioned the chart that was included in Supplementary Estimates (B). Treasury Board should really try to improve that chart, because it looks like there is some information missing. If the information there isn’t logical, then certain parts of the Supplementary Estimates (B) document is suspect. Treasury Board really needs to go back and take a look at that reconciliation.

Also, I think the Treasury Board Secretariat should consider — if they are not going to initiate a project or even if they do — speaking with parliamentarians who use the estimates documents to obtain their views as to what’s helpful and what they have problems with. I can think of a couple of suggestions that would be very easy to implement and would be very helpful to parliamentarians when they do their review of the supplementary estimates.

The second issue that we had a problem with was the public accounts. The government didn’t release the public accounts for last year until yesterday, so we waited almost nine months for the public accounts. We didn’t have the benefit of that document when we reviewed Supplementary Estimates (B) and Bill C-6. The tabling of the document was really late. I think that was the latest time the document has been tabled since, I think, 1994. The government needs to do something to speed up the tabling of the public accounts.

The other document we were waiting for was the Departmental Results Reports. We didn’t have the benefit of those reports when we reviewed Supplementary Estimates (B). Also, last year Minister Duclos sent us those reports around — I think — December 7. This year, we have to wait until January 30 to receive them.

The government needs to look at all those documents and make sure they get them out on a timely basis. These are accountability documents, and they should be tabled in a timely manner so parliamentarians can do their jobs.

The final issue that we had problems with was that the time to review the Supplementary Estimates (B) was too short. We had a short sitting of three or four weeks, but the process to review the Supplementary Estimates (B) document was too rushed. We had to rush our witnesses to get follow-up information to us. Some information we haven’t received yet. The process we used this year is what I call “how not to review Supplementary Estimates (B) and the appropriation bill.”

Senator Dupuis asked a question about my speech yesterday, and I don’t know if she wants to ask about it today. I was able to obtain what I think is the question, and I want to talk about it briefly. This was regarding a comment I made about there being no standing parliamentary review mechanism in place for statutory expenditures. She wanted to know what I would suggest.

The best response I can give Senator Dupuis is I haven’t reached a definitive recommendation yet, but I do have a few suggestions. This was an issue that the Parliamentary Budget Officer had identified in his report on Supplementary Estimates (B), and I briefly discussed it with him. I’m still thinking about it, but I think that in the interim we should look at the mandate of the Finance Committee to consider whether we should include a review of statutory expenditures, or maybe the Senate could give the Finance Committee an order of reference to study statutory expenditures. That would be an option.

When I spoke about statutory expenditures, I was speaking about them in relation to each supplementary supply bill, but the issue is broader than that. Some of these statutory expenditures are approved by statutes that were passed decades ago. I think the legislation around Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement are dated. I think it would be worthwhile if those expenditures were looked at in the context of the old legislation.

The Canada Child Benefit is a more recent benefit, but there have been changes even to that benefit over the past number of years. That is a payment under the Income Tax Act. So we would benefit from going back and looking at the legislation and seeing if those programs now fit with society as a whole.

With regard to looking at the statutory expenditures, I don’t know what’s in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons. I wouldn’t dare tread on the Standing Orders of the other place, but that is also an area that we could look at and discuss with our colleagues in the other place.

[Translation]

Senator Dupuis: Senator Marshall, thank you for answering the question I asked yesterday, which didn’t make it through the Senate interpretation systems.

With respect to the answer you provided today, do you think not only that the mandate of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance should be revised to address the specific issue of statutory expenditures, but also that a Committee of the Whole could delve into the whole question you raised yesterday, which is an extremely important question about government accountability? Do you think a Committee of the Whole could be one way to achieve that?

[English]

Senator Marshall: I sometimes find the Committee of the Whole beneficial, but I find it is not a replacement for the work that’s done by individual committees. I don’t know if that answers your question.

When we’re in the Finance Committee, we can drill down and ask the officials to provide additional information. When you’re in Committee of the Whole — I shouldn’t say it’s a one-night stand — that’s your chance. If you don’t get what you’re looking for, you’re out of luck. When you’re in a standing Senate committee, you have the opportunity to ask several questions and ask for additional information.

[Translation]

Hon. Vernon White: Honourable senators, I, as well as others, have spoken on the problem of addictions and, in particular, the impact accidental overdoses were and are having on that vulnerable sector. With the ever-increasing distribution of fentanyl and carfentanyl by criminal organizations that manufacture counterfeit drugs, the death rate has exploded. Understanding that fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine, and carfentanyl up to 10,000 times stronger, illegal drug manufacturers using things like cement mixers to make their illicit product care little, if at all, about quality control.

As I have said here previously, the result is 17 to 20 deaths daily in Canada by overdose. There has been a success story to which we and the government should pay attention. With deaths growing exponentially beginning around 2017, Ottawa Inner City Health decided that drastic measures needed to be taken. They started a managed opiate program, based on European research, requiring a major shift in their programming.

They introduced a program with the option of opiate substitution being offered, including methadone, Suboxone or, in conditions where the addict is unable to or incapable of managing either of these, opiate management was introduced.

Opiate management means this option is used to: keep an opiate user safe during their removal from street drug use; stabilize them while bringing them into an opiate replacement therapy program; and, oversee their use of pharmaceutical opiate replacements under direct medical supervision instead of continuing their use of toxic street drugs. Working directly with medical staff, the drug-using client is provided the correct dose of a combination of Dilaudid and HYDROmorph Contin. Clients work closely with nurses and doctors to arrive at a correct dose.

The results have been impressive. Clients are able to remove themselves from street drug use and a highly dangerous lifestyle. Many of the participants have since been housed successfully, moved on to school or even employment. The program is a highly structured treatment regime and many find themselves shifting to other programs, such as methadone, as they recover. Importantly, we hope that programs such as this alternative therapy is one that the federal government will adopt as a best practice and expand across the country. I want to speak today about their success and bring some light to the great work they do. I congratulate and thank Wendy Muckle, Dr. Jeff Turnbull and their team for their work.

[Translation]

Hon. René Cormier: Honourable senators, December 13 was Acadian Remembrance Day. Every year, on the same date, the Acadian community mourns as it remembers one of the darkest days of the Great Upheaval, which occurred from 1755 to 1764.

On December 12 and 13, 1758, two British ships, the Violet and the Duke William, sank in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, taking with them many Acadian families who had been deported. Nearly 3,000 Acadians from Île St-Jean, known today as Prince Edward Island, were forced off their land and put on ships bound for Europe, and 750 of those men, women and children drowned or died from sickness.

Somewhere between the New World and Europe, their voices were swallowed up in the depths of the sea, taking with them the hopes and dreams of an entire people. These were the voices of the French Acadians that the conquerors of the time wanted to silence forever, voices that, with the help of the Mi’kmaq people, had been singing, praying and making their existence known in the lands of Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia, since 1604.

Charles Lawrence, the British governor responsible for the Deportation, planned to wipe out the Acadians’ social and cultural identity. However, he misjudged this resilient people, who were able to defy the odds and return decades later.

The voices that were believed to have been silenced forever at the bottom of the Atlantic have emerged stronger and more empowered than ever. Now they are claiming their place here in Canada and have gained recognition around the world.

On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, in Paris, France honoured one of Acadia’s most vibrant voices. Accompanied by a delegation of scholars, artists, business people and activists, Acadian author Antonine Maillet, the first Canadian to be awarded the prestigious Goncourt prize, was promoted to the rank of Commander of the French Legion of Honour in recognition of her body of work. The gathering reaffirmed the unbreakable bond uniting Acadia and France.

The honour bestowed on Ms. Maillet also reminds us that, here in Canada, more than 257 years after the Deportation, the Acadian people must carry on fighting to ensure respect for the French language, one of our country’s official languages, within our institutions and governments.

On November 24, accompanied by the French President, Antonine Maillet planted an oak tree in France. Centuries earlier in America, Acadians were left with nothing. The oak tree symbolizes Acadians’ attachment to their original homeland.

That same day, an inflatable boat carrying Iraqi Kurdish migrants sank in the English Channel off the port of Calais, killing 27 and injuring two. One person is still missing.

History keeps repeating itself, colleagues. As 2021 draws to a close, let’s stand in solidarity with all those uprooted and displaced peoples who are suffering a fate similar to that of the Acadian people, and let’s take action together to put an end to these inhuman tragedies.

Thank you.

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Honourable senators, I rise today to thank you for passing my bill, Bill S-206, last week.

As I pointed out in my speech at second reading, there has been an increase in the number of criminal trials across Canada. As a result, more and more citizens are being called upon to put their lives on hold in the service of justice.

Jurors are often put through a difficult experience without any psychological support. Even worse, they are forced to remain silent, which only compounds the trauma they experience.

Jurors are left to fend for themselves, plunged without notice into the macabre world of crime. They are sequestered and must deliberate for days. Then they are sent home with no support or assistance to resume their normal lives. For many of them, however, life will never be the same.

I was deeply moved by the testimony from our colleague, Senator Moncion. She made me more aware of the significant constraints imposed on jurors as part of their duties.

Honourable colleagues, when the Senate moved second reading of Bill S-206 so it could be referred to committee, my heart went out to all the witnesses who would have had to come back to share their painful experience with jury duty.

I am very glad that you agreed with me that bringing back former jurors to testify yet again about their painful and disturbing experiences would be inhuman. They have already fulfilled their civic duty and met their responsibilities as jurors, and that was more than enough.

As I trusted your judgment, I decided to move that the bill be read the third time and sent to the other place. Since then, I have received many positive messages and, honourable senators, on behalf of the jurors of Canada, I would like to thank you for agreeing to third reading of Bill S-206. Your professionalism, your sensitivity and your sense of duty will allow many jurors to once again find that inner peace that is so well deserved.

The Senate of Canada has set a good example by fulfilling its main mission of listening to and being at the service of Canadians.

In closing, I want to wish you a happy holiday season with your families. I wish you all happiness, health and, above all, time with your children and grandchildren. I know that they are only on loan to us for our lifetimes and that life can take them away without warning. Love them.

Thank you.

[English]

Hon. Terry M. Mercer: Honourable senators, this past fall, my wife, Ellen, and I, along with our children, Michael and Lisa, and our grandchildren, Ellie and Oliver, once again participated in Ovarian Cancer Canada’s Walk of Hope in Halifax. It is one of the many communities across the country where the walk takes place. We participated by walking in our neighbourhood, as COVID protocols were in place. To date, the walk has raised over $30 million to provide the much-needed support for patients; increased awareness, especially for early detection; and funding for the critical research to fight against ovarian cancer.

Many of my honourable colleagues, family and friends have donated to this cause that has been so dear to us for years on end. We are very thankful for that. This year was especially meaningful for my wife, Ellen, as she celebrated 25 years since her surgery in her fight against ovarian cancer. Ellen is one of the lucky ones and we are so lucky to still have her with us.

We are so proud every year to participate in the walk in support of her and all women who have been diagnosed — and have not survived — with ovarian cancer.

According to Ovarian Cancer Canada:

Thousands of women are living with ovarian cancer in Canada. It is estimated that this year 3,100 Canadian women will be newly diagnosed with this disease. Ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cancer for women and is the most serious women’s cancer.

Honourable senators, through everyone’s kindness and generosity, Team Ellen Mercer raised about $3,000 this year. We have consistently broken our records every year, and we are truly thankful to everyone who has donated. With everyone’s help, we can defeat this horrible disease. While I may be retiring from this place in May, I will continue to support Ovarian Cancer Canada’s Walk of Hope, so you have not heard the last of me just yet.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season with family and friends. Thank you.

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Honourable senators, today I rise to recognize the impact of those teachers and coaches who have made a difference in the lives of their students through their encouragement, realistic, yet demanding expectations, and mentorship.

I imagine that many, if not all of us in this chamber can think back on our earlier lives and identify one or more of these ordinary Canadians who have done extraordinary things. I would even hazard to guess that many of us in this chamber owe a debt of gratitude for the advice, support and mentorship that we have received. Indeed, some might say that without that relationship in our early years we may have walked a different and perhaps less fruitful path.

We know that some of our honourable members are teachers by profession and they have taught young people at many different stages in their educational journey, especially in junior high and secondary school — that time of life when some of the most important influences on what a young person could be are present.

So I would like to signal my appreciation to Senators Cordy, Deacon and Martin, who have no doubt had substantial influence on the lives of young people.

This reflection was brought forward when I received an email out of the blue from the person who was my gym teacher and track coach in secondary school, Westdale Collegiate Institute, in Hamilton, Ontario.

Let me be clear: I may have been a star athlete in my own mind, but the reality is quite different than that fantasy. I did okay, but I would never have been confused with any of our country’s champions — a far distance from the world-leading athleticism of our own Senator Petitclerc.

The email came from Bob Chapman, one of my cherished teachers and a track coach. Our team was a small squad of pretty good runners that he would drive around much of Ontario for weekend track meets in his rusty old green Rambler. He would be at the school early in the morning to supervise strength training; made himself available at lunchtime if anyone needed to talk about anything; and spent every weekday evening for nine months, encompassing all the seasons of cross-country, indoor and outdoor track, putting us through our paces.

I will never forget his prescient observation, one that he would make quite frequently; so frequently, indeed, that it became a credo that many of my teammates and I kept with us for the rest of our lives. Just when we felt there was no more gas left in the tank, he would say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And we did.

So, Bob, to you and every other teacher and coach, thank you for being an ordinary Canadian who is doing extraordinary things and enriching so many lives.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, as many of you are aware, last week just 15 kilometres from where I currently stand before you, a Grade 3 teacher in Chelsea, Quebec was told she can no longer be allowed to teach because of the attire she chose to wear.

Bill 21 is discriminatory and racist. Instead of ensuring the equality of all people in the province of Quebec, it creates two distinct classes: those who may pursue their career regardless of their faith and those who may not.

I understand this is a provincial law, but I cannot in good conscience as a racialized person and as a human rights advocate, remain silent while fellow Canadians are being blatantly targeted. As a representative of a community, I must be a voice for the silenced.

This secularism bill, under the guise of separating state from religion, prohibits certain persons from wearing religious symbols and therefore disproportionately affects women by limiting their sense of agency. Let me remind you that this bill was originally meant to only affect police officers, correctional services officers and judges. It was then extended to teachers. Who will be next?

We have already seen the rise of Islamophobia during the pandemic. By creating this second-class citizenship, this secularism bill normalizes the “othering” of visible minorities.

Honourable senators, the removal of Fatemeh Anvari has upended the lives of children who, until last Thursday, only saw Ms. Anvari as a teacher, regardless of her hijab. As one of these students wrote in a letter to Ms. Anvari, made publicly available:

It’s not fair that you can’t teach. I actually think your hijab is awesome and you’re the best teacher ever.

These students are now being taught that as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, she is unfit to teach. While Ms. Anvari continues to work at the school outside the classroom on a literacy project advocating for inclusion and awareness of diversity, I call upon you, my fellow parliamentarians, to remember these values as well. Thank you.

Hon. Peter M. Boehm: Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 12-26(2) of the Rules of the Senate, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which deals with the expenses incurred by the committee during the Second Session of the Forty-Third Parliament.

(For text of report, see today’s Journals of the Senate, p. 173.)

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021.

[Translation]