Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for underlining the unacceptable situation that this young Canadian faces in Cuba. The Canadian government continues to make every effort to ensure that Canadians who are detained abroad receive equitable treatment. Every consular case is unique and the assistance we’re able to provide will vary with the circumstances.

I’m advised that the Canadian government is engaged with Cuban officials and continues to work to seek consular access to the individual, and that consular officials maintain regular contact and will continue to provide support to the individual’s family. I’m also advised that, due to privacy considerations, no further information may be disclosed at this juncture.

Senator Patterson: Thank you, Senator Gold. I appreciate your noting that there is also a longer-term issue here due to shifting permafrost that is damaging our underground utilidor system, decreased precipitation as a result of climate change and increased population. So a new system would require a new source of potable water, additional storage and a distribution system. The city estimates that a significant sum of $180 million is required to respond to the need for a new long-term water supply in one of Canada’s capital cities.

Senator Gold, will your government make the necessary investments during this parliamentary session — in particular, a commitment to funding a new long-term water supply for the capital city of Nunavut? Thank you.

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, the November 15 edition of The Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian government had intercepted a shipment of clothing from China for the first time since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, was signed 15 months ago. There were suspicions that the shipment contained goods produced using forced labour. Canadian authorities did not disclose the date of the seizure or the company that was importing the goods. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have made several seizures and published the dates and names of the companies involved. Why the difference between the two countries? One factor is that in order to stop a shipment, the U.S. requires information that reasonably, but not conclusively, indicates the presence of forced labour, while Canada requires legally sufficient and defensible evidence. This high standard of proof makes intervention very difficult. We even run the risk of becoming a top destination for these suspicious shipments.

Why does Canada have a standard of proof that makes it almost impossible to seize goods produced by forced labour?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for raising this very important and troubling issue. Every country has the right to choose how to implement its international legal obligations, as Canada has done. The Government of Canada is committed to upholding human rights and international labour standards, and it is actively working to implement the ban on forced labour. I have been informed that officials at Employment and Social Development Canada are actively working with CBSA officials to monitor and search for evidence related to problematic supply chains. As for why Canada has chosen such a high burden of proof, if I can put it that way, I’ll have to look into that question and try to get an answer.

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Thank you. I would like a written response, if possible. In the meantime, we still have a choice about the standard of proof, since, as it now stands, Canadian authorities basically have to prove the existence of forced labour abroad. For example, they have to prove that a shipment of cotton clothing or tomatoes from Xinjiang, where Uighurs live, actually contains goods produced by forced labour. The problem is that no consultants or journalists can conduct an investigation because the Chinese government will not grant them access to that province. How can Canada hope to stop the importation of goods produced by modern slavery if we’ve set standards that are impossible to meet?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I would respectfully submit that I cannot accept the premise that these standards are impossible to meet. As I said, we are working closely with the CBSA to ensure that goods produced by forced labour do not cross the border, because they are banned in Canada. We will continue to do just that.

Senator Batters: I will try to make myself heard over this mask.

How many committees are able to sit at once under this revised virtual system or hybrid system? I’m wondering why the Senate previously was a lot further behind the House of Commons. They got back to many simultaneous committees functioning at once, and they were able to have hybrid committee hearings, whereas a lot of times the Senate was forced to have only virtual committee hearings. I’m wondering if that has changed.

We’re one of two chambers of Parliament. We have excellent committee hearings, and I want to make sure that our committee hearings are treated equally.

Senator Gold: Thank you. That is a very good question, and I appreciate it.

My understanding is that from a technical infrastructure point of view, we share resources with the House of Commons. Therefore, our ability to chart our own course independently of what is happening in the other place is somewhat constrained.

My understanding, Senator Batters, is that at any given time there can be a limited number of hybrid committee meetings. That is why when the Committee of Selection, sometime in the course of the last Parliament, recommended and the Senate approved the system, it was to allow for completely virtual committee sittings so as to allow more of our committees, more of the time, to do the important work that we do here in the chamber.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I’ve been advised that the government is providing $1.7 million to Journalists for Human Rights, Veterans Transition Network and Aman Lara in their efforts to provide support to vulnerable persons in Afghanistan, and is working with these organizations in extremely difficult and evolving circumstances.

Due to the volatility and the problems associated with the security situation in Afghanistan, I’m advised that the government is not currently funding the safe houses directly. However, on August 26 our country announced $50 million in humanitarian assistance to support a number of international organizations over the next 15 months, both inside Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries. This is in addition to the $27.3 million in humanitarian assistance already allocated to Afghanistan for 2021.

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

That the Senate recognize that, each year, thousands of Canadians are called to jury duty and contribute to the Canadian justice system; and

That the Senate call upon the Government of Canada to designate the second week of May in each year as Jury Appreciation Week in Canada, to encourage those Canadians who provide this public service and to recognize their civic duty.

[English]

Hon. Patricia Bovey introduced Bill S-202, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Parliamentary Visual Artist Laureate).

(Bill read first time.)

Senator Griffin: When I started in the Senate, Wednesday sittings ended at the end of government business or at 4 p.m., whichever was later. This gave us some flexibility to get through some more of the Order Paper if government business was scant.

The current motion has us sitting on Wednesdays until the end of government business or 4 p.m., whichever is earlier, which takes away that flexibility.

Until we have committees working on multiple government bills, I anticipate that our workloads on Wednesdays will be quite light. Senator Gold, could you support requests for leave to sit until 4 p.m. or until the end of government business, whichever is later, on days when we don’t have much government business to occupy us?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. As the motion states, it will be up to the Speaker to determine the date.

That said, I’ve been told that it will take about 48 hours to get the necessary equipment and systems in place to run a hybrid system. I hope that we can adopt the motion before we adjourn this week. That would mean that when we return next week we would be able to have a working hybrid system.

[English]

Hon. Diane F. Griffin: Senator Gold, will you take a question?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne introduced Bill S-211, An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff.

(Bill read first time.)

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, Judith Keating was summoned to the Senate in January 2020. She passed away July 15, 2021, surrounded by her beloved family. Her wisdom and experience were taken from us, and from them, far too soon.

Senator Keating arrived in this chamber just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic changed how the Senate operated. Soon after her arrival, we came to know each other. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to meet with her privately just before her swearing in. In the short time that she served the people of New Brunswick in this chamber, and our country, she made an enduring impression on me, and on us, as colleagues.

[Translation]

Before Senator Keating arrived in the Senate, she served as chief legislative counsel and chief legal advisor to the Premier of New Brunswick. She also served as the provincial chair of the All Nations and Parties Working Group on Truth and Reconciliation.

She was a strong advocate for the equal and just treatment of women in the legal profession and for the equal status of both official languages in New Brunswick.

She had a long and impressive resumé, and her professional experience was admirable and inspiring.

[English]

Senator Keating and I had lengthy and very interesting discussions on many subjects of mutual interest. We continued those conversations from time to time when we would meet and a friendship formed out of that. She was an intelligent, hard-working, devoted senator. I will miss her as a colleague and as a friend.

[Translation]

New Brunswick and Canada have lost an extremely proud Canadian and the Senate has lost a powerful voice, but even more importantly, her family has lost a spouse, mother and grandmother.

[English]

May her memory be a blessing and may her family be spared further sorrows.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, it seems like only a short time ago that we welcomed Senator Judith Keating into the Senate of Canada; yet today, it is our sad duty to say goodbye to our colleague. Her passing in July was a terrible loss for her family, friends and staff, and for the people of her province of New Brunswick.

The passing of Senator Keating and, indeed, of Senator Forest-Niesing this past weekend, has cast a shadow over our return to the chamber. They will both be sorely missed by colleagues on all sides.

Senator Keating was a member of the Senate of Canada for just under a year and a half before she passed away. Pandemic restrictions kept us apart from each other for much of that time and as a result, we did not have many opportunities to work together with Senator Keating. However, it was evident that she always approached her work as a senator with dedication and conviction. Those are admirable traits for anyone to have, and for a parliamentarian they’re essential.

Judith Keating’s lifetime of experience in the Government of New Brunswick was the foundation for the work she did in the Senate. She was the first woman to serve as Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of New Brunswick, and she worked to promote the equal status of the English and French languages in her province. She was an advocate and a mentor for women in the legal profession in her province and worked to advance Indigenous reconciliation. Those remarkable skills and her unique perspective served Judith Keating well as she took on her duties as a senator for, sadly, too short a period of time.

On behalf of the entire Conservative caucus, and on behalf of all honourable senators, I offer sincere condolences to Senator Keating’s husband, Michael, their two children and four grandchildren. In her obituary, Senator Keating’s family stated that the titles of “mother” and “grandmother” were more important to her than any of the honours bestowed upon her. I know that my wife would second that sentiment.

May her loved ones find comfort in knowing that their loss is felt by all honourable senators and that they remain in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar introduced Bill S-216, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (use of resources of a registered charity).

(Bill read first time.)