Senator Gold: The position of the government is that it is here to serve Canadians, is serving Canadians and will continue to serve Canadians so long as it has the confidence of the House.

The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that a message had been received from the House of Commons with Bill C-234, An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.

(Bill read first time.)

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

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

Senator Housakos: You are absolutely right; it is a serious problem, government leader. The reality is that this government has done absolutely nothing, as I see from your answer.

All of these money-laundering operations are related to foreign interference. I have said it before, and I will say it again, this government has been completely ambivalent in addressing this particular serious issue.

In this chamber, we have Bill S-237 and Bill S-247 — calling for a foreign registry act. We’re calling to tighten up the Sergei Magnitsky law in order to go after friends and family who are doing this kind of money laundering on behalf of these regimes in our country, and your government has taken no mitigating action on this issue.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I don’t have an answer for it, senator. I’ll have to look into it and get back to you with an answer.

Senator D. Patterson: Thank you for that response, Senator Gold.

The federal government has recognized Nunavut’s unique vulnerabilities and lack of green alternatives, so we’re vulnerable to the burdensome costs of imposing the carbon tax. They have exempted us from paying the tax on fuel for power generation and intraterritorial aviation fuel.

Would you please advocate for extending this exemption to gasoline and home heating fuel? We can’t go back to dog teams instead of snowmobiles or snow houses instead of modern homes.

Senator Gold: I will certainly share these concerns and preoccupations in the course of my discussions with the government.

Senator Cardozo: Senator Gold, you talk about the transformative changes that are taking place in the economy with the environment and with climate change. At the same time, we have soaring inflation, and we have concerns about a recession.

Is this the time to make these investments, or can they not be put off for a few years, as some would argue?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Yes.

Senator Housakos: I’m getting to the question; examples are useful sometimes. How can we have a government that says they care about this little guy when we are actually taking steps not to allow for competition to fester and grow in the marketplace like, for example, Rogers buying Shaw?

Hon. Senators: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: It was moved by the Honourable Senator Harder and seconded by the Honourable Senator Bellemare that this bill be read a second time. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Senator Anderson: I don’t think I am the right person to ask because I have my own opinion as to where this bill should be. But I believe that others should look at this bill again in light of the information I was able to find and what I could not find — there was a lot I could not find — and also for the fact that I just received a piece of it this morning at 10 o’clock, which is concerning given that that information is what was supposed to have informed the development of and the introduction of this bill in June 2022 in the House.

Senator Moncion: I have a short question. Can this bill be fixed?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(At 5:41 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at 2 p.m.)

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

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Please be brief.

Hon. Hassan Yussuff: Will the senator take a question?

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

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Honourable senators, I note that this item is at day 15, but I am not ready to speak. Therefore, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 4-15(3), I move adjournment of the debate for the balance of my time.

Hon. Paula Simons: Senator Batters, would you take another question?

Senator Batters: Yes.