Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I rise to speak in support of Bill C-224. I want to thank Senator Yussuff for sponsoring the bill and for your helpful and fulsome remarks.

Across this country, 32,000 firefighters and 100,000 volunteer firefighters play a critical role in keeping us and our communities safe. Canadians respect firefighters. We appreciate the work they do, work that is both essential and dangerous.

When firefighters respond to a call, they know they can face immediate dangers. They know there can be physical hazards each and every time they enter a burning building. A roof can fall down, a floor might give away and so on.

There are also a number of other less immediate dangers that firefighters face when they respond to a fire. As Senator Yussuff told us, and as we know, some household products become very dangerous when they burn. That means that firefighters can be exposed to toxic substances, such as potentially harmful flame retardants in upholstered furniture, mattresses or electronic devices, whenever they respond to a fire.

We know that chemical flame retardants can save lives by slowing the ignition and the spread of fire, but they might and do also cause harmful health effects, such as cancer, when they are burned and inhaled.

While this exposure tends to be rare or limited for most citizens, they can become more prevalent among firefighters. The reality is that firefighters are more likely to develop cancer and, sadly, to die from cancer as a result of these exposures. This is true for almost all types of cancers, colleagues, but it is particularly so for digestive, oral, respiratory and urinary cancers.

There is also emerging research that shows that women and racialized firefighters suffer an even higher risk of cancer incidence and cancer mortality.

Colleagues, cancer represents 86% of occupational fatality claims among firefighters in Canada. These unfortunate statistics do not only apply to firefighters in Canada. Allusion was made by Senator Yussuff to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Last July, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, classified the occupational exposure that firefighters experience as carcinogenic to humans. In recognition of these realities, the International Association of Fire Fighters has designated the month of January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month.

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting firefighters and has put into place several measures to support our firefighters across this country. For firefighters and other first responders who have died because of their job-related duties, the Government of Canada supports their families through the Memorial Grant Program. Through this program, their families receive a federal tax-free payment of up to $300,000.

The government also developed a federal action plan to protect firefighters from harmful chemicals that are released during household fires. Announced in 2021, the action plan focuses on chemical flame retardants found, as I mentioned a moment ago, in many household items, including upholstered furniture and electronics, to name but two.

Significant progress is being made to address harmful chemical flame retardants and to support the development and the use of safer alternatives.

As well, the Government of Canada makes significant investments in cancer prevention and research, and this includes research on firefighting and its links to cancer. Between 2015 and 2020, the government invested approximately $927 million in cancer research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The Government of Canada also supports the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and CARcinogen EXposure Canada, an institute that tracks occupational and environmental carcinogen exposure in the workplace.

Colleagues, Bill C-224 calls on the Minister of Health to develop a national framework that raises awareness of cancers linked to firefighting and supports improved access for firefighters to cancer prevention and treatment.

As Senator Yussuff outlines, the bill before us today essentially has three parts: First, supporting improved access for firefighters to cancer prevention and treatment; second, designating the month of January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month; and, finally, setting out new reporting requirements on the effectiveness of the framework, including a report to be tabled in Parliament.

This bill will set out a common framework to guide future government actions building on the work already under way. The framework will be based on engagement and it will serve as an opportunity to exchange information and best practices between stakeholders and the many jurisdictions implicated in this issue.

Through these actions, the Government of Canada aims to raise awareness and share best practices between stakeholders and jurisdictions to ensure that Canadian firefighters, regardless of where they live or their postal code, receive the very best prevention and treatment possible.

The Government of Canada fully supports Bill C-224 so that we can respect and continue to foster our relationships with the provinces and the territories while strengthening the work we do to protect our firefighters.

Through a national framework, the Government of Canada will continue to take action on firefighters and cancer, with the goal of improving access for firefighters to cancer prevention and treatment, as well as explaining and supporting research on the link between firefighting and certain types of cancer. That includes promoting data collection on the prevention and treatment of cancers linked to firefighting, promoting information and knowledge sharing, including training, education and guidance needs across Canada, making recommendations for regular cancer screening for firefighters in Canada and preparing a summary of standards that recognize cancers linked to firefighting as occupational diseases.

The government will also designate and promote January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month. Colleagues, awareness is a key tool that we need to leverage to all stakeholders — from firefighters themselves to health care professionals in Canada — so that all are more aware of this important issue.

[Translation]

In closing, I’d like to once again thank Senator Yussuff, who sponsored this bill, and Senator Wells, the bill’s critic.

Through a national framework, the Government of Canada will improve our understanding of the link between firefighting and cancer and will adopt a more proactive approach to preventing cancer among firefighters.

This government will work closely with the provinces, territories, Indigenous groups, scientists, health care professionals and the firefighting community to shape this framework and develop an approach that meets the needs of firefighters across the country.

The government will continue its efforts with all of its partners to better protect firefighters against toxic chemicals and reduce the risk of cancer related to occupational exposure. Canadian firefighters deserve nothing less.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

[English]

The Senate proceeded to consideration of the ninth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Budget—study on the Canadian foreign service and elements of the foreign policy machinery within Global Affairs Canada), presented in the Senate on April 25, 2023.

Hon. Raymonde Saint-Germain: Senator Boehm, I’d like to know if you think a study on international diplomacy and the effectiveness of our foreign service should include municipalities inside Canada?

Senator Boehm: Thank you for the question, senator. We plan to travel outside Canada only.

Hon. Peter M. Boehm moved the adoption of the report.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Senator Boehm, will you take more questions?

Senator Boehm: Yes, of course.

Hon. Percy E. Downe: I have a question as well.

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

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): I have a question for Senator Boehm.

I notice that this is a report related to a budget. I wanted to ask for the sake of others in the chamber — and similar to what Senator Lankin asked on a previous report — what the nature of the trip is. As well, what are some outcomes that you expect from the trip? Maybe you could elaborate on the budget. Thank you.

Senator Boehm: Well, thank you very much, Senator Martin. It is, in fact, for a trip, and it’s a trip that was planned to take place earlier and features a revised budget — a lower budget — that was sent to the Subcommittee on Senate Estimates and Committee Budgets, or SEBS, and then to the Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, or CIBA, for approval afterwards.

It’s in support of the long study that the committee has undertaken on the fit-for-purpose nature of Global Affairs Canada. It is supplementary to a trip that the committee took to Washington in December of last year. This one will take the committee — in a reduced number, I should add, because what was approved was the chair plus six members of the committee — to London, Oslo and Berlin.

In terms of why there, it’s because these particular countries have a similar system to ours in the way they conduct their foreign policy. They have recently integrated their aid and development function. In the case of the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or FCO, it’s now the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, or FCDO, and the Norwegians have done the same thing, as did the Germans, because they are like-minded.

We will be looking at conditions of foreign service — this is not a foreign policy review per se — how people are recruited and how they are supported. This trip is planned for a non-sitting week — the week before we return in September — and it is basically the last element of this study that we have been working on since last April.

I hope that helps a little.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

Hon. Denise Batters: Thank you. Senator Boehm, you alluded to budget in one of the answers you gave to Senator Downe. However, I didn’t hear you say what the actual budgeted amount is. Of course, we’re dealing here with a trip that is not within Canada, as perhaps that poverty trip was. We’re dealing with a trip to different European capitals, which can be quite costly. Can you please tell us what the amount is?

Thank you.

Senator Boehm: I believe it’s around $275,000, Senator Batters. We dropped it from the original cost, which was over $100,000 above that. I don’t have the exact figure in front of me.

[Translation]

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: I rise today to support Senator Ratna Omidvar’s motion calling on the government to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, as a terrorist entity. I want to begin by saying that, last week, Senator Omidvar gave a very intelligent and heartfelt speech about this regime and about Iran, where she used to live. I share her opinion.

Given the human and women’s rights violations and the crackdowns on protesters, the Canadian government should use this terrorist entity designation to increase pressure on the Iranian regime.

The IRGC was established in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. It is one of the most powerful paramilitary organizations in the Middle East. It exerts an influence over nearly 50% of the Iranian economy and is making headway into Europe and the United States.

In 2020, the Tony Blair Institute in Great Britain exposed the training manuals used by the IRGC to indoctrinate recruits. They promote a violent and extremist ideology and describe the regime’s political opponents as apostates.

To date, only the United States has designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity, but parliamentarians in Europe and Great Britain are also exerting political pressure in that regard.

For its part, Canada opted for a strategy of gradual sanctions, instead of putting the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the blacklist. Since October, the government has banned nearly 1,000 senior Iranian officials from entering the country. Other sanctions followed, but it stopped short of invoking section 83.05 of the Criminal Code, which allows a judge to order that the entity be listed as a terrorist group.

More than 70 organizations are currently designated as terrorist entities under this provision, which allows the courts to order the seizure or restraint of certain assets. One such designated entity is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, a clandestine unit that has been providing arms and funding to extremist groups for the past 10 years.

To justify Canada’s policy, Justice Minister David Lametti explained that the IRGC is part of the armed forces in a country where military service is mandatory. He expressed concern that section 83.05 of the Criminal Code could be used unfairly, since Canada could target opponents of the Iranian regime who have taken refuge in Canada and would have been ordinary conscripts.

In practice, however, the designation would primarily affect senior officers who have assets, who may interfere in Canada or try to cross our border.

The House of Commons passed a motion on this in 2018, but unfortunately no action has been taken.

It is time that the Senate voted on this as well, in the hope that Parliament will speak with one voice and call on the government to recognize the IRGC for what it is, namely a terrorist entity, and treat it as such. Thank you.

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Honourable senators, today I rise to speak to Motion No. 113 for a Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, or SOCI, study on health misinformation, its impacts on Canadians and potential remedies.

In April of this year, the Food and Drug Administration’s Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Robert Califf, reported that the recent rapid drop in life expectancy in the United States of America was in great part due to increased health misinformation.

The Council of Canadian Academies’ January 2023 Fault Lines report determined that, between March and November of 2021 alone, at least 2,800 Canadian lives lost to COVID-19 could have been spared, over 10,000 hospitalizations could have been prevented and $300 million in hospital costs may have been saved if not for disinformation impacting health behaviours of Canadians. Vaccine disinformation alone is in large part responsible for these negative findings.

In a study published in the journal The Lancet on June 23, 2022, Dr. Oliver Watson and colleagues used excess death analysis to determine that vaccinations prevented 19.8 million deaths globally during the first year of COVID-19 vaccination.

In December of 2022, the C.D. Howe Institute report Damage Averted: Estimating the Effects of Covid-19 Vaccines on Hospitalizations, Mortality and Costs in Canada noted that between January 2021 and May 2022, vaccines were highly effective at reducing COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths: 21% fewer cases, 37% fewer hospitalizations and 34,900 fewer deaths. Its economic modelling reported an estimated net cost/benefit of between $0.4 billion and $2.1 billion in cost savings alone, and when the statistical value of life analysis was applied, these savings added an additional $27.6 billion.

Yet, this vaccine disinformation continues to expand, reaching countless Canadians through social media and “alternative news” channels that promote and distribute many different kinds of disinformation; belief in health disinformation is also linked to beliefs in various types of conspiracy theories. Put together, these forces contribute to what scholars such as Kathleen Higgins and Ralph Keyes have called a “post-truth era,” with its attendant social polarizations.

Recently, this chamber initiated legislation calling for improved national action on addressing the needs of people and families living with autism, a very important step forward, indeed. Autism has been a health disinformation battleground for some time now, ranging from the completely false and fully discredited assertions that routine vaccinations cause autism, to the endorsement and, I might add, highly profitable sales of so‑called alternative treatments that have no scientifically valid evidence of positive effect but that in some cases could cause great harm — so-called treatments such as craniosacral manipulation, iron chelation therapy, and daily use — by drinking, bathing or enemas — of chlorine dioxide, which is also known as Miracle Mineral Solution or Master Mineral Solution or, more commonly, bleach.

The widespread concern about health misinformation is summed up in the preamble to the Council of Canadian Academies report:

Misinformation can cause significant harm to individuals, communities, and societies. Because it’s designed to appeal to our emotions and exploit our cognitive shortcuts, everyone is susceptible to it. We are particularly vulnerable to misinformation in times of crisis when the consequences are most acute. Science and health misinformation damages our community well-being through otherwise preventable illnesses, deaths, and economic losses, and our social well-being through polarization and the erosion of public trust. These harms often fall most heavily on the most vulnerable.

A 2020 U.S. Surgeon General report titled Confronting Health Misinformation similarly noted this negative impact and called for immediate and effective action to deal with health misinformation:

Health misinformation is a serious threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, harm people’s health, and undermine public health efforts. Limiting the spread of health misinformation is a moral and civic imperative that will require a whole-of-society effort.

Sadly, there is little that we in Canada can point to in the way of federal-government-supported, coordinated and effective action to address health misinformation. There are some interventions under way, such as the ScienceUpFirst initiative, that — in the interest of full disclosure — I, along with Professor Timothy Caulfield, catalyzed during the first pandemic year. There are several other government-funded activities under way, through the federal Digital Citizen Initiative, the Encouraging vaccine confidence in Canada fund, the Vaccine Community Innovation Challenge and a few others.

There is a government website that provides information on disinformation and how to spot it. In an unscientific straw poll of senators and staff that I recently conducted, only 2 of 48 people even knew it existed, and only one had actually bothered to look — not very effective.

The Government of Canada also commissioned a number of reports on this topic, such as Misinformation in Canada: Research and Policy Options, from Evidence for Democracy; Science Disinformation in a Time of Pandemic, from the Public Policy Forum; and Vulnerable Connections and Fault Lines from the Council of Canadian Academies.

Yet, only the minority of Canadians are up to date in their vaccinations, and health disinformation continues to proliferate. Just two weeks ago, UNICEF Canada reported that the proportion of Canadians who believe childhood immunizations are important has decreased by 8% since the onset of the pandemic. Should this trend continue, we can expect the return of a myriad of deadly infectious diseases, including measles, polio and even smallpox. As well, health disinformation is increasingly being used to sell unregulated and possibly harmful so-called cures or treatments for COVID-19 or other diseases to people online.

The reports that I identified earlier included a number of recommendations for citizens, governments and social media platforms that they felt are necessary to effectively combat disinformation. These included dealing with social media companies in their role as enablers or purveyors of disinformation and the development and delivery of effective public education campaigns to counter the health and social harms of disinformation, all things that could be looked at further in committee study.

Colleagues, action is needed, and our work in the Senate through a SOCI study can be an important part of countering the negative impacts of the many-headed hydra of health disinformation.

As we are aware, health disinformation has always been with us, but, in recent years, it has become a substantial and growing concern with well-established negative impacts on the health of individuals and populations. It has also negatively impacted our trust in public health and in health providers, as well as our economic and civic well-being. It has integrated itself into a social framework that rejects expertise, confuses science with information and encourages verbal — and even physical — attacks on scientists and health providers alike.

Indeed, the World Health Organization, or WHO, has called this growing pernicious threat an “infodemic” that has spread deeply into every part of the globe, and for which our societies have yet to find a fulsome, effective and durable response.

The Senate of Canada is known for the solid studies that its committees conduct. I am hopeful that the Social Affairs Committee will be able to delve into the complex and challenging aspects of health disinformation as it affects Canadians, as well as identify some effective remedies that could be applied.

Today, I would like to suggest some directions that the committee could consider in its work. I will start by addressing what is meant by the terms “disinformation” and “misinformation.”

Generally, disinformation refers to false or inaccurate information that has been deliberately created to deceive. It is created by unique actors, both organizations and individuals, and spread for various purposes. These actors can be outside or inside of Canada; they can include foreign governments whose use of disinformation is designed to create internal division and civil strife in our country, as well as organizations or individuals whose purpose is mercenary or ideological, or both.

Some examples of this include the attempts of the Russian state to sow civil discord in Canada by spreading anti-vaccination messaging through various sources, as well as the self‑proclaimed health experts who spread anti-vaccination information as a vehicle for selling their so-called health products — Mercola Market is a good example of this.

Misinformation also refers to false information, but it is often applied to identify the process by which disinformation is spread — which is frequently by individuals or groups who do not take the time to critically evaluate what they are spreading, or who do so because of emotional investment in the message that they are spreading.

For the sake of brevity, I will use the word “disinformation” to include both the deliberate and inadvertent spread of false or inaccurate information intended to deceive. The outcome is similar.

Sadly, colleagues, health disinformation is also a yellow brick road into conspiracy theories and anti-civil society institutions. Robust research demonstrates that once an individual has gone down the rabbit hole of health disinformation, they are much more likely to become involved in one or more conspiracy theories. Once a person becomes involved in one conspiracy theory, they are more likely to embrace many.

Some classic health misinformation-driven health conspiracy theories pertaining to vaccines are the following: COVID-19 vaccines are a bioweapon for population elimination; COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips to be used by Bill Gates, the World Economic Forum, or WEF, and the WHO for population control; the vaccine alters a person’s DNA; the vaccine is the cause of COVID-19 variants; and vaccines cause large numbers of sudden deaths.

All of those are conspiracy theories that grow out of, use and amplify health disinformation.

The concern is that these health disinformation conspiracy theories are becoming increasingly linked to other conspiracy theories, such as the Great Reset — and that the WEF and the WHO are taking over the governance of sovereign states.

Often, these conspiracy theories spread through algorithms within social media channels and through alternative news sources, such as BitChute, Rumble, Infowars, the Gateway Pundit, the Last Line of Defense, Natural News and The Unhived Mind newsletter, just to mention a few.

Once an individual — who is caught up in health disinformation — links to those sources, other types of conspiracy theories on numerous other topics can become part of their belief system.

In Canada, EKOS Politics has created a disinformation index made up, in large part, of belief in health disinformation.

Canadians who score high on the index, meaning that they believe health disinformation — which is about 15% of Canadians — are much more likely to distrust and not follow public health advice, much more likely to dismiss the importance of Indigenous concerns and much more likely to dismiss the importance of climate change.

Furthermore, data from EKOS polling shows that Canadians who score high on this disinformation index tend to support Russia in its war against Ukraine.

This fits with the alarms sounded by many, including Marcus Kolga, of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, who has clearly demonstrated the role of Russia in spreading health disinformation in Canada. Other scholars have noted that China has also been actively engaged in spreading health disinformation.

One other issue that has received scant media attention is the impact of belief in health disinformation and conspiracy theories on families. As some of us know from personal experience, adherence to health disinformation and conspiracy theories can pull otherwise cohesive families apart. If that can be the impact of health disinformation on families, just think of what it can do to communities or civil society.

Indeed, some scholars have already noted the relationship between health disinformation and social and civic polarization.

Colleagues, there are numerous remedies that have been proposed to help counter health disinformation, and a thorough Social Affairs Committee study should critically assess these remedies, as well as provide direction on how those that are effective can be best applied. Those remedies might require numerous concurrent interventions and will need to be well supported, established outside of government and sustainable — because we are in this for the long haul.

Colleagues, the Senate is known for its good committee work in helping Canadians journey through complex issues and difficult topics. Health disinformation and its negative impacts, as well as the potential effective remedies and how to apply them, are some of the wicked, complex issues facing Canadian society. Indeed, health disinformation might be one of the most important issues that not only Canadians, but also global citizens, have ever faced.

I look forward to further debate on this motion and to its rapid passage so that the Social Affairs Committee can get to work on this challenging opportunity.

Thank you. Wela’lioq.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: I’m sorry, colleagues, but there is no more time for debate, unless Senator Kutcher wants to seek leave for five additional minutes.

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

Hon. Mary Coyle: Senator Kutcher, this seems like an important motion that you have put forward. I just want to understand the scope of what you are recommending to the Social Affairs Committee in terms of examining and reporting on the negative impacts of health disinformation on Canadian society, and what effective measures can be implemented to counter that impact.

You’ve spoken about the yellow brick road; you’ve spoken about the rabbit holes and the other issues. Do you see this particular study as being focused exclusively on health disinformation, or do you see health disinformation as a Trojan Horse that could bring in other areas of disinformation that the committee would also want to study?

I’m just curious how far beyond health disinformation you are expecting the scope of the study to go, if at all.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

Hon. Marty Deacon: The timing is interesting on this. Yesterday, the National Security and Defence Committee took a look at disinformation as it relates to national security. But the conversation about health and health-related issues — for example, COVID — was not off the table. It’s certainly part of it. There is no question this is as complex as the day is long.

I don’t think this is a scope question, but I’m wondering from you, Senator Kutcher, if you were sitting at the Social Affairs Committee table looking at this, what expertise beyond the health sector — I was going to ask you what your dream solution was, but that’s such a complex issue. What expertise would you like to have at the table for this conversation?

Hon. Pamela Wallin, pursuant to notice of April 25, 2023, moved:

That, notwithstanding the order of the Senate adopted on Thursday, December 16, 2021, the date for the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy in relation to its study on matters relating to banking, trade, commerce and the economy generally, as described in rule 12-7(10), be extended from June 30, 2023, to December 31, 2025.

Hon. Marty Klyne rose pursuant to notice of March 28, 2023:

That he will call the attention of the Senate to the ongoing business and economic contributions made by Indigenous businesses to Canada’s economy.

He said: Honourable senators, I am pleased to commence this inquiry recognizing Indigenous-owned and controlled businesses in Canada. Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses are essential to Indigenous independence, wealth creation and self‑determination. Stories shared through this inquiry will illustrate the tremendous successes of Indigenous businesses and, importantly, the valued contributions made to our nation’s economy, not to mention the engagement of untapped productivity, innovation and idle resources.

In addition, I submit for your consideration that it is of vital importance that we also consider what we can do to knock down barriers and clear a pathway to access continued education, training, capital and therefore further our nation’s economy.

I’m proud to stand in this chamber and begin sharing these stories, and look forward to other senators’ contributions to this conversation in the weeks and months ahead.

Colleagues, we speak a lot about reconciliation, particularly about upholding rights and addressing injustices. Economic reconciliation is a related topic that requires our full attention. We can move forward as a country faster and further if all people in Canada can access equitable opportunities to prosper and contribute to our shared wealth.

This was a theme of the Senate Prosperity Action Group’s 2021 report. With that in mind, let’s acknowledge and celebrate the excellent Indigenous businesses and economic development organizations in Canada that are creating wealth, independence, self-determination and, most of all, hope.

For decades, a narrative has existed around Indigenous businesses that suggests such businesses are few and far between, largely dependent on government support and making an insignificant contribution to our GDP and the social fabric and well-being of Canada. The truth is, well, quite the opposite. According to the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, there are more than 50,000 Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada that together contribute $31 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product annually.

In addition, in the aforementioned Prosperity Action Group’s 2021 report, Indigenous economic development leaders cited Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada contributing $100 billion to the GDP in the next few years.

There are over 50 Aboriginal Financial Institutions, or AFIs, in this country from coast to coast to coast providing financing for the start-up, expansion and acquisition of Indigenous-owned and controlled businesses. Many of these developmental lenders, which were initially capitalized with $5 million, lent that capital out to start businesses. They got the money back with interest and lent it out again and again, leveraging it multiple times and creating thousands of jobs. As developmental lenders, these AFIs would lend money and subordinate their positions to mainstream banks and credit unions to bring that mainstream financing to the table. In essence, they would lend $1 to leverage $3 to $4.

They also provided business planning and business advisory services. At the end of the day, the cost of creating a job was far below any government programs — by far — not to mention the building of capacity and creating of wealth at the same time. I add that the loan loss provisions of these AFIs were extremely favourable largely because there is peer and community oversight in an informal manner.

I’ll share an example of an organization from my home province of Saskatchewan that will demonstrate what modern Indigenous organizations look like in Canada. I begin with the story of Whitecap Dakota First Nation and the inspiring economic success they have achieved over the past three decades. Whitecap Dakota’s origins date back to time immemorial. Their history is rich, colourful and serves as a narrative of finding success through innovation and hard work, despite the odds being stacked against them.

For generations, the Dakota maintained friendship and partnership with the British Crown, and they later settled in an area known as Moose Woods, located not far from Saskatoon. As the years went by and Canada became a country, many non-Indigenous people prospered. Sadly and unjustly, generations of the Dakota could not access and share in that same level of wealth creation and prosperity. Colonial policies, including rights violations and the traumas inflicted by the residential school system, didn’t just have a negative social and cultural impact on the Dakota. It also tragically affected their economic capacity, resulting in years of high unemployment and extremely limited opportunities. Those missed opportunities didn’t just cost the Whitecap Dakota, they cost everyone — Indigenous and non‑Indigenous alike.

For the Whitecap, it became clear that the need to create and drive the conditions for prosperity would have to come from within. In the 1990s, under the leadership of band council — and, notably, under the leadership of Chief Darcy Bear — Whitecap Dakota First Nation decided to take control of their own destiny. As a nation with courage and conviction, they leaped into action to pursue development opportunities and to provide a better future for their people. With perseverance, they methodically sought investment and they delivered results. To date, Whitecap Dakota has attracted over $160 million in capital investment in economic development and tourism, and they’re just getting started.

Some of Whitecap’s most notable successes have come through the Whitecap Development Corporation. Economic development organizations can play a huge role in attracting investment and opportunities, and Whitecap is a prime example. They boast some incredible businesses, such as the Dakota Dunes Golf Links — a renowned golf course. The course features sand dunes, wild roses and tremendous natural beauty. It is ranked the number one public golf course in Saskatchewan — and we have a great number of highly rated golf courses in my province.

Whitecap has other ventures too, including the Dakota Dunes Resort and Dakota Dunes Casino, which create a high-end resort that not only features incredible amenities but also ties in the rich history and culture of the Dakota in a true and authentic manner. The golf course, hotel and casino aren’t just luxury accommodations — they are important economic drivers that have helped boost employment and given young people opportunities that did not exist a generation or two ago.

Today, Whitecap offers health care services and a child care centre that are available to both band members and non-band members.

Were there bumps along the way? You bet. In fact, one of the lessons learned for many Indigenous economic development corporations came through the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought to light that the majority of investments were in the tourism industry — which, as we know, was negatively impacted by COVID-19 — and highlighted the importance of diversifying business portfolios to help manage uncertainty.

Like many entrepreneurial Indigenous communities across Canada, Whitecap found opportunity in a place where few might have thought that opportunity would exist. This perspective changed lives. What began as an economically isolated reserve is now an important economic driver for our province. Their story is one that inspires.

Whitecap has flipped the script, and they now serve as a model to Canada of what can happen when Indigenous peoples empower themselves to take charge of their own destiny. That journey — that unwavering faith in their own potential — is what has driven Dakota Whitecap, and it is what drives so many other Indigenous businesses in Canada.

When I spoke with Chief Bear a few months ago about Whitecap’s success, he spoke about the importance of bringing employment to the reserve and what that has meant to their people. He told me that unemployment has dropped significantly and that young people have more role models and better opportunities. Most importantly, their young people have hope. If you ever wonder why there is a high incidence of suicide on some reserves, it is largely due to desperation and a bleak future ahead.

Chief Bear’s accomplishments speak for themselves. He has received both the Order of Canada and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

His business credentials are also evident. He is chairperson of SaskPower, he was listed as one of the “Ten Most Influential People” by Saskatchewan Business Magazine, and he received CANDO’s “Economic Developer of the Year” title in 2006. More recently, in 2016, he received the Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

I’m also happy to share that Whitecap Dakota is making history as they are set to become the first self-governing First Nation in Saskatchewan following a historic vote of its membership this past October. It is an important milestone and one that helps solidify their efforts to achieve even greater financial autonomy and self-determination in our nation of nations.

Historically, Indigenous peoples were the first business leaders on this land, with continental trade thriving before European settlement. When settlers arrived, our people shared what they had, including essential local knowledge and resources, forming the early basis for our country’s commerce system. The fur trade is one example. However, as we all know, that early spirit of mutual respect and partnership went another way.

With acceptance of the truth of history, reconciliation aims to rekindle the spirit of equal respect and mutual benefit, including in economic ventures on these shared lands and waters. This includes resource development, such as critical minerals, and in all the areas of business growth that accompany successful projects.

Indigenous business surrounds us. These businesses are active everywhere across Canada — from urban cores to rural towns, in markets from coast to coast to coast — and, yes, both on-reserve and off-reserve. Indigenous companies often operate in areas where non-Indigenous companies don’t see the market opportunities. Indigenous businesses take the lead to ensure those underserved communities have access to non-discretionary goods and services. After all, you aren’t likely to find a Shoppers Drug Mart or Walmart on a reserve that can only be reached by an airplane.

A 2016 study by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business found that Indigenous businesses tend to focus on serving local markets, but many are now expanding their customer base beyond their traditional areas of support. It is in these areas that Indigenous businesses are filling gaps, serving customers and creating jobs and prosperity.

This topic is personal for me. Prior to becoming a senator, I worked in mainstream business heading up large, medium and small businesses — including an Aboriginal capital corporation that funded the start-up of hundreds of Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-controlled businesses which employed thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in remote, rural and urban communities throughout Saskatchewan.

For decades, I have been an advocate for the education of Indigenous youth and young adults, and for creating wealth and hope through Indigenous business ownership. Through this inquiry, I hope that we can change the narrative and stereotypes, and help encourage even more young Indigenous peoples to explore commerce. I hope we can shine a light on the amazing stories happening across the country, thereby enriching our knowledge through exploring the unique challenges and features associated with starting and running Indigenous businesses, as well as through witnessing the building of capacity — creating wealth and independence for generations to come.

As senators, we are in a strong position to tell those stories using our national platform. This is a topic that does not run along partisan or ideological lines. Every person in this chamber should want Indigenous businesses and peoples to succeed and prosper to the benefit of our entire society.

Indeed, enhanced economic prosperity for Indigenous peoples means greater prosperity for everyone. A recent report from RBC noted that if Indigenous workers were empowered to participate in our economy at the same level as non-Indigenous workers, Canada would see an additional $67 billion in GDP. That is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. I’m thrilled to see growing Indigenous representation at economic conferences and summits, including at the recent North American Leaders’ Summit.

While much work remains, progress is being made. Another example of innovation from Saskatchewan can be found in the Treaty Land Sharing Network. Founded in the wake of the death of Colten Boushie, the network was created as a means of connecting farmers and rural landowners with First Nations and Métis peoples.

Participating members in the network place signs on their land informing traditional land users that they can gather, hunt, hold ceremonies and exercise their treaty rights in a safe space. Not only has this network helped to create a safe space, but it has also led to new friendships, helped to promote knowledge transfer and fostered a renewed commitment to community. It is an important initiative and one that illustrates the shared prosperity that is found when we work together.

Colleagues, economic reconciliation sometimes gets lost in the broader discussion of recognizing rights and addressing past injustices. That is something we need to change. Empowering Indigenous peoples to take full ownership of their economic potential is something Canada must do if we are to progress towards a more equitable future. We need to do more to encourage Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-controlled businesses in Canada and to support economic capacity as an aspect of self-determination. The results are clear — just look at what is happening at Whitecap Dakota or in places like Osoyoos Indian Band or Membertou First Nation. I know that Senator Busson will have more to say about Osoyoos.

Honourable senators, it is my hope that this inquiry can shine a light on some of the greatest economic success stories of Indigenous peoples. We can provide a platform and give a voice to Indigenous business leaders and the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Everyone stands to benefit from economic reconciliation. For too long, this country has been divided across social and economic lines that should never have come to exist. Everyone deserves a fair chance to participate in wealth creation and to build prosperity for their community.

I hope you’ll join me in this effort, and I hope that everyone in this chamber will consider lending their support — and their voice — to this inquiry.

If you are interested in profiling Indigenous business success in your region, call my office; we’d be happy to assist.

Thank you. Hiy kitatamîhin.

Hon. Bev Busson: Honourable senators, I am rising to support and expound on Senator Klyne’s important inquiry calling the attention of Senate to the ongoing contributions made by Indigenous businesses to Canada’s economy. I’m excited and honoured to seize the opportunity, as a senator from British Columbia, to highlight some of the outstanding entrepreneurship of Indigenous nations in my province.

In the midst of the pain and generational trauma of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, these communities have utilized traditional leadership and determination that come from overcoming difficult challenges to achieve amazing results through the communities and for Canada. There are many examples in British Columbia to choose from and I cannot list them all, but I will give you a taste of the achievements of the many communities in British Columbia that are moving forward.

In the north of my province, I would recognize the Nisga’a Nation, which, in 1999, signed the first modern-day, comprehensive treaty in British Columbia since the Douglas Treaties of 1854, thereby gaining control over their land, including forestry, fishing and mining resources for over 2,000 square kilometres of land in the Nass Valley. They are the first Indigenous government to provide for unrestricted, fee simple ownership of residentially zoned areas in the Nisga’a land, allowing its citizens to buy and sell their land and to use it to raise capital. By unlocking this important resource for supporting investment and economic growth, a new door to prosperity is thus opened.

Moreover, in 2014, the Nisga’a Nation became the primary property taxation authority to levy and collect property taxes from entities beyond Nisga’a citizens, including companies that operate installations such as pipelines and other industries. Their focus on the resources of their region is an example of innovation and entrepreneurship for all to see, creating a legacy for future generations.

The Shuswap or Secwepemc people are situated near my home. They also have a number of economic ventures that I want to talk to you about. They are particularly proud of their five-star lakefront resort called Quaaout Lodge and Talking Rock Golf Course. The top-20 PGA-rated course has become a very successful destination where there is something for everyone, supported and run by the Shuswap First Nation through the Skwlax Resource Management Group. Despite a recent fire, the community prospers because of the entrepreneurial spirit and vision and the leadership of those who have shown the way, inspired and managed by the Shuswap Band Council.

The Haida people of Haida Gwaii are another example of the many success stories of my province. Their unique governance and co-management model supports the tremendous growth and remarkable resilience flourishing in this beautiful archipelago off the coast of the mainland of British Columbia.

From economic development to education projects and engagement in entrepreneurial partnership, Haida Indigenous businesses are growing and contributing not only value to their own communities but to a wider Canadian economy.

In the southern part of my region, known as the Thompson-Okanagan, I want to shine a light on a truly outstanding entrepreneurial accomplishment. The Osoyoos Indian Band, as my friend mentioned, a part of the Okanagan Indian Band, has its traditional territory in the Okanagan Valley, from the north end of Okanagan Lake to the international border with Washington state.

Indeed, the band’s historical and traditional territory, occupied by them for thousands of years, extends deep into the United States but was politically severed when the forty-ninth parallel became a reality in the colonial division of North America.

The Osoyoos Indian Band, led since 1984 by Chief Clarence Louie, has shown great leadership in building and supporting entrepreneurial opportunities for its people and other communities in the area. Chief Louie is a recipient of many awards, including the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada. He is particularly proud that, in 2019, he was the first Indigenous person inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 2021, he received an honourary degree from the University of British Columbia, among many other honours.

I had the privilege of speaking with him recently and learned a great deal. He freely admits that he might have taken a different path had it not been for his quest for knowledge that led him in his early years to pursue Native American studies at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College and later at the University of Lethbridge.

Returning to his home community, he brought a vision focused on traditional values and linked to his outstanding leadership skills.

Over the past 36 years, the Okanagan Indian Band has evolved from a poor and struggling reserve to a multimillion-dollar business where revenues this year are expected to reach over $36 million.

In his highly respected book, Rez Rules, he clearly talks about his ventures. He details his guiding principles to achieve cultural resilience and economic independence. He takes great pride in pointing out how his Indigenous ancestors provided for themselves.

He says:

They were the first entrepreneurs in Canada. They built it, they hunted it, they manufactured it. They survived by relying on their own resilience and self-reliance with no one else to lean on.

That philosophy has been his mantra and guiding principle throughout his life. In his own words, he says:

Success never sleeps. It takes an everyday commitment to hard work, but it also takes the determination to keep pushing and innovating.

His emphasis on economic development has motivated the vision and the means to improve his people’s standard of living and pathway to achieving self-sufficiency, while maintaining the Okanagan language and culture in all aspects of the band’s activities.

As a measure of success, the Okanagan Indian Band has virtually no unemployment and, in fact, brings in workers from other reserves in British Columbia and elsewhere to work there.

The Okanagan Indian Band economic development corporation owns a number of enterprises. The lynchpin is the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, consisting of indoor and outdoor galleries with an interactive learning environment, including hands-on media learning theatres on a 1,600-acre desert conservation area where people can learn from and share in the rich heritage, traditions and culture of the Okanagan people.

Another enterprise is the Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, a destination championship golf course that has grown into a world-class facility. The designers, with the advice of elders and others, listened to the wild symmetry of the land, the canyons and the wind to create a striking vision of its natural beauty.

Added to these enterprises is the Nk’Mip Cellars, a vineyard and winery, which is a compelling part of the reserve. The cellars were the first fully Indigenous-owned winery in North America, and they have produced many internationally recognized and award-winning wines under the direction of its Indigenous winemaker, who was sponsored by the band to go to California to learn how to become an outstanding vintner. Details from the cellars themselves to the bottle art are distinctly Indigenous in nature.

These are the accomplishments of only a few of the many businesses and projects supported by the people of the Okanagan Indian Band. Others are focused on technology, education, health and infrastructure. They have earned both the band and the surrounding area the financial independence and the path to prosperity for future generations.

From the vision and the persistence of the Okanagan Indian Band inspired by the beauty of the land to the vision of the Shuswap people and beyond, the strength of the Nisga’a people of the Nass Valley and other groups and communities in British Columbia, there are so many shining lights and amazing accomplishments of Indigenous businesses that I cannot describe them all.

Not only do these enterprises serve their reserves but also the province and the country as a whole. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues telling their stories of the contributions of Indigenous entrepreneurs in other parts of this great country. Limlemt. Thank you. Meegwetch.

(On motion of Senator Clement, debate adjourned.)

(At 5 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

Appendix—Senators List