The Hon. the Speaker: Finally, I want to reiterate that it has been, indeed, a great honour to represent Canada and Canadians in my capacity as senator and Speaker. I only hope that, in some small way, I have proven worthy of this honour.

Everywhere you travel around the world, you find that Canada is loved and respected. I have often heard leaders and heads of state around the world express great admiration for Canada. For with all its sins and foibles, including our past failures to love and protect our Indigenous brothers and sisters, and with our shortcomings regarding our regions and minorities, it is still the greatest country in the world.

Remember, colleagues, that it is through accepting and embracing your responsibilities as Canadian senators that we make Canada not just a better and stronger federation but the envy of the world.

Thank you for your support, for your patience and for your understanding.

I wish you all well.

The Hon. the Speaker: Finally, I want to reiterate that it has been, indeed, a great honour to represent Canada and Canadians in my capacity as senator and Speaker. I only hope that, in some small way, I have proven worthy of this honour.

Everywhere you travel around the world, you find that Canada is loved and respected. I have often heard leaders and heads of state around the world express great admiration for Canada. For with all its sins and foibles, including our past failures to love and protect our Indigenous brothers and sisters, and with our shortcomings regarding our regions and minorities, it is still the greatest country in the world.

Remember, colleagues, that it is through accepting and embracing your responsibilities as Canadian senators that we make Canada not just a better and stronger federation but the envy of the world.

Thank you for your support, for your patience and for your understanding.

I wish you all well.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, when shall this report be taken into consideration?

(On motion of Senator Black, report placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting of the Senate.)

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the twelfth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, which deals with Bill C-22, An Act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act.

(For text of report, see today’s Journals of the Senate, p. 1650.)

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

That the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate, no later than June 30, 2023, a report related to its study on the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the report be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

Hon. Robert Black, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, presented the following report:

Thursday, May 11, 2023

The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry has the honour to present its

NINTH REPORT

Your committee, which was authorized by the Senate on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, to examine and report on the status of soil health in Canada, respectfully requests funds for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

The original budget application submitted to the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and the report thereon of that committee were printed in the Journals of the Senate on February 16, 2023. On February 16, 2023, the Senate approved the release of $36,220 to the committee.

Pursuant to Chapter 3:05, section 2(1)(c) of the Senate Administrative Rules, the budget submitted to the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and the report thereon of that committee are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

ROBERT BLACK

Chair

(For text of budget, see today’s Journals of the Senate, Appendix C, p. 1671.)

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Sarah Fischer, Director of Communications for the Conservative Party of Canada, posted on Twitter:

It’s just a passport

It’s just a symbol

They’re only words

Only beliefs held by the few

Only traditions that no longer matter

It’s just history

Milan Kundera wrote:

The first step in liquidating a people . . . is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was.

The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.

Leader, the mayor of Terry Fox’s hometown of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, said yesterday:

Whoever made the decision to remove Terry Fox from Canadian passports needs to give their head a shake. Our country needs more Terry Fox, not less.

I certainly agree with those words. I also agree, leader, with the Royal Canadian Legion statement condemning the removal of an image of the Vimy Memorial from our passports. They said it was, “. . . to put it bluntly, a poor decision,” leader.

This is the result of a government that has a lack of respect for Canadians and Canada’s history, and the heroes and heroines of the past who have made our country great. They have no moral compass.

Leader, why did the Trudeau government make it a priority to erase images of our country from our passports?

Hon. Claude Carignan: The person who designed the passport is more of a fan of the Granby Zoo than a history buff.

On another subject, members of the government passed a resolution at your party’s convention — the Liberal Party, that is. Resolution 472 asks the government to limit the publication of online information, which obviously includes newspaper articles. It says, and I quote, “. . . limit publication only to material whose sources can be traced.”

After passing Bill C-11, the censorship bill, now the Liberals want to hunt down sources. Even though Parliament unanimously passed a law to protect journalistic sources, it is now government policy to hunt down sources.

Leader, is this the result of Chinese interference? Sources spoke out and embarrassed the government, so now it has decided to make it government policy to hunt down journalistic sources?

Hon. Lucie Moncion: My question is for Senator Gold, the Government Representative in the Senate.

It concerns Canada’s financial cooperative sector. The 2023 budget announced changes to the current definition of “credit union” in the Income Tax Act. These changes will guarantee that credit cooperatives can continue to provide a full range of financial services to more than 10 million Canadians and remain competitive in order to prevent Canadian banks from having a monopoly on financial services.

Having spent 38 years in the sector, I am pleased with Canada’s commitment to financial cooperatives. However, these amendments are not found in Bill C-47, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023.

Senator Gold, what is the government’s intention with respect to this measure announced in the 2023 budget? Why wasn’t it included in Bill C-47, and when will it be included in a budget implementation bill?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. To emphasize the importance of matters related to the appointment of judges, as I said recently in this chamber, the government has appointed more than 600 judges since it took office in 2015, and it has also created a significant number of judicial positions in order to help judges manage their workload. The government takes into account the recommendations of the judicial advisory committees that review the applications, as well as the needs of the court.

The government is also trying to ensure that the justice system reflects the country that it serves. Merit, not political affiliation, is the guiding principle for the process. The government is working to fill the vacancies in various provinces. The minister has spoken with members of the judiciary and the bar to encourage more people to apply.

As I have said, the government continues to make appointments at a steady pace, and I have been informed that the number of vacancies will continue to decline.

Senator Dagenais: Despite getting such a detailed answer, I have another question.

Considering his personal knowledge, would the government leader at least acknowledge that the shortage of judges, which the government is responsible for, could lead to dangerous criminals being released, thus endangering public safety? Indeed, this is probably already happening because of the Jordan decision.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. No, that is clearly not the case. Despite the fact that your leader addressed me as the “Liberal leader,” I am the government representative. Resolutions adopted by the Liberal Party, and those adopted by your party as well, colleague, are quite obviously supporters’ resolutions, and the government is in no way obligated to take them up.

The Prime Minister made it very clear, as did Minister Seamus O’Regan, that the government has no intention of implementing the proposed resolution. The Government of Canada respects journalism. That is quite evident in the bills under consideration, and it is clear to everyone.

The answer, once again, is no.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Budget 2023 clearly expresses the government’s intention of making this change to put credit unions on an equal footing in the tax system. The government is taking the time necessary to draft the legislation to roll out this change properly.

As noted in the 2023 tax supplement, the amendment would apply in respect of taxation years of a credit union ending after 2016, providing retroactive support to credit unions.

Hon. Claude Carignan: I think it is important to come back to this country’s shortage of judges, which can be attributed to the inertia of the government you represent.

When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada takes the liberty of publicly rebuking your government, it’s a sign that the situation has become intolerable and that it’s jeopardizing timely access to justice.

Senator Gold, you know how the selection process for judges works. I am familiar with it, having spent three years on a judicial advisory committee. There is a pool of potential judges who have been pre-approved by the committees, so all your Prime Minister has to do is use the list of recommended candidates to fill the 85 judicial vacancies.

I can’t help but remember Radio-Canada’s exposé from October 2020 about how the judicial selection process was being politicized by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Leader, can you assure us that the reason the Prime Minister isn’t filling this country’s judicial vacancies isn’t that there aren’t enough card-carrying Liberals among the candidates pre‑approved by independent committees? If that’s not the reason, then can you tell us what is?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. No, that is clearly not the case. Despite the fact that your leader addressed me as the “Liberal leader”, I am the government representative. Resolutions adopted by the Liberal Party, and those adopted by your party as well, colleague, are quite obviously supporters’ resolutions, and the government is in no way obligated to take them up.

The Prime Minister made it very clear, as did Minister Seamus O’Regan, that the government has no intention of implementing the proposed resolution. The Government of Canada respects journalism. That is quite evident in the bills under consideration, and it is clear to everyone.

The answer, once again, is no.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, and for underlining the important contribution that our veterans have made, as well as the important support that they deserve.

The government continues to work assiduously to provide appropriate benefits to veterans. The pacing and timing of expenditures are a function of many variables. In that regard, I would certainly be happy to take your concerns and transmit them to the appropriate minister.

Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Thank you, Government Representative.

This question is on the same theme of solutions to complex issues, and it relates to the watermark-style pictures in the new passport. Let me approach it quite differently than was earlier discussed. I do believe those symbols are important. As you know, I’ve raised the issue of ensuring that Parliament Hill and Wellington Street are reformed in a way that will highlight that icon for all Canadians.

I want to ask the government to take a step back from this issue, and consult with Canadians once again in order to develop a new proposal by the fall. Given that Canadians will be applying for passports online, I wonder if we can provide applicants with a choice of the art they would like for their passports. Passports are not a document to be weaponized. Can we find an amicable solution as soon as possible?

Hon. Andrew Cardozo: I have a two-part question for the Government Representative in the Senate. Out of respect for this institution, I will use your proper title: Government Representative.

My question relates to two current controversies, and, rather than complaining or accusing, I will propose that my theme is solutions to complex issues.

On the matter of foreign interference and parliamentarians, while I compliment the government on the new policy announced this week that requires the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, or CSIS, to brief up all intelligence regarding parliamentarians, can you confirm that CSIS will brief individual parliamentarians directly when there are any intelligence issues concerning those individuals going forward, as well as that CSIS will also brief them on intelligence received in recent years?

Hon. Leo Housakos: My question is for the government leader in the Senate. We just found out yesterday that Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino — who helps Canadians sleep so comfortably at night — has announced that this country is not going to see a foreign influence registry before next fall.

This is another example — despite the urgency by both the public and the media — of so many cases where we currently see our national security has been compromised, yet your government continues to vacillate on this issue and bury its head in the sand, always taking an extraordinary amount of time to respond to the globe’s biggest bully: the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.

Why is the government so reticent in taking a hard stand to protect Canadians of Chinese descent, as well as so many other Canadians of the diaspora who are being intimidated and threatened?

Why doesn’t your government embrace Bill S-237 — a private member’s bill that has been lingering in this house for 15 months? Take the bill, mould it, send it to committee, build in the elements that the government wants and expedite it out of this chamber, which the government can do quickly, given the fact that the majority of senators here continuously vote for what they wish. Get it over to the House, where there is a political will to deal with this. Why are we waiting until next fall? What is going on?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. As I already responded today, my understanding is that there was, in fact, a process of consultation that gave rise to the suggestions that found their way into this particular redesign.

With regard to your particular suggestion, again, I would be happy to bring it to the attention of the appropriate minister.