Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a copy of the commission appointing Maia Welbourne Deputy of the Governor General.

Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I have the honour to table the answers to the following oral questions:

Response to the oral question asked in the Senate on February 15, 2023, by the Honourable Senator Martin, concerning the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Response to the oral question asked in the Senate on March 22, 2023, by the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., concerning social media.

Response to the oral question asked in the Senate on March 28, 2023, by the Honourable Senator McPhedran, concerning the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Yonah Martin on February 15, 2023)

The public consultation period formally closed on March 31, 2023; however, as a result of stakeholder interest, Infrastructure Canada officials continued to meet with interested parties and to receive written submissions into April. External stakeholder engagement for the legislative review of the operations and provisions of the Canada Infrastructure Bank Act began November 8, 2022, when it was communicated broadly at a Federal, Provincial and Territorial meeting attended by Ministers, Deputy Ministers and other officials. As part of their work, Infrastructure Canada officials sent numerous meeting invitations to a broad range of stakeholders including lenders, developers, government partners (municipal and provincial), Indigenous groups, and various organizations including the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and have held meetings and roundtables with those that accepted.

Information on the legislative review, including how the broader public and other interested parties can share their views, was made available on the Infrastructure Canada and Consulting with Canadians websites with a deadline of March 31, 2023. The review was also promoted on the Department’s social media and through third parties as available.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Claude Carignan on March 22, 2023)

The Policy on Communications and Federal Identity (https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=30683) and its supporting Directive on the Management of Communications (https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=30682&section=procedure&p=D) do not prescribe the type of media used in GC advertising. Departments are responsible for managing their advertising campaign budgets including the choice of media which is determined based on campaign objectives, target audience, timing, and budget.

Departments are still permitted to advertise on TikTok should they determine that this is a necessary platform on which to reach Canadians. Departments are not required to have an account on TikTok to advertise on the platform.

While the Government has decided to prevent the use of TikTok on government mobile devices, Canadians and Canadian organizations must make an informed decision on using the application based on their own needs and risk-assessments.

To help with these decisions, Communications Security Establishment’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) recently published updated advice and guidance regarding the use of personal social media. This publication is in addition to the Cyber Centre’s still relevant advice and guidance on security considerations that should be considered when using social media in an organization (https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/security-considerations-when-using-social-media-your-organization-itsm10066).

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Marilou McPhedran on March 28,2023)

Canada has a proven track record in supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In implementing the Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada has substantially increased its investments in advancing gender equality and helped contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development continues to recognize Canada as its top bilateral donor in terms of share of aid supporting gender equality.

Canada’s international assistance under this policy has achieved life-saving results and helped to improve the lives of women and girls. However, Global Affairs Canada agrees with the Office of the Auditor General that the Department must do better at reporting on and communicating these results. Global Affairs Canada’s management action plan will clearly outline the actions we are taking to address the gaps identified in the report.

This includes putting in place a system for information on results enabling the Department to better track and report, conducting a review of performance indicators to ensure that Canada is reflecting the results achieved, reporting more thoroughly on the cumulative impacts of international assistance projects and further considering intersecting identity factors when conducting project-level gender-equality assessments.