Senator Dupuis: Do we agree, you and I, that this question deserves to be studied by the Senate as legislator, since the Supreme Court itself noted that it couldn’t rule on the change to section 43, which is ultimately in the hands of parliamentarians?

[English]

Senator Marshall: Our health care system is expensive, and our results are modest to poor.

Senator McPhedran: As a point of clarification, Senator Plett, how do we regulate this when you give a specific example about an acceptable limit of physical contact or physical punishment that happens in the privacy of a home or other location where the recipient of those two slaps, for example, has no power, no voice and no way of getting beyond that private situation?

Senator Wells: First of all, thank you for not taking the full time that was allotted for your speech, unlike what our colleagues did so as to not allow questions.

You mentioned this being a behavioural tax and that it’s a behavioural modification tax. Do you see this additional levy on farmers as being fair where there’s no alternative? You mentioned that there is no other reasonable alternative on Prince Edward Island for drying their grain or heating the facilities where cattle are kept.

Senator Downe: Yes.

Senator Batters: Senator Omidvar, your Recommendation 2 talks about “targeting populations that are currently overrepresented in Canada’s suicide rates . . . . ” In that short list, your committee included “persons with mental illnesses.”

Senator Batters: Senator Omidvar, your Recommendation 2 talks about “targeting populations that are currently overrepresented in Canada’s suicide rates . . . . ” In that short list, your committee included “persons with mental illnesses.”

Senator Omidvar, another fact noted in that 2010 commercial I mentioned was that 90% of those who die by suicide have mental illness, so it’s not a subset of suicide deaths in Canada. This is nearly the entire group of suicide deaths in Canada.

Why did your committee include that in your targeted demographic list?

Senator Omidvar: Senator Batters, I understand what you’re saying. Mental health is likely an underlying cause for suicides, regardless of which population they are in. I take your point, but I believe the committee did recognize the importance of mental illness as a condition, and we’ve noted it in the recommendation.

If you have not found it to your satisfaction, in retrospect, I wish you had been called as a witness; that would have helped. Hopefully, the next time we study this matter, we will remember to do so.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator McCallum, seconded by the Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources be authorized to examine and report on the cumulative positive and negative impacts of resource extraction and development, and their effects on environmental, economic and social considerations, when and if the committee is formed; and

That the committee submit its final report no later than December 31, 2022.

Senator Gold: I thank the senator for his suggestion. I will bring it to the minister’s attention.

That being said, I’d simply like to point out that the Canada Pension Plan and the public sector pension plans are subject to their own acts of Parliament, which have been amended many times by various Parliaments.

[English]

Senator Downe: Yes, of course.

Senator Plett: No, no, that’s fine.

Senator Dupuis: Would Senator Plett agree to answer a supplementary question?

[English]

Senator Gold: Thank you for the questions. I’ll certainly add that to the inquiries I undertake to make.

Senator Omidvar: I don’t know that. That’s why I asked the question.

What role do provincial laws play in this?

Senator Plett: Certainly.

Senator Poirier: I totally agree.

Regarding the council that is going to be put in place, it will be extremely important — specifically, in rural New Brunswick and rural Canada, there are a lot of places and companies out there that are not unionized, so we need to ensure those people have a voice and that we can hear from them.

I have total confidence — I have been on the Social Affairs Committee for a long time; I’m not there right now, but I have been for a long time — and I have total faith in the committee that they will do great work and ensure all voices are heard. Yes, there are a lot of people who are hurting out there. Again, I remember when I was a member of the legislative assembly when there was nowhere else to turn, because there were not even pilot projects or anything. I would even reach out to churches and local organizations in the community to see where I could get firewood to help a family heat their home in the winter, or get food or different things.

Yes, I’m passionate about it. I really have faith that the committee will do a great job on it and make sure that our voices are all well heard. Thank you.

[Translation]

Senator Plett: Point of order, Your Honour. This is not a question related to anything that I said here today. I would appreciate that, if Senator Simons has a question related to the speech, she asks it and does not go on a rant. If she wants to debate this bill later on, she can do that.

Senator Woo: Would you take a question, Senator Downe?

Senator Simons: Senator Plett absolutely made reference to the two protests outside of schools. He clearly mentioned Blaine Higgs, who —

Senator Poirier: Yes, I will.

Senator Plett: I’m not sure, Senator McPhedran, whether you heard any of my speech or not. In my speech, I said that a slap on the bum with the hand so it leaves no mark is not assault. So, no, you and I agree. We should not assault children. Absolutely. I don’t think spanking a child with two slaps on the bum — it cannot leave a mark or it’s assault — I do not believe that it is assault.

Senator Poirier: This is where I think the committee could do some work. First of all, at the moment, there isn’t even a system in place to give a voice to those who are affected by all this. There’s no one to hear them.

It is all well and good to speak with the government representatives who are here and are making the decisions, but there’s no recourse to make sure that those voices are heard. That’s where we have to start, to make sure that everyone understands. The sad thing is that many people believe that seasonal workers — I already introduced an inquiry on this subject a few years ago, perhaps before you arrived in the Senate.

There are places in the country, like New Brunswick, for example, where people work in the fishing industry, in a potato field, in agriculture or in tourism, but the season eventually comes to an end. The number of weeks of benefits they receive it isn’t good enough, especially if they have a family. We got a response right away, and everyone agreed that, yes, we need a pilot project, but we’re well beyond that now. We need to do something to fix the situation in the regions. If all seasonal work were to disappear, our country would be in a real sorry state. Thank you.