Senator Ringuette: Thank you. I’m looking at the clauses that you want to amend, and these clauses refer to the New Brunswick Official Languages Act, which is a provincial act, and to Manitoba, which also has a provincial act.

In fact, I wish Ontario also had an act recognizing the francophone minority in Ontario. If that were the case, we could have referenced it in Bill C-13 as well.

Senator Loffreda, as far as your issue with references is concerned, I understand that you have concerns, but I don’t see how this reference would be any different from the reference, in the same clauses, to language rights for the people of New Brunswick.

[English]

Senator Seidman: Thank you very much, senator. My understanding of what this amendment does is that it takes four clauses — clause 2 on page 3, clause 3 on page 4 and clause 24 on page 21 — and merely replaces the language “Charte de la langue française” with this language that has been presented.

[Translation]

Senator Omidvar: Thank you for that answer, Senator Gold. The report by Desjardins also points to a solution, and that is the dispersion of immigrants to all parts of our country, not just the hot spots of B.C. and Ontario, in particular, to the Prairie provinces. They note that this would decrease the pressure on housing prices and housing affordability in certain parts of Canada and provide a substantive offset to the impact of higher immigration on home prices.

Can you help us understand the government’s current plan with the current immigration numbers for better distribution of immigrants across the country? Thank you, Senator Gold.

Senator Dagenais: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. This is on debate.

I do not intend to block something that could become a financial lifeline for some of the country’s traditional media outlets, even though I don’t think they’ll all be saved.

The most recent report on the federal government’s annual advertising spending clearly shows that the government gave 55% of its budget to the digital media targeted by Bill C-18. That represents $64 million, versus $53 million for our Canadian newspapers and radio and television stations.

It made me wonder: How do we reconcile the fact that the government wants to pass a bill to tax web giants like GAFA for the benefit of traditional media, when the government and its advertising choices are largely to blame for making them so poor? That’s my contribution to the debate.

[English]

Senator Simons: Your Honour, I do seriously wish to apologize. I’m slightly mortified. I apologize to Senator Housakos and to the chamber.

Hon. Jane Cordy: Honourable senators, this coming Monday, June 19, will be our sixth year of celebrating National Sickle Cell Awareness Day in Canada. Canada is the first and only country to recognize a National Sickle Cell Awareness Day. This day means a great deal to those within the sickle cell community. It is a wonderful way to come together and to share their stories and to highlight the important work they have been doing to move the needle forward regarding sickle cell disease.

I have been so privileged to hear their stories and share their journeys. I have met so many wonderful people who are incredibly dedicated to this work.

There are many events happening this weekend in order to celebrate and to recognize National Sickle Cell Awareness Day. Just this morning, I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast organized by the African Canadian Senate Group. It was a lovely event. I’m always so delighted to meet new people and to see old friends who are so passionate and so motivated in helping the sickle cell community.

On Saturday, I will be attending the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario’s annual Hope Gala and Awards in Toronto. It will be nice to meet with old friends and new after years of postponing and doing things virtually due to the pandemic. I know the community is eager to come together again and to celebrate one another.

Finally, on Monday, June 19, the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada will hold a sickle cell conference here, at the University of Ottawa. I am looking forward to taking part in what I am sure will be an educational session.

Honourable senators, I encourage you to seek out the sickle cell communities within your own regions and to further inform yourselves on the disease. A national day of awareness seems so simple and yet it is so very important in bringing groups across the country together to get their message out and to celebrate their incredible efforts and achievements. I would like to wish all Canadians a very happy National Sickle Cell Awareness Day.

[Translation]

Senator Harder: No.

[English]

Senator Gold: The answer is no. The minister was asked that question, and he said no. Also, to respond to the preamble of your question, it is not true that the minister issued a directive to ensure that the information is communicated to him and the victims.

Senator Gold: The answer is no. The minister was asked that question, and he said no. Also, to respond to the preamble of your question, it is not true that the minister issued a directive to ensure that the information is communicated to him and the victims.

That doesn’t mean that the government issued a directive not to respect victims, as you suggested, if I understood correctly. That is not true, and there is no logical or necessary connection between the fact that the directive was issued at that time and what the government did or did not do in the past.

Senator Cormier: I just want to say that it actually does more than that, senator. On page 4, the amendment takes away the notion that there’s a diversity of provincial and territorial language regimes, and that makes me very uncomfortable. Thank you for your answer.

Senator Boisvenu: Senator Gold, the directive issued by the minister yesterday to ensure that the Victims Bill of Rights is respected has existed since 2015. That means that Mr. Trudeau’s government must have issued a directive in 2015 to not abide by the bill of rights, rather than to abide by it.

Senator Boisvenu: Senator Gold, the directive issued by the minister yesterday to ensure that the Victims Bill of Rights is respected has existed since 2015. That means that Mr. Trudeau’s government must have issued a directive in 2015 to not abide by the bill of rights, rather than to abide by it.

Despite all his empathy for victims, the minister forgot that he was in Truro two months ago, where about 15 families were listening as the Mass Casualty Commission report was read out, but neither he nor Mr. Trudeau met with these families.

In light of the concerns raised and the minister’s failure to protect and prioritize victims’ rights, will the minister resign?

Senator Loffreda: Yes.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Jon Reyes, Manitoba Minister of Labour and Immigration. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Osler.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Senator Housakos: Government leader, thank you for highlighting the problem with your government. You just highlighted — in your talking points — exactly what I’m complaining about. It’s never the fault of the minister or the Prime Minister — it’s the employees in their office, it’s the bureaucrats who didn’t brief them or it’s their email that is too blocked up. That is the problem with your government. This government always has its homework being eaten by the dog before it arrives at school, and it has to stop. Do you know what the concept of ministerial responsibility means? I think, in this Trudeau government, there isn’t anyone left who understands how Parliament works.

I will ask you two simple questions: Can you define for this chamber what ministerial responsibility means as it applies to Parliament? And is the Prime Minister unwilling to apply ministerial responsibility to Minister Mendicino because no one has applied ministerial responsibility to him?

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

Senator Loffreda: I think we have a right to defend minorities in this chamber. We are a voice for minorities. That is exactly what I’m doing.

I don’t think every amendment made in this chamber concerns or reflects what the other place is thinking. As I said in my speech — and I don’t want to repeat it — there is a danger in retaining those references, and that is why I’m amending the bill as is.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Neil Belanger, Julia McEathron and Jeff Ferguson. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Pate.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis, as well as her mother and grandmother. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Moodie.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Renée Dupuis: Honourable senators, a legal giant passed away on June 8, 2023, in Quebec City. Louis LeBel was a lawyer, a jurist, an author, a teacher, and a judge who served on the Quebec Court of Appeal from 1984 to 2000 and on the Supreme Court of Canada from January 7, 2000, to November 30, 2014. He participated in deliberations on social issues that marked Quebec, Canada and the world from the second half of the 20th century until well into the 21st.

Louis LeBel was a humanitarian and a sophisticated intellectual. He was a reserved, curious and independent-minded man. His commitment to the legal community took many forms. His writings are a clear indication of his keen analytical skills, his careful use of precise terms, not just broad legal concepts, and his desire to differentiate himself though his elegant, characteristic style.

Thanks to his in-depth knowledge of Quebec civil law and common law, Justice LeBel made a unique contribution to strengthening the bijuralism that characterizes Canada’s legal regime.

In an interview that he gave shortly after he retired from the Supreme Court, Louis LeBel summarized what he was taking away from his 14 years at the Supreme Court: first, the diversity of issues; second, a considerable sense of responsibility for the future of law; and third, the seriousness of the social issues raised by some cases.

As he reaffirmed during that interview, Louis LeBel felt that the work judges do for the future of our country is serious enough that it imposes on them a cultural duty, that is, a duty to continue to learn, to avoid becoming wrapped up in the law and to understand what is happening around them.

Louis LeBel’s work made an impression on generations of law students and lawyers and will continue to influence Canadian jurisprudence.

I offer my condolences to his wife, the lawyer Louise Poudrier-LeBel, his children Paul, Catherine and François, as well as his grandchildren.

[English]

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Thank you, Your Honour. Sean Boyd, the Executive Chair of the Board, is also here today from Agnico.

Honourable senators, I’ve always believed that mining is the key to generating the wealth and own-source revenues that Inuit and Nunavut as a whole need to thrive. So it’s my honour today to rise in recognition of the contributions that Agnico Eagle Mines has made to Nunavut.

Over the past 15 years, this great Canadian company has invested over $9 billion in the territory and is a major contributor to socio-economic development. Inuit organizations receive millions through negotiated Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements, or IIBAs. Mining companies also pay millions in employment, contracting and additional initiatives or project‑based support. For instance, in 2022, Agnico Eagle paid $62 million in property taxes, royalties and IIBA commitments to the Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and Kivalliq Inuit Association. To date, these payments amount to $245 million. Also in 2022, the company paid their 372 Inuit employees $33.6 million and spent $821 million on contracts with Inuit businesses.

Agnico is a model corporate citizen that goes above and beyond to give back to Nunavummiut, whether it’s offering $5 million toward the university, supporting literacy and mental wellness initiatives, paying its Inuit employees 75% of their base salary to stay home and safe during the COVID pandemic, sponsoring a new arena in Rankin Inlet or exploring ways to support housing. Agnico Eagle has always been a generous contributor to the communities impacted by their operations and to the territory as a whole.

When I was first appointed to this chamber in 2009, I went to the opening of Agnico’s Meadowbank mine, their first mining operation in Nunavut. I heard Jose Kusugak, the beloved late president of Nunavut Tunngavik, thanking the company for helping them break the cycle of poverty that the nearby community of Baker Lake was trapped in at the time. While visiting Baker Lake in 2018, I heard from a community member how steady employment and wealth generation for residents helped shift the focus from simply surviving to actually living. This, she said, was the reason Baker Lake has seen a revitalization of their local arts scene.

Therefore, it is my absolute pleasure to stand here today in my last year in the Senate to recognize the contributions of this great Canadian company in my territory over the past 15 years. Here is to many more years of Agnico Eagle operating in and continuing to benefit Nunavut.

Qujannamiik. Matna. Koana. Taima.