Senator Gold: At the risk of repeating myself, it’s up to the committee to decide how to proceed with this bill.

I wear two hats: one as a parent and the other as the Government Representative. I also have some suggestions when it comes to witnesses, like the other committee members I’m sure. As I already said to Senator Downe, we need to take our time, given the issues raised. Yes, it’s always interesting and important to consult committee evidence from the other place from time to time. However, in my experience of nearly seven years in the Senate, it isn’t often that we say that they’ve done good work and there isn’t much left to do. The same witnesses appear regularly before our committees with the same briefs; the same questions are asked and the same answers are given.

For me, it’s not simply a question of saying they didn’t conduct a study. They made their decision, and it’s their prerogative to do so. We have a job to do, and I prefer to focus on the need to study this bill properly, regardless of what happened in the other place. Again, I’m confident we will do the job right. This bill is rather short, but that doesn’t make it any less important. It’s not a quantitative issue, nor is it new. There’s already case law on reverse onus. The courts have provided us with certain criteria. We have a responsibility not only to study the bill properly, but also to respect the parameters of our role in making constitutional public policy choices, with the support of all the provinces and territories. We have to find the right balance. Once again, I have full confidence in the House, and I believe that the committee is in a good position to study the bill.

[English]

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: My question is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Senator Gold, I have asked numerous questions in this chamber and also in committee, looking for basic financial information but getting no answers. In June, I asked you if the subsidies for the battery plants were included in Budget 2023, but I have yet to receive an answer. Then, in May or June, I asked the Minister of Finance for the revised interest costs on the debt because the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates several times. The figure in the budget is $43.9 billion, but it’s going to be more than that. I noticed yesterday in this chamber somebody used the $43.9 billion figure again. Again, I couldn’t get an answer from the minister.

I can cite many examples where I have been looking for information and I can’t get it, and it’s basic information. So the document that I have been using mostly is the Public Accounts of Canada for the year ended March 2022. But that information is now 18 months old. It is six months now after the fiscal year just ended.

Next week, our National Finance Committee will continue their study of the Main Estimates. It would be very helpful if we had the actual numbers for last year so that we could look at the estimates for this year and compare the numbers.

My question is this: When will the government release the 2023 Public Accounts — are they going to make us wait until December as they did the year before last?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, on Tuesday, my colleagues and I asked you multiple questions about Prime Minister Trudeau’s Senate appointments to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, known as NSICOP. We asked for transparency on the appointments and we have asked you to get information from the Prime Minister as a representative of the Trudeau government in this chamber. Senator Gold, you have had two days to make a phone call and get an answer from your boss, the Prime Minister. Why are there no Conservative opposition senators on NSICOP?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. As I answered on many occasions on Tuesday, the Prime Minister made the decision based upon a range of criteria, from the need for diversity to geographic and others, the competencies that different candidates would have brought forward and the needs of the committee.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(At 4:59 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at 2 p.m.)

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

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order, or usual practice, until the end of the day on June 30, 2024, any joint committee be authorized to hold hybrid meetings, with the provisions of the order of February 10, 2022, concerning such meetings, having effect; and

That a message be sent to the House of Commons to acquaint that house accordingly.

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, the government response to the eleventh report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, entitled All Together — The Role of Gender-based Analysis Plus in the Policy Process: reducing barriers to an inclusive intersectional policy analysis, tabled in the Senate on March 30, 2023.

(Pursuant to rule 12-23(4), this response and the original report are deemed referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Kutcher, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Alan Cotter, Senator Cotter’s brother; Deb Cotter, his sister-in-law; and Katie Cotter, his niece.

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

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Kutcher, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

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

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 Charter Statement prepared by the Minister of Justice in relation to Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform), pursuant to the Department of Justice Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. J-2, sbs. 4.2(1).

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

Hon. Brent Cotter: Honourable senators, I don’t usually have an audience, so I’ll try to get this right. This has been an extremely unpredictable summer and, in some cases and in some places — as we have just heard — a tragic one. All of our hearts go out to those who suffered consequences of dramatic, unprecedented water events and weather events that brought such destruction and, in some cases loss of life, to Canadians in different parts of our country.

But today I want to say a few words about an international event that took place in July in Nova Scotia on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people that was both celebratory and uplifting.

From July 16 to 23, Halifax, Dartmouth, the Millbrook First Nation and Sipekne’katik hosted the tenth North American Indigenous Games. It was the largest and, to my mind, the most successful in the history of the games. Five thousand Indigenous athletes from 750 First Nations across the continent, with the support of 3,000 volunteers, took part in a range of competitions in 16 different events. Outstanding performances all.

I was in Halifax for part of the time that the games took place. I can tell you that the mood in the city was spectacular. Exuberant groups of young athletes in team uniforms were warmly greeted and welcomed throughout the city by the citizens of Halifax. Fans were cheering on local athletes and cheering on athletes from afar whom they knew not of.

Now sports is not everything, but it is often a window on our society, a window on the possible, a glimpse toward excellence and a glimpse sometimes toward reconciliation. To my mind, this glimpse was, to say the least, uplifting, both in the abilities and the commitment of these athletes but also in the welcome they received from the good people of Nova Scotia. Congratulations.

I would be remiss if I did not conclude these remarks by noting that of all of the contingents of athletes who participated in the games, the team that won the most medals — and I guess, therefore, won the 2023 North American Indigenous Games — was Team Saskatchewan. The games have been held 10 times, and Saskatchewan has only won 7 of them.

Congratulations to Nova Scotia, and congratulations to all of the athletes, coaches and officials who took part. Special congratulations to Team Saskatchewan and its chef de mission, Mike Tanton. Thank you.

Hon. Colin Deacon: Honourable senators, today, I am proud to speak about how Nova Scotia is rising to the challenges and opportunities associated with technological change.

In May 2023, the Government of Nova Scotia created the new Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions. This department is mandated to deliver on challenges that I’ve discussed in this chamber many times before, like designing and delivering services around the needs of citizens.

The importance of this department became abundantly clear when the government learned that it was part of a massive, global cyberbreach of a supposedly secure file transfer service used by hundreds of thousands of governments and corporations around the world. As a result, some Nova Scotians’ personal information was stolen.

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to meet with Nova Scotia’s Minister of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions, the Honourable Colton LeBlanc. I was most impressed by the fact that this cyberbreach only fuelled his passion and commitment to ensuring that Nova Scotia becomes a digital transformation leader. For example, Nova Scotians can now complete routine transactions like driver’s licence renewals, taking learner’s permit tests and grant applications online in their choice of French or English. Medical tests and appointments can be booked and modified online. Within days, the government launched online relief programs in response to Hurricane Fiona, the spring wildfires and the severe flooding event over the summer, providing simple online services and forms to help citizens in the most trying of times.

The minister’s commitment to constantly iterating services and systems to meet the expectations of Nova Scotians is inspiring.

Too often, we hear government announcements that suggest that a given job is done. The job isn’t ever done in the digital era. The digital era constantly introduces increasing vulnerabilities across society whether governments digitize or not. The only path to greater security is one where we constantly advance. We have to prioritize best practices over past practice and build secure digital infrastructure to mitigate both nefarious and accidental cyberbreaches and their enormous costs.

These risks will only grow with the astonishing advancements of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Every Canadian, including everyone in this chamber, needs to learn the skills and habits necessary to reduce our cybersecurity risks. Criminals always attack the most vulnerable targets.

I am proud to see my home province tackling these issues head on, and I wish Minister Colton LeBlanc and his department continued success in their efforts to protect and improve the lives of Nova Scotians.

Hon. Bev Busson: Honourable senators, I rise today with a heavy heart. As you probably have heard, four wildland firefighters died yesterday in a tragic motor vehicle accident west of Kamloops, B.C. They were returning home from battling the horrendous wildfires in our area.

Our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of these four, courageous young men. This devastating news comes on the heels of the worst fire season in colonial recorded history, bringing to six the total number of wildland firefighters killed this summer in B.C.

The season was spawned in the winter with a below-average snowpack, resulting in a much-drier-than-average moisture level in the forests. It was exacerbated by an extremely dry summer, coupled with high temperatures to create a perfect storm. Fire forecasters were pessimistic as spring began. Soon after, the fires across the province started, spreading through almost the entire province. Some were person-caused, while the vast majority were sparked by dry lightning.

As is the policy in B.C., most of these fires were allowed to burn so long as they did not threaten structures or infrastructure. Where I live on the Shuswap, a substantial fire was left to burn for about three weeks in the vicinity of Adams Lake. Late in July and early August when it was clear that Mother Nature was not going to intervene, people started to pay attention, but it was too late. On the night of August 17, high winds took this fire out of the Adams Lake Valley, which it had devastated, and brought it to the Shuswap.

In 12 hours, it travelled 20 kilometres, jumping fire breaks and the lake, overwhelming firefighters. An emergency evacuation order was immediately declared, too late for many who could do no more than flee on the only road out. Some fled to the lake and were rescued by boaters. Many were members of the Little Shuswap Lake Band. Sadly, some lost their homes, barely escaping with their lives.

On that same evening, another fire — about 100 kilometres south — exploded in Kelowna. Firefighters from the Shuswap were immediately deployed to the erupting wildfire emergency there.

At this end of this apocalyptic day, in the Shuswap alone, more than 11,000 residents were evacuated. Approximately 131 homes and cabins were turned to ash and another 37 were damaged. Across the province, approximately 22,500 square kilometres — which is half the size of Nova Scotia — have been destroyed for generations. As I speak to you today, despite the recent rain, 216 wildland firefighters are still battling to turn the corner on these unprecedented fires in the Shuswap alone.

From those with the hoses to others rushing through communities to make sure everyone is out of harm’s way — in some cases, while their own homes burned — we salute your courage.

To the four young men who died yesterday, joining their young comrades on the list of those killed in service to their communities this year, we owe you a debt of gratitude we can never repay. May you rest in peace. Kukwstsétsemc.

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That the Senate of Canada:

(a)acknowledge that the illegal and genocidal war by Russia on Ukraine continues to cause death and destruction in Ukraine, to threaten global health and wellbeing and to show contempt for the international rule of law; and

(b)persist in standing in solidarity with Ukraine and its people.