Senator Gold: Every bill is different, raises different issues and requires different points of view to be properly brought to bear on it. So I don’t know what is typical for a very short bill like this, the principles of which — I hope to your satisfaction — I have certainly outlined accurately. The government has made a policy choice, in consultation, not only with all provincial governments but with other stakeholders, to make some additional changes to the existing bail reform system, which already contains measures and reverse-onus provisions for serious crimes. This simply adds to — and, in some senses, perfects or completes — some of the work that was already done by us in the chamber with the bills, which I mentioned, in 2019.

I am confident that the committee will hear from the necessary witnesses and that all points of view will be properly canvassed. Senators will have the opportunity to question not only the minister and the officials, but also those who have different points of view. I have every confidence that our debate in the chamber will be as robust as we choose for it to be.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. It’s a fair question. I think that’s a question that should be explored at committee and posed to the officials as to why specific mention was made not just simply of Parliament but of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in the House of Commons, which is typically the place in the other place that deals with these matters.

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.)

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Stan Kutcher introduced Bill S-276, An Act respecting Ukrainian Heritage Month.

(Bill read first time.)

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.