Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of former colleagues of Senator Black, who have worked with him to deliver an agricultural program across Canada.

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

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question, senator. I was not made aware of the time frame for the implementation or distribution of those benefits, and I will certainly make inquiries.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, the Financial Times reported that the government of India told the Trudeau government that 41 Canadian diplomats have been given a week to leave India. If true, this is a much greater deterioration in relations between our two countries. India has warned its citizens against travelling to Canada. It has stopped visa services with Canada, and trade negotiations have been suspended.

Leader, Canada is home to one of the world’s largest communities of people of Indian origin. Could you confirm that the Financial Times story is correct? Does your government have a plan to manage this worsening situation?

Hon. Lucie Moncion: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration entitled Annual Report on Parliamentary Associations’ Activities and Expenditures for 2022-23.

Hon. Claude Carignan: Leader, Radio-Canada published an article today revealing that several senior officers at RCMP headquarters occupy bilingual positions even though they don’t speak French and aren’t on language training.

Despite bilingualism requirements, about a half-dozen senior RCMP officers in Ottawa can neither speak nor understand French. What about RCMP recruits? Here’s what the RCMP spokesperson said, according to Radio-Canada:

Only francophone RCMP recruits currently take second language courses during their training in Saskatchewan. Anglophone recruits do not currently take French classes . . . .

Leader, how can your government claim to respect both official languages? How can it tolerate such appalling complacency within the RCMP?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Bilingualism is fundamental to our country’s identity. I understand that the RCMP is negotiating contracts to offer French classes and launch a pilot project for in-house language training. The Government of Canada expects the RCMP, like all federal agencies, to meet its obligations under the Official Languages Act.

Hon. Brent Cotter: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. It concerns Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act.

Senator Gold, you’ll recall that in June there was unanimous and enthusiastic adoption in the Senate and in the other place of Bill C-22. Part of that enthusiasm was associated with the message from Minister Qualtrough that the benefit would be in place for working-age Canadians with disabilities in approximately one year.

Recent communications from the government indicate that, relying on a Senate amendment to the bill that gives the government up to two years for implementation, the benefit will not become available until sometime in 2025 — perhaps as late as June 2025 — leaving thousands of our neediest citizens with disabilities without this benefit for up to two years after the bill received Royal Assent.

Can you advise whether this very unfortunate delay is indeed the case?

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: My question is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, at the Finance Committee this morning, we had witnesses from Finance Canada and the Office of the Auditor General. I didn’t get any answers from the Finance Canada people, but officials from the Auditor General’s office told us that the Auditor General signed off on the 2023 public accounts last month. So they’re signed and ready to go. We’re still working with the 2022 public accounts, so that data is more than 18 months old. Even the most recent copy of The Fiscal Monitor is only for July. We still don’t have August.

Since the Auditor General has signed off on the 2023 public accounts, will you once again raise this issue with the government and impress upon them to release the 2023 public accounts? When are they going to release the 2023 public accounts?

Hon. Brian Francis: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

The Île-à-la-Crosse residential school in Saskatchewan operated from 1860 to 1976 and was attended largely by Métis students. However, this institution was excluded from both the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the day school settlement agreement. As a result, survivors from the Île‑à-la-Crosse residential school have yet to receive acknowledgement or compensation for the harms and abuses they endured. After many years of failed attempts to negotiate a resolution, proposed class action has been brought forward against the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, which funded the institution at different points. In the aftermath of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I ask: What is the Government of Canada doing to ensure that the survivors of the Île-à-la-Crosse residential school finally receive recognition and compensation?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, my question concerns the aftermath of the serious and embarrassing incident that took place in the House of Commons during the visit of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who is leading his country through war. The Royal Canadian Legion said last week that it expects to see measures put into place to ensure that a shocking scenario like this does not occur again.

Leader, have any measures been taken? If so, what are they? Why haven’t Canadians been informed what those measures are? And if no measures have been put into place, isn’t that yet another great failure of leadership and responsibility on the part of the Prime Minister?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and, on this day, for underlining how much work still needs to be done to provide justice to those who suffered under the oppressive regime to which you referred.

I have every confidence that Minister Anandasangaree and the department are working in good faith to address the many challenges. It’s regrettable that attempts to negotiate a settlement were not fruitful. That is a preferred approach rather than forcing folks to litigate. If there is litigation going on, you’ll understand that I cannot comment on it.

This government remains committed to doing what it can to provide justice to those — and their families and communities — who suffered the indignity and the wrongdoing that the residential schools imposed upon them.

Hon. Rebecca Patterson: This is a question for the Government Representative, Senator Gold.

Senator, the Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, has announced a $1-billion cut to Canada’s defence budget. The minister assures Canadians that the cut will impact the bureaucracy and not hit the Canadian Armed Forces’ capabilities. Yet, on September 28 in a committee in the other place, the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Deputy Minister of National Defence stated that a cut of this magnitude will impact operational capability.

To be clear, capability is more than just a frigate, a fighter jet or an armoured personnel carrier. Capabilities include the well‑trained people of Canada’s military, the programs that support them, their families and the places they work and live and, of course, our participation in international alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. All those who serve have faith not just in the equipment but also in the support from their government. The bottom line up front is that you cannot seek peace by neglecting the first line of defence against a threat.

My question is as follows: What bureaucracy is the government going to cut? Will it be programs that support Canadian Armed Forces member training, health and welfare, programs for their families, our international alliances and partnerships such as NORAD and NATO or our commitment to Latvia and Ukraine?

Hon. Paula Simons: My question is for the Government Representative. Since 2009, Canada has been a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Members of the alliance are required by terms of the Stockholm Declaration to take all necessary steps to open their archives to researchers who are studying the history of the Holocaust. Canada, however, has not yet done so, despite repeated requests from B’nai Brith Canada and others. Indeed, some of these records are not just inaccessible; they remain confidential.

Given that we have all been freshly reminded of the need to remember the history of the Holocaust, will your government commit to amending the Access to Information Act to mandate the disclosure of all Holocaust-related records in its possession?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The minister indicated — as a prudent minister would — that:

The fiscal environment in Canada right now requires that when we are spending Canadian taxpayer dollars that we do it carefully and thoughtfully.

The government will approach this announced spending cut thoughtfully and prudently.

The global situation has changed so rapidly. Canada is constantly re-evaluating its responsibilities in that regard. I think it is premature to assume that the government knows exactly where that $1-billion cut may come from, but I have every confidence that it will be done both with the needs of the military and the security not only of Canadians but of the world, of which we are an important part, top of mind.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Let me answer the first part of your question because it’s easier for me to answer. Yes, I will raise it with the government again. I confess that I don’t know the internal processes. In that regard — to the second part of your question, Senator Marshall — I’m just not able to give you a date. However, I will certainly raise it again, as you’ve requested.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for underlining the importance of access to the full picture of what happened. I’m not in a position to make that commitment, senator, but I’ll certainly pass on the concern and make inquiries to the appropriate minister.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The process for appointing senators is one which is in the prerogative of the Prime Minister. This Prime Minister, as we all know, has taken a particular approach to Senate appointments and to the project of the Senate becoming more modern and less partisan so that it truly adds value to the legislative process rather than being an echo chamber of the other place, where talking points are transmitted from one caucus to another.

I choose not to comment on who will be appointed from Alberta or indeed from any other province. I think all of us are eager and anxious to see the vacancies filled. When they are filled, I have every confidence they will be exemplary Canadians, such as all of us honourable senators who sit in this place.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for reminding me of the question that you asked, senator. Without data, we really can’t tell how well we’re doing, so you’re quite right to underline that point.

I will certainly raise this with the relevant minister, and I hope to have more information the next time you ask me the question.