Hon. Denise Batters: Senator Gold, last week, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the vast majority of Bill C-69 and the entirety of its regulations are unconstitutional. The act has almost 200 sections, and the Supreme Court found only 10 sections acceptable. The court held that the “’designated project’ scheme . . . exceeds the bounds of federal jurisdiction.”

Bill C-69 was an unmitigated disaster from the start. The Trudeau government itself proposed 150 amendments at the House of Commons committee stage. The Senate passed almost 200 more, and the government accepted 99 — mostly government — amendments. Now, Minister Guilbeault says they will do their homework and tweak it a bit.

Enough, Senator Gold. Stick a fork in it; it’s done. It’s time to repeal the whole bill. When will the Trudeau government finally admit their colossal failure on Bill C-69?

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

I see that measures taken by our government to force web giants to negotiate have been unsuccessful. Even worse, some media outlets are being financially impacted and losing visibility.

What will it take for the government to acknowledge that it is going down the wrong path with the Online News Act?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I’m advised that work is ongoing to introduce a Canada pharmacare bill to help Canadians have greater access to the health care that they deserve and need. I understand that conversations are ongoing with the New Democratic Party and indeed all parliamentarians to ensure that Canadians aren’t put into an impossible position when they must figure out how to pay for essential items, such as drugs.

At the same time, the government must ensure that it acts prudently and in a fiscally responsible manner. In that regard, the government remains focused on determining the most effective way to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals for Canadians.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Colleagues, the ministers and this government are continuing to work hard to fulfill their responsibilities. My understanding is that the current mandate letters published in accordance with the beginning of the mandate in December 2021 exist and remain available online. I’m not advised of any updates, but I’d be glad to bring your comments forward to the government.

Senator M. Deacon: Thank you. I appreciate you asking and moving forward on that. I would think that if we’re looking at a shift in ministers and a new minister that there would also be subsequent adjustment or refinement of mandates. I look forward to ensuring that we have some connection between those two soon.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The position of the government is simply this: It has made investments in Canadians, our businesses and our infrastructure in order to assist Canada in going through these challenging economic times. Those investments have been successful in keeping our economy resilient and in maintaining Canada’s economic status and position.

The Government of Canada is also providing assistance and will continue to work to provide assistance to those who are facing challenges in obtaining and/or retaining their houses. It is the position of the government that their investments are not the cause of the high interest rates that are befalling not only this country but others as well.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, I raised with you in June the IMF warning that Canada has the highest risk of mortgage defaults among advanced economies. Statistics Canada reported today that mortgage interest costs in September went up a staggering 30.6% year over year. This was the main contributor to inflation last month. It’s no wonder that Canadians are increasingly worried about keeping up with their mortgage payments and keeping their homes.

Will the Trudeau government stop the inflationary deficits that are fuelling high interest rates to keep Canada from a mortgage default crisis?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for highlighting the challenges faced by these shelters and the important work they do. This is a challenge not only for the province of Quebec, but also for cities and provinces across Canada that have welcomed large numbers of people. The government is well aware that this poses major challenges in terms of housing, among other things.

I don’t have a precise answer to your question, but I will bring it to the minister’s attention and share your concern.

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, Quebec is currently experiencing an explosion in asylum applications. We welcomed 49,000 of the country’s 90,000 asylum seekers between November 2022 and June 2023, or 55% of the Canadian total.

I visited The Refugee Centre in Montreal last Wednesday. The organization offers various types of assistance and integration supports for people waiting for their status to be determined. The place was packed. Clients were sitting on the floor in the hallway. According to this centre, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is paying for thousands of hotel rooms to house asylum seekers when they arrive, but this non-profit organization, which helps them find a real home and deal with all kinds of formalities, is not eligible for federal funding.

Can you tell me whether the current legislation effectively prevents Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada from funding these services offered to asylum seekers by non-profit organizations?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, the Director of Journalistic Standards of the “government broadcasting corporation” — or the CBC — sent this instruction to their journalists following the terror attacks by Hamas on innocent people in Israel:

. . . do not refer to militants, soldiers or anyone else as “terrorists.”

. . . Even when quoting/clipping a government or a source referring to fighters as “terrorists,” we should add context to ensure the audience understands this is opinion, not fact. That includes statements from the Canadian government and Canadian politicians.

It is absolutely shameful, leader, that the CBC refuses to call Hamas what it is — a terrorist organization, a group of terrorists. Why did the Liberal and NDP coalition of MPs vote to protect the CBC by shutting down a committee study on this, Senator Gold?

Hon. Marty Deacon: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, this past July, we saw a major cabinet shuffle that welcomed in many new faces and even introduced a new portfolio in the Minister of Citizens’ Services. This shuffle represented a change of priorities for this government in order to meet the challenges Canadians are facing every day.

We have yet to see the new mandate letters for these ministers, though. I have found the timely publication of these letters incredibly useful in determining the goals of the government and making sure I can hold these ministers to account when they appear before us. Can we expect a new crop of mandate letters and, if so, when?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, Senator Audette has made a written declaration of private interest regarding Bill C-21, Bill C-48, Bill S-212 and Bill S-232 and in accordance with rule 15-7, the declaration shall be recorded in the Journals of the Senate.

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Martin, thank you. Your response, Senator Gold?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your questions.

As I have answered on many occasions and about which I have little to add, there are a large number of organizations and individuals in Iran and the other countries that are listed as terrorist organizations. As I have explained before, those decisions are made through a process that is ongoing. In that regard, again, Canada is doing its part to defend Israel and to provide humanitarian aid to those who are suffering during this war. It will continue to do its part diplomatically to hold all governments to account if and as they support the barbaric acts perpetrated in the Middle East.

Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, pursuant to the order adopted December 7, 2021, I would like to inform the Senate that Question Period with the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Services and Procurement, will take place on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 2:25 p.m.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, Senator Plett.

The expression of hatred, whether anti-Semitic or otherwise, is unacceptable. I have confidence that the PCO and other institutions, both in government and outside, take seriously the harms that such comments cause.

I only regret that today and during this time it seems somehow acceptable in this chamber to use these issues, which are so painful to so many people, for partisan reasons.

It’s a legitimate question as to why people who express hatred are not dealt with. I have no knowledge of these particular facts. I have confidence it is being done consistently with our rules, values, procedures and laws that govern such matters.

Hon. René Cormier rose pursuant to notice of Senator Gold on March 29, 2023:

That he will call the attention of the Senate to the budget entitled A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future, tabled in the House of Commons on March 28, 2023, by the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P., and in the Senate on March 29, 2023.

He said: Honourable senators, I rise today on the occasion of 2SLGBTQI+ History Month to speak to Inquiry No. 5, calling the attention of the Senate to the budget entitled A Made‑in‑Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future.

Tabled on March 28, 2023, the budget announced the creation of a new action plan to combat hate, which includes measures to combat hateful rhetoric and acts to build more inclusive communities, a measure eagerly awaited and essential to 2SLGBTQI+ communities in Canada.

[English]

According to the UN, hate-related incidents are on the rise and reflect a global trend. The main culprit in this very worrying phenomenon is hate fomented online, specifically on social media. According to the thematic report by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, over 70% of those targeted by hate crimes or hate speech on social media are from national ethnic, religious, linguistic, sexual and gender minorities.

[Translation]

Unfortunately, Canada is not immune to this trend. According to recent Statistics Canada data, hate crimes reported to police and committed on the basis of sexual orientation increased by 64% between 2020 and 2021.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as the data don’t take into account crimes targeting gender identity or gender expression, nor the fact that daily hateful attacks and microaggressions on social media are all too frequent. These attacks are often found inadmissible by the police, but they’re nevertheless very damaging.

Why is this hatred growing? Disinformation, lack of education, prejudice, fear, intolerance and polarized discourse are certainly some of the factors behind this phenomenon.

In Canada, the current polarization, disinformation and intolerance surrounding the rights of trans children and young people are real vectors of hatred. It is extremely troubling, but not surprising, that this debate is framed as a fight that pits parental rights against the rights of trans children.

[English]

This is precisely the rhetoric used by the American “Save Our Children” movement led by singer Anita Bryant in the 1970s. This movement was formed to abolish measures preventing discrimination against gay men and lesbian women in Florida.

The completely disturbing statements made by this movement at the time — such as “. . . homosexuals cannot reproduce, so they must recruit. . . .” — had repercussions beyond the borders of the United States, and unfortunately still resonate in 2023.

Currently, it is mainly the group Moms for Liberty that is fuelling this rhetoric in the U.S. According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, this is a far-right group that identifies itself as part of the modern parental rights movement.

[Translation]

In Canada, this movement is spearheaded by Action4Canada, an organization that played an active role in two controversial measures: New Brunswick’s revised Policy 713 and Saskatchewan’s parental inclusion and consent policies.

According to Action4Canada:

The LGBTQ have been hijacked by radical activists who are attacking the core freedoms and rights of all Canadians. . . . Their objective is forced compliance and acceptance of their adult sexual proclivities and ideologies.

This group claims that sexual education hurts minors and threatens the traditional family unit. It claims to act on behalf of our children’s well-being.

If there’s one thing to rally around, colleagues, is that not the well-being of our children?

Instead of considering a child coming out at school instead of at home as a parental failure, let’s think about the ways in which we can help families be safe and loving spaces that nurture the development of every child, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

Of course, it is absolutely legitimate for parents to be involved in their children’s development, but let’s not lose sight of the cornerstone of that development: the children’s safety and well‑being.

Also, instead of focusing on the negative consequences of gender-affirming care, let’s recognize that exploring one’s gender identity is an integral part of child development and let’s enhance the positive aspects of this care.

Zakary-Georges Gagné, a two-spirit person, transfemme and francophone who works on creating safe community spaces for Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ people, said the following, and I quote:

For young people and adults alike, having access to gender‑affirming care, simply knowing that we can access it, is an immense source of support.

To me, having access to gender-affirming care means having access to greater safety and the power to identify myself with confidence and pride in every space I occupy. To many, having access to this care is life-saving.

[English]

Let us not forget that the recognition of a child or young person’s identity, whether gay, non-binary or trans, is an important factor in their well-being, and that questioning the existence of trans identity is extremely damaging and can lead to hate speech towards these young citizens.

[Translation]

Colleagues, let’s not forget that in 2016, through Bill C-16, the Parliament of Canada recognized the diversity of gender identity and gender expression by amending the Canadian Human Rights Act to add gender identity or expression as a prohibited ground for discrimination.

In addition, every province and territory has laws that cover discrimination on certain grounds, including gender identity and sexual orientation, and has adopted other measures to protect sexual and gender minorities.

New Brunswick, the province I represent in this chamber, adopted a policy in 2020 aimed at making schools more inclusive.

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting with young queer people at the Université de Moncton who shared moving personal accounts of the positive effects of this policy.

Here’s what one young person had to say, and I quote:

When I came out as a trans person in high school, the support of my teachers and classmates was monumentally beneficial to my mental health. Things weren’t going well at home, so school quickly became my safe haven.

However, the Government of New Brunswick amended its Policy 713 last August to make it more restrictive and to require parental consent for first name and pronoun changes at school.

What can be said about the Government of Saskatchewan’s worrisome Bill 137, which has the same objectives and invokes the use of notwithstanding clauses for certain provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code?

Honourable senators, yesterday, I met with the mother of a trans child who is also a teacher. She spoke with great emotion about the learning curve she experienced when her child told her that he was trans and described the hateful comments he had endured.

After a long journey as a mother and a teacher, here are the three things that she learned and that she shares with all parents and teachers.

She said that parents must truly listen to their child as they express the real suffering associated with their coming out.

Parents must also educate themselves, look for information and accompany children on their journey. Schools and some community organizations that work in this area can provide support to parents who ask for it.

Finally, she said that teachers must clearly identify themselves as allies if they want to properly support trans children and listen to them when they talk about the challenges they are facing in announcing their gender identity to their parents.

This mother and teacher told me that teachers who have identified themselves as allies support trans youth in their journey toward talking to their parents when they feel safe doing so.

[English]

There are solutions, colleagues, to reassure worried parents and ensure the health and safety of trans children. There are solutions to counter the growing hatred in our country against the 2SLGBTQI+ community. This will undoubtedly require education and more action, and, as parliamentarians, we must speak out. Silence is not an option.

In this context, I welcome the future action plan to combat hatred that the federal government announced in the 2023 budget. This plan is needed for all Canadians. I hope that substantial funds will be available for its implementation.

In conclusion, I cannot pass over in silence the intolerable hatred and violence suffered by 2SLGBTQI+ people in refugee camps in Kenya and elsewhere, and I vigorously denounce the humanitarian disaster and the barbaric crimes currently occurring in many parts of the world.

Colleagues, let us work together to fight hatred and bring peace to our schools, families, our communities and in the world. Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, in 2020, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center alerted the Privy Council Office, or PCO, about wild anti-Semitic comments made online by one of the Privy Council’s senior analysts. In response, the PCO simply shuffled the staffer into another role, this time with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Last week, Senator Gold, we learned that same staffer is under investigation yet again for anti-Semitic comments he made after the vicious Hamas terror attack on Israel.

The PCO is the Prime Minister’s own department, Senator Gold. Why weren’t those comments taken seriously three years ago, and why should we believe they will be taken seriously now?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Senator Gold, it’s great to say that the government is showing its solidarity with the State of Israel, but we also need action.

My question is not partisan by any means; it is simple and direct: Why isn’t the Canadian government ready to put into place punitive measures against nations that are supporting Hamas directly, such as Qatar and Iran? We are importing hundreds of millions of dollars of oil into our country from Qatar.

Of course, your government continues to refuse to list the IRGC, or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terrorist organization. When will you list the IRGC as a terrorist organization?

Hon. Flordeliz (Gigi) Osler: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 5 and the need to bring visibility to hatred towards 2SLGBTQI+ people and communities.

To start, let me share with you a moment in time that speaks about the impact of language. It was fall 2019, and I was giving a keynote address at a national medical meeting. I began the address by introducing myself as Dr. Gigi Osler and that my pronouns are she/her.

After I got off the stage, a colleague who was in the audience told me they had witnessed the person in front of them turn to the person beside them and say, “I never heard that before,” when I used my pronouns.

At the time, and still to this day, I am unclear if the person didn’t know what I meant when I used my pronouns or if they truly had never heard someone introduce themselves as she/her. Nevertheless, I was struck by how those five words — “My pronouns are she/her” — could start a broader conversation and raise awareness about how using gender identity terms such as pronouns can signal courtesy and acceptance.

In Canada, the acronym 2SLGBTQI+ represents two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex — and the “I” of intersex considers sex characteristics beyond sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression — and, finally, the “+” includes people who identify as part of sexual and gender-diverse communities who use additional terminologies.

“Cisgender” refers to a person who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth. “Transgender” refers to a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Although “sex” and “gender” are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research defines “sex” as:

. . . a set of biological attributes in humans and animals. It is primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. . . .

Sex is typically assigned at birth and is usually categorized as female or male, typically based on external anatomy.

In contrast, gender is a social construct. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research defines “gender” as:

. . . the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and the distribution of power and resources in society. Gender identity is not confined to a binary (girl/woman, boy/man) nor is it static; it exists along a continuum and can change over time. . . .

Inclusive language matters when it comes to countering 2SLGBTQI+ hate. A 2022 research study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal examined suicidality among sexual minority and transgender adolescents in Canada. The study found that compared with cisgender heterosexual adolescents, transgender adolescents showed 5 times the risk of suicidal ideation and 7.6 times the risk of suicide. The authors highlighted the need for inclusive prevention approaches to address suicidality among Canada’s diverse youth population.

Words matter because lives are at stake.

Both the Canadian Psychiatric Association and the Canadian Medical Association recognize that gender identity is a health issue and that people’s expression of sexual orientation and gender needs to be supported.

While Budget 2023 supports comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and education through the commitment of $36 million over three years to the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund, more intentional commitments to counter rising 2SLGBTQI+ hate are needed.

Finally, I offer congratulations to Logan Oxenham, who is believed to be the first openly transgender person elected to the Manitoba legislature in the October 3 provincial election. MLA Oxenham wants to use his first-hand knowledge of navigating the health care system as a transgender man to bring about positive change. Transgender and gender-diverse people have long been under-represented in political office at all levels of government, and he wants to “. . . amplify voices who have traditionally not been heard in places such as the legislative building.”

The election of a transgender MLA provides much-needed visibility and representation for the transgender community in Manitoba. It sends a powerful message that transgender individuals can and should be active participants in the political and decision-making processes that affect our communities.

Bringing visibility to hatred and discrimination against 2SLGBTQI+ communities is an ongoing effort that requires the active involvement of individuals, communities, organizations and government bodies. By raising awareness, recognizing the root causes and implementing solutions, we can strive for a more inclusive and accepting society in Canada.

Thank you, meegwetch.