Senator Batters: In your speech tonight you referenced that Russian assets in Canada were thought to be “negligible.” I’m just wondering what basis you have to say that, because I thought that that wasn’t the case. It seems like every so often, when we hear about potential oligarch assets in Canada, we hear that there have been, thus far, relatively limited real results produced by actions taken by Canada’s government.

I actually thought that very little had been seized thus far in Canada. Why do you think that there is just a negligible amount left?

Senator Omidvar: Thank you, Senator Batters. In December of 2021, just before Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the public accounts of Russia, state bank assets totalling $16 billion were located in Canada. Russia subsequently removed $16 billion to Belgium in, as I said, likely a pre-emptive move. This is all public information that I had gleaned.

What I don’t know is if they’ve got anything left outside of, maybe, their embassy here.

Senator Cotter: Thank you.

This is a fascinating initiative, Senator Tannas. It raises a variety of fascinating potentials and also some challenges.

I want to begin by channelling Senator Batters, if I might. In Saskatchewan, there are casinos on reserve — on roughly five reserves. Every dollar that is earned in those casinos goes back to First Nations communities now as is.

Second, that money is distributed, pro rata, to all the bands in the province, even the ones in the Far North that could never sustain a casino even if they wanted one; there would be no customers.

So empowering individual First Nations that are in attractive geographical locations to have the jurisdiction to operate their own casinos seems to be, quite frankly, a disruption of that fairly equitable arrangement in Saskatchewan. The band outside of Saskatoon — my good friend and yours, Darcy Bear, oversees a casino on the White Cap Dakota reserve, but the money that casino makes gets pooled in a province-wide arrangement. It seems to me that your proposal makes it possible that Chief Bear could carry on with his casino and keep all the profits, which would be great for White Cap Dakota — as it is for some First Nations around Phoenix, for example — but it is not so good for the rest of the province.

Could you comment on that?

Senator Tannas: Yes, and you’re right —

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Thank you. I’d still like to add one thing to the question you’re going to ask: Can the law be changed?

It seems rather absurd to spend millions of dollars on hotel rooms for up to a year, I’m told, rather than to ask and fund non‑profits capable of rehousing them for less in society, and helping them. This seems like an inconsistency that needs to be corrected.

Senator Tannas: Until six o’clock, I’m open.

Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate, I ask:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules or previous order, for today’s sitting, five additional statements be added at the beginning of Senators’ Statements with regard to the recent attacks in Israel and the situation in the Middle East.

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

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today, not as the Government Representative in the Senate but as a human being and as a Jew.

Let me begin by thanking all of you who have reached out to me over the last week and a half. Your support and understanding mean a great deal, more than you may realize.

Jews have been called the “People of the Book” because words matter. Words can comfort and words can heal, but sometimes words simply fail. This is such a time, at least for me.

What words can capture the horror that we witnessed a week ago on Saturday on the Jewish Sabbath? What words can heal the memory that is seared into the souls of Jews around the world of seeing children ripped from their parents’ arms and slaughtered before their eyes, of the systematic butchering and massacring of innocent people in the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust? Words fail me.

Along with millions of Jews around the world, I have family and friends in Israel. Some went to Israel straight from the concentration camps, others came to live in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. Some are serving on the front lines, others are living in the very communities that were invaded by Hamas. And, yes, colleagues, some are being held as hostages in Gaza as I stand here today.

Colleagues, dear friends, this is very personal for me. In the face of such brutality, such inhumanity, such horror, I wish I had the words to comfort all of those who are grieving and who are trembling and suffering in fear, but the words keep failing me, so I turn to my own tradition for guidance.

In Pirkei Avot, which is a rabbinic text written 18 centuries ago, it is stated that we should not offer comfort to someone while their dead still lies before them. So the best that I can do is to feel the pain and loss — and the fear and dread — that have been visited upon my people; to honour the memory of the dead; to mourn with their family, friends and communities; to hope for the speedy recovery of the injured; to work for the release of all those held hostage; to hope that the innocent victims trapped in Gaza, whatever their religion or nationality, are provided the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need; and to pray that all of them — their family, friends, and good neighbours, all the innocent people caught up in this brutal war — be spared any further sorrow.

Thank you.

Senator Cardozo: I would still like to hear if there is a timeline in terms of passing such a bill by the end of the year.

My supplementary question is about dental care, the other part of health care that is related to affordability. This policy has been put in place. Could you update us on where the dental care policy is at this point?

Senator Tannas: I mentioned this in my speech, and we didn’t spend a lot of time on the North because there isn’t much going on up there in the gambling world, right? It’s not something, and it doesn’t appear in the Criminal Code — territories are not mentioned. It says “provinces.” It doesn’t say “territories.”

The objectives here are to deal with First Nations gaming on‑reserve where there are, in fact, 30-odd casinos operating today.

To the extent that if there is language we can find that the Northwest Territories, the Yukon or somebody else wants to propose, we would definitely welcome that. However, from what we could tell, it would require something completely different than what is in the Criminal Code and what we’re proposing to do, which is specific to reserves.

Senator Dagenais: Can you explain the logic behind the government’s fight against these web giants, when the Prime Minister himself uses them to announce changes in his family situation instead of using a local, Canadian news channel? In a way, he is proving the effectiveness of web giants in the system.

Senator Gold: The idea behind the bill is not to go backward and get rid of commonly used tools such as social media. It is instead to ensure that our traditional media and our local journalists, which Canadian democracy relies on, receive fair support compared to the media giants who benefit from it.

Senator Cotter: Internationally, Canada has been a vocal advocate for the rights of marginalized communities, and we’ve engaged constructively at both bilateral and multilateral levels, worked closely with civil society organizations and supported international assistance programs that advance the human rights of queer and transgender people.

Yet, as we reflect on these statistics and our efforts, are we doing enough? It seems to me that the answer, unequivocally, is no. We must do more.

This is why I want to, once again, highlight the importance of consultation with the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in the development of the national anti-hate action plan announced in the budget. Through this work, and the work of so many Canadians, we will create a Canada where every individual is free to be themselves, particularly for young people to grow up to lead fulfilling lives without fear or prejudice.

Thank you.

Senator Gold: Thank you. Regrettably, I don’t have any more details on this than in the answer I gave to our colleague, Senator Cordy, earlier this month. To remind my honourable colleagues, the Canadian Dental Care Plan is expected to begin rolling out by the end of this year, and by 2025, it will be fully implemented to cover all uninsured Canadians with an annual family income under $90,000. Again, the government remains committed to moving forward.

Senator Plett: I take offence at that answer, Senator Gold. I stand with Israel. I always have. I’m sorry that I have to ask these difficult questions. For you to think there is anything nefarious there is problematic.

Leader, I won’t repeat what the staffer said, but his hateful words can easily be found online. If any one of us can find those words and if we can clearly see them for what they are — anti‑Semitic — then the PCO should be able to as well. The staffer kept his employment within the Government of Canada. Why is no one held accountable under this Trudeau government?

Senator Gold: I acknowledge that it’s legitimate to ask questions about how such matters are treated by employers, whether governmental or otherwise. My comments stand for themselves.

I have no knowledge of this particular case and have no further comments to make in that regard.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question.

No, what is the same thing is the drumbeat that you continue to play in the face of the actions that Canada is taking both to protect its citizens and to play its part on the world stage.

Senator Pate: Thank you very much for that response, Senator Gold. I’m interested in the specific steps — perhaps you could provide them in writing — that the government has taken to have these interjurisdictional discussions with provinces, territories and municipalities that have been raised by a number of jurisdictions, which I first highlighted on June 8, 2021, just after the action plan was introduced.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I appreciate your patience in waiting for a response to your written question. I will ask my office to follow-up on the response, and I’ll report back to the chamber as soon as I can.

[Translation]

Senator Woo: How would you imagine that the Americans will follow our example in setting a law when they are the pre‑eminent power in the world?

Senator Omidvar: The U.S. will be part of this task force that the Deputy Prime Minister has created. Legal scholars, academics and former officials will be on it. I’m not going to pre‑empt what the U.S. is going to do.

By the way, Senator Woo, I think this bill is not just aimed at the U.S. There are other nations that have frozen Russian state bank assets, including the U.K. and Japan. Europe is definitely not low-hanging fruit because of their position in the region and their dependency on Russia for all kinds of things. I don’t really believe it’s just the U.S. It is others as well.

As I said, a Canadian rolling stone can gather moss.