Hon. Rebecca Patterson: Honourable senators, I rise today on Inquiry No. 5, which calls the attention of the Senate to the 2023 federal budget entitled, A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future. You will find that my comments dovetail very nicely into what my colleagues have said.

In this budget, the government proposed to introduce a new action plan to combat hate by the end of the year. However, we can’t pick and choose who will be excluded and left to be targeted by hateful conduct.

Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, gender identity or expression is protected against hateful conduct. This includes 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, which is why they must be included in this plan.

As many of you are aware, there are ever-increasing reports of targeted threats and violence against the community, particularly transgender people. Here in Canada, we have seen 2SLGBTQIA+ people attacked. We have seen protests against drag storytime, pride clubs in schools and even the raising of pride flags. We’ve seen the erosion of young people’s ability to safely self-identify. These all stand in stark contrast as reminders that we must remain vigilant in protecting society’s most vulnerable.

Senators, most of you have heard the term “woke,” which was originally used by the Black community to refer to being aware of racial and social injustice. However, as we’ve recently seen, wokeness has been used as a label to attack 2SLGBTQIA+ rights as divisive or extreme. Those opposed to the fundamental rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ citizens often label themselves as anti-woke.

I spent my previous career upholding the rights of Canadian values at home and abroad, and I ask you the following: When is it ever okay to deny a fellow Canadian their rights because they don’t fit into a heteronormative, cisgendered identity? Every Canadian has the right to live as their authentic self.

Thank you.

Hon. Brent Cotter: Honourable senators, I rise to speak to Inquiry No. 5 to draw attention to the budget entitled A Made‑in‑Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future.

Specifically, I want to speak to the importance of the national anti-hate action plan announced in the 2023 budget, and its impact on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

I enjoy hearing myself speak — it’s conceivable that some of you do as well, but I think you and I would be better off today if I didn’t, and instead listened to the thoughtful, insightful and moving remarks on this issue being delivered by senators in this place. I’m honoured today more to be listening than to speak.

This is an issue that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal for many of us. As we gather in this chamber, we must recognize the urgency of the matter and the responsibility that we bear — as representatives of the Canadian people — to give voice.

The human rights of all individuals are universal and indivisible. As stated in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Yet, for many in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, this fundamental truth remains elusive for them. Hate crimes, discrimination and violence against these individuals persist, both within our borders and beyond. In 2022 alone, the Trans Murder Monitoring report indicated that there had been 327 deaths globally — 95% of those murdered being trans women. Most of these victims were marginalized, further underscoring what we already know: Hate manifests most among those of us who are pushed to the edges of our societies.

Canada is not immune to these challenges. A 2020 study in Canada found that trans Canadians were more likely to experience violence and inappropriate behaviours online and at work. In 2023 alone, we have witnessed hate-motivated vandalism of pride flags, hate-fuelled protests and even the exclusion of pride flags from municipal properties and from the tape on hockey sticks.

Sadly, this past year, we’ve also seen a significant and insidious rise in the politicization of discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity of Canadian youth. Some of you have spoken to this already. Several provinces have rolled out or are considering legislation targeting the treatment of gender‑diverse youth in our education systems, and I want to primarily speak about young people in the remaining part of my remarks.

My sense is that this politicization of our youngest, most vulnerable citizens is concerning and, indeed, unacceptable. A study was pointed out to me by Senator Cormier, which helps to illuminate this concern. It was a study of student wellness for New Brunswick. It polled students from grades 6 to 12, or children aged 12 to 18 — those are hard years for many of us, regardless of the extenuating circumstances.

I want to read out a few sobering findings, if I may: The first will be the average response among students, and then the response provided by LGBTQ2+ students. Students were asked if they felt lonely most or all of the time. The average response rate was 28% said yes. For LGBTQ2+ students, 51% felt lonely most or all of the time. These are messages of alienation and vulnerability, I think.

With respect to difficulty sleeping most or all of the time, the average was 65%. For LGBTQ2+ students, it was 80%. In regard to the ability to communicate in the communities, and if people in those communities can be trusted, 55% of students said yes. Of the LGBTQ2+ students, 42% said yes. In regard to if you can ask for help from neighbours, the average was 66%. For LGBTQ2+ students, it was 53%.

In every one of these cases, there was a statistically significant difference in the wrong direction for support for these vulnerable young people. The evidence is clear, and the need for heightened protection of minors has been clear even in the Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence, which has stated unequivocally that “Recognition of the inherent vulnerability of children has consistent and deep roots in Canadian law.”

Let me offer an aside: You hear this debate between parental rights and children’s rights, and maybe the argument being advanced is that somehow parental rights should trump children’s rights. Well, let me tell you what we do in every province in this country: We have laws that protect children — I have an audience of one back here.

Thank you, Senator Simons.

We have laws, so much so that it is an obligation that if you — as a citizen in this country — discover that a child is in need of protective services, you are obliged to report that to the authorities. If you fail to do so, you commit an offence. So be damned with this line of argument that somehow children’s rights have to be modified.

In this society, to our credit, we place them on a very high pedestal, and we should not stop.

Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia: Honourable senators, it is my privilege to rise to speak to Inquiry No. 5, which draws attention to the budget entitled A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future.

In response to an increase of police-reported hate crimes, including the hate faced by 2SLGBTQI+ communities, Budget 2023 has included plans to introduce a new action plan to combat hate in this country.

We live in a time of increased polarization, with the rise in hateful messages and misinformation targeting many, but in particular our queer and trans communities, fostering fear and isolation. The federal government recognizes this, and steps have been taken, including the development and implementation of the 2SLGBTQI+ plan. The plan in 2022 helped advance equality and the rights of community members throughout Canada and is helping several queer and trans organizations and communities across the country build resilience in the wake of increasing hate.

Just this past August, in my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the federal government announced funding through the action plan to two local organizations, First Light St. John’s Friendship Centre and the Quadrangle LGBTQ Community Centre, whose respective goals are to support, among others, Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The projects receiving support are focused on ending gender-based violence and providing affirming health care.

The 2SLGBTQI+ communities contribute immeasurably to Newfoundland’s cultural fabric, arts and business communities. They are our friends. They are our family. They are our neighbours. They continue to play a leading and ongoing role in the broader movement for their rights and acceptance in our country through advocacy, education and visibility. Colleagues, we must stand by them.

In May, the Newfoundland and Labrador Queer Research Initiative launched a collection of rare documents and photographs detailing the province’s LGBTQ+ past. With credit to Sarah Worthman, the non-profit’s Executive Director, the new archive tells the hidden stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and gender-diverse Newfoundlanders and Labradorians throughout our history. As Ms. Worthman eloquently stated in an interview, “. . . it’s much harder to hate on someone that you know as opposed to someone that you don’t.”

In my own career, I have witnessed the devastating impacts on the mental health of 2SLGBTQI students — students who are stigmatized by name-calling, microaggressions, marginalizations, exclusion and sometimes violence.

The implementation of this plan to combat hate is an essential next step to continue on the progress that we’ve made. This plan signifies a continuing commitment to tackling the systemic issues that have perpetuated discrimination and violence against these communities. It recognizes that in order to secure a prosperous future for all Canadians, we must confront the hatred and prejudice that undermine our values of equality, diversity and inclusivity.

The significance of this plan extends far beyond its immediate impact on hate crimes. It goes to the heart of what we stand for as Canadians — a nation that values the dignity and worth of every individual, regardless of who they are or whom they love. By addressing hate, we are not only helping safeguard the lives of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians, but also reinforcing our commitment to building a society where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive.

Honourable senators, I look forward to seeing the development and implementation of this plan with specific measures to combat hate as we move towards a more equitable, inclusive and, hopefully, prosperous future for our 2SLGBTQI communities and other marginalized groups. A prosperous future in the truest sense is one where every Canadian can live their lives authentically without the fear of discrimination or violence.

Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Renée Dupuis: I found my colleagues’ speeches inspiring today. I want to very briefly speak to Inquiry No. 5 by Senator Gold, the Government Representative in the Senate, about the action plan to combat hate announced in the most recent budget tabled by the Minister of Finance. This budget is entitled A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future. I would add “for all” — not just for the middle class, but for all classes in Canada.

I remind honourable senators that the Canadian Human Rights Act was amended exactly 10 years ago to remove sections that protected groups that are discriminated against and that are the subject of hate speech. I refer you to subsection 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act, entitled “Hate messages,” which says, and I quote:

It is a discriminatory practice for a person or a group of persons acting in concert to communicate telephonically or to cause to be so communicated, repeatedly, in whole or in part by means of the facilities of a telecommunication undertaking within the legislative authority of Parliament, any matter that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt by reason of the fact that that person or those persons are identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.

Section 3 of the Canadian Human Rights Act refers to the groups against which discrimination is prohibited. The grounds of discrimination are as follows:

. . . race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered.

Honourable senators, I’m impressed by the speeches I’ve heard today, and I hope to be just as impressed by the actions this chamber takes.

Honourable senators, we’re all lawmakers, and we need to put this section back in the Canadian Human Rights Act. I encourage Senator Gold, who initiated this inquiry, to convince the government that an action plan is all well and good, but that action plan must be comprehensive and must include concrete measures so that people subjected to hate, which is discrimination, have recourse under the law. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Housakos, seconded by the Honourable Senator Wells, for the second reading of Bill S-237, An Act to establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code.