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.

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

Canada’s stated condemnation of Hamas — and its continuing support for Israel’s right to defend itself — is consistent with international law. Canada’s continuing support for providing humanitarian assistance to those who need it stands as a testament to the moral position that Canada has taken and continues to take. With regard to actions on the ground, Canada is doing its part as well to assist those who are held hostage and those who seek safe refuge from the war, and shall continue to do so.

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

The Auditor General operates independently of the government, as do investigations by the RCMP. My understanding is that the Auditor General — now apprised of that — has extended the time for her evaluation and analysis.

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 the question.

The goal of Bill C-18 is to force web giants to sit down with our small and large media companies to come to a fair and equitable agreement for the benefit of Canadians.

Obviously, web giants are afraid of the precedent this has created in Canada and Australia. They are flexing their economic muscles to try to bully us into not going forward with this bill. However, the Government of Canada is staying the course in supporting this bill, which is good for Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. First and foremost, as I’ve said, the Government of Canada and the Prime Minister have been very clear that Hamas is a terrorist group.

Second, it is important to remember that the independence of CBC/Radio-Canada’s journalism from the government and from Parliament, including the Senate, is protected by law under the Broadcasting Act.

I understand, colleagues, if you have read the newspapers today. The organization has provided an explanation and a rationale for its position with regard to the use of this language, and similar policy, as you may know, is implemented by the BBC and a number of other global news outfits. As parliamentarians, it is not our job to tell journalists or newsrooms what to say in the course of their work, but I would note that CBC/Radio-Canada has provided many a platform to use the word “terrorist” many times in recent days.

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.