Senator Plett: Senator Gold, last week, when Senator Housakos asked you about listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity, you gave us the same response you have given us for years now. However, when Minister LeBlanc was asked a similar question in the House, he gave a very different response. The minister said he obviously asked security professionals to update their advice. Leader, why was your answer different from the minister’s?

Hon. Lucie Moncion: Honourable senators, I rise today to mark Co-op Week, which was from October 15 to 21, 2023, with the theme “All for one.”

Co-op Week is an opportunity to celebrate the cooperative model and raise awareness of its virtues among the business community, Canadians and governments. Unlike capitalist businesses, which are primarily profit-driven, the cooperative model is rooted in a perspective of sustainable, responsible socio-economic development that puts people, communities and their needs first.

The cooperative model has proven itself over the years, both nationally and worldwide, through innovation, goodwill and a surprising ability to adapt.

To illustrate my point, I’d like to highlight a few success stories from across Canada and around the world. They include Agropur, Federated Co-operatives Limited, Co-operators, Sollio Cooperative Group, Gay Lea, Arctic Co-operatives Limited, Fogo Island Co-Operative Society Ltd. and many others. They also include the Green Bay Packers, Ocean Spray, Crédit Mutuel and Mondragon.

Although the cooperative business model doesn’t always lead the way in terms of rapid return on investment, the fact remains that it meets the needs of those who choose to work together.

I’ve spoken to you before about the Coopérative régionale de Moonbeam Ltée. Senators will recall that, in 2012, the local grocery store was about to close its doors because it couldn’t find a buyer to take over.

The people of Moonbeam took action to form a cooperative, raise funds and elect a board of administrators. Eleven years later, the co-op is still in operation and has been so successful that it is now expanding. A new, bigger and more modern store will be built in the coming year, so that the co-op can do an even better job of serving its customers.

Co-op Week is an opportunity to promote the co-op model and business success stories like that of the Coopérative régionale de Moonbeam Ltée.

I’d like to take this opportunity today to thank the representatives and organizations in this sector, who work hard and promote the interests of co‑ops to local, provincial and federal governments. Your contributions are essential in developing inclusive laws and policies that make the co-op model a solution of choice.

Thank you for your attention.

[English]

Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Honourable senators, I want to say a few words about what it means to be an independent senator. I find a lot of Canadians are very interested in this important new reform of the Senate, which began in 2015, and I am often asked about what it means to be an independent senator. This is how I respond:

First, here are some interesting results: 83% of senators are now independent. Prior to this reform, the Senate amended, on average, one or two bills a year. Today, we amend some 40% to 50% of the bills, and, importantly, more than two thirds of those are accepted by the elected House of Commons. I am proud to be a part of a modern, less partisan Senate that is moving away from the old style of partisan blood sport and is really focused on the original intent of the Senate, namely, to provide sober second thought on legislation. Today, more than ever, Canadians want less partisanship and more cooperation.

How do I conduct myself as an independent? The most important thing is that I decide how to vote on each issue on my own in the best interests of Canadians, as I see it, given what I hear and read, my values and my general view of the world. I dedicate my time and resources to the work of the Senate. I make a point of engaging with all levels of government, business, labour, academia, not-for-profit organizations, experts and interested Canadians.

Now, here are some rules I follow: I am not a member of a political party. I do not caucus with any political party in the House of Commons, although I work with members of all parties, as needed. I do not raise funds for any party. I do not use clips from the Senate or otherwise for the purpose of fundraising for any political party. I do not help raise funds off what I do in the Senate.

I remind people that I do not participate in developing strategy for any party or election or leadership campaigns of any party or in political parties at the riding level. I do not engage in outreach for any political party. I also point out that I do not speed up or delay bills or otherwise take advantage of house rules for political partisan advantage. No party hands me speeches to deliver, and no party tells me what to say or not to say. In short, Your Honour, I tell Canadians that I am an independent senator.

Senator McPhedran: Thank you very much. In addition to that, could you please ask the government to report publicly on the review and to specify the use of NDAs by this federally funded agency? Thank you.

Senator Gold: I stand by my answer. Thank you, Your Honour, for intervening. I do appreciate some attention when I try to answer.

Senator Gerba: Senator Gold, thank you for your response.

The Canada Emergency Business Account allowed small businesses to receive a loan that has to be repaid by January 18, 2024. The provincial and territorial premiers recently called for this deadline to be pushed back.

Does the government plan to grant their request?

Senator Arnot: I agree with that observation, Senator Forest, and I think this is the purpose of the inquiry. We need to have a new governance model and a new direct relationship between municipalities and the federal government.

Thank you for that question, and thank you for your support.

Senator Gold: I’m not exactly sure about the timeline for sending revisions and amendments of the bill back to Parliament. As soon as it is publicly announced, the Senate will be notified.

[English]

Senator Gold: I will certainly take your suggestion to the attention of the appropriate minister. I would not assume one way or the other that every violation for which someone was fined was necessarily inappropriate, but I will transmit your suggestion as quickly as I can.

[Translation]

Senator Bellemare: If there are any questions, I’m ready to answer them.

Senator Gold: Thank you. I will certainly be happy to raise this with the government.

To be clear, there is every expectation that we will be able to deal with this issue on Thursday, which is a sitting day when we can devote fulsome debate to the message from the other place. I fully hope that we can dispose of it before we rise on Thursday. Friday is also a day on which, if we have to, we can sit as well to ensure that we respect the deadline.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: All human life is sacred, created in the image of God. This is part of my tradition and many traditions around the world.

Unfortunately, a truce will not put an end to violence or danger. Furthermore, as the Americans and the minister have pointed out, this is not the right time to consider it.

[English]

Senator Arnot: Yes.

Senator Dean: Thank you, Senator Deacon. I have seen organizations with exceedingly heavy regulatory and rule-bound systems, and it is remarkable how those can dissolve — maybe temporarily — when a prime minister or a premier and a head of public service task public servants with getting to an end goal quickly. Those barriers can be removed. I wouldn’t want to create the impression that we need to go through a long period of changing the myriad rules in public service organizations to get to the goal quickly.

Those things should be done, but my advice would be to not get tangled up with that. Let’s clearly identify objectives, put political weight behind them, put public service leadership behind them and get the right people in the right jobs from the right places who have done this before and demonstrated success, and we will move the yardsticks.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Simons, calling the attention of the Senate to the challenges and opportunities that Canadian municipalities face, and to the importance of understanding and redefining the relationships between Canada’s municipalities and the federal government.

Senator Gold: I thank Senator Dalphond for that clarification and for his support for this motion.

[English]

Honourable senators, I rise briefly to speak to the motion in response to the message from the other place concerning the reappointment of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying.

The objective of reconstituting the committee and the need for adopting this motion in a timely fashion is to fulfill the terms of Recommendation 13 of its second report, which states:

That, five months prior to the coming into force of eligibility for MAID where a mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition, a Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying be re-established by the House of Commons and the Senate in order to verify the degree of preparedness attained for a safe and adequate application of MAID (in MD-SUMC situations). Following this assessment, the Special Joint Committee will make its final recommendation to the House of Commons and the Senate.

In short, the motion that I have moved in response would simply revive the joint committee under the terms that have prevailed for the duration of this Parliament, an approach that enjoys the support of the Senate’s leadership. I would also note that the message we received from the other place was adopted unanimously.

The committee requires continuity, honourable senators, and the subject matter, as we all know, is a highly sensitive one.

The issue under discussion is a narrow one, that of mental illness as the sole medical condition when requesting an assessment for medical assistance in dying. As we know, colleagues, the implementation of this specific provision was delayed for one year, until March 2024.

I mention the time frame specifically because it is imperative that the committee begin convening as soon as possible. The reporting date for the committee, as I mentioned in reading the motion, is January 31, 2024.

If the chamber, in its wisdom, adopted this motion today, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying could begin meeting as expeditiously as possible. Therefore, I would urge you to support this motion so that the joint committee can begin undertaking its important and serious work. Thank you, colleagues.

Senator McCallum: Were any of these lands included in land claims?

Senator Sorensen: Thank you. My apologies, but I can’t answer that question right now. I will take that for the briefing I’m expecting.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson:

That, for the remainder of the current session and notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, when the Senate sits on a Thursday, it stand adjourned at the later of 6 p.m. or the end of Government Business, as if that time were, for all purposes, the ordinary time of adjournment provided for in rule 3-4.

Senator Housakos: The only people exercising rhetoric are in your government. Senator Gold, your own Minister of Housing has recognized that this government and Canadians need to lower their expectations. It doesn’t take a genius to realize this — just go out there and speak to young Canadians who can’t rent an apartment, let alone buy a house.

Right now, young Canadians, first-time buyers, need to amortize their mortgage for 200 years to pay for a house in this country. Don’t lecture me about business principles in this country because you know damn well, from speaking to young Canadians, that they have never had it harder than today when it comes to buying a home.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Carolyn Winter. She is the guest of the Honourable Senator Dean.

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