Hon. Tony Loffreda: Senator Gold, since August 2021, federal departments must ensure that a minimum of 5% of the total value of contracts are held by Indigenous businesses. I have explored this issue at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance as part of our review of the government’s spending priorities. I have reviewed many departmental results reports, and the 5% minimum target is rarely met. For instance, Public Services and Procurement Canada, or PSPC, is struggling and hopes to increase these contracts from a projected 2.1% to 5% in just two years. That’s a big undertaking.

As our chair often reminds us, our committee shares a common denominator with the government, which is a desire for transparency, accountability, predictability and reliability for all Canadians, when we review federal spending. Two years into this directive, can you speak to us about the success of this measure?

Hon. Chantal Petitclerc: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

[English]

Senator Gold, most Canadians enjoy their flights while watching a movie, working or resting. Wheelchair users spend their flights stressed, not knowing whether they will have a wheelchair when they land.

Stephanie Cadieux, Canada’s Chief Accessibility Officer, realized after arriving in Vancouver recently that her wheelchair had been left in Toronto. Rodney Hodgins lives with spastic cerebral palsy. He had to lower himself to the floor and drag himself off a plane because the airline didn’t provide him with his wheelchair. A few weeks ago, I had a less dramatic but equally frustrating experience boarding a flight.

The adoption of the Accessible Canada Act in 2019 promised to make Canada a barrier-free country and made all persons with disabilities optimistic. Clearly, however, airlines are not conforming effectively with the Accessible Canada Act. What is the government doing about that?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for reminding those in the chamber who have perhaps not visited Nunavut, as I have, of the very different circumstances with regard to fuel, energy, food security and the like that residents of Nunavut face on a day‑to‑day basis.

I don’t have the answer to your question, but I will bring to it the attention of the minister. I have every confidence that the government will consider how to adapt the program for the specific circumstances that are unique to the North.

Senator D. Patterson: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Senator Gold, as you know, the reason behind this tax break was to give folks more time to transition to clean energy. I’m not aware, though, of a single heat pump in Nunavut, nor are we anywhere close to being able to provide reliable, redundant, clean energy options to Nunavummiut.

So, Senator Gold, I’d also like to ask you this question: How will your government ensure that, after three years, Nunavummiut don’t just find themselves paying more money, with no viable alternative energy option?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): First of all, let’s just agree that it’s unacceptable. Those who suffer from issues of mobility or accessibility deserve to be treated with dignity and have the same opportunities to be so treated as those of us who are not subject to those constraints.

I’m going to bring this to the attention of the relevant minister in the hope that I will get some more information, and I’ll do that with dispatch.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Senator Gold, last week, Prime Minister Trudeau introduced a three-year reprieve from the carbon tax spent on home heating fuel. However, regarding the supplies in Nunavut, because it’s a backstopped jurisdiction, it’s complicated. We buy our fuel in bulk ahead of the winter, meaning that some of that home heating fuel now being used has already been taxed. Approximately 60% of the population lives in social housing, meaning it would be the Government of Nunavut both paying those costs and getting the money back, not your average resident.

So my question to you is this: How is your government going to roll this program out in Nunavut to ensure that we are getting properly reimbursed for any carbon tax already paid and Nunavut residents feel less of a pinch through this tax break?

Hon. Mary Coyle: Senator Gold, last month, our Senators for Climate Solutions group met with experts on climate adaptation. Ryan Ness of the Canadian Climate Institute applauded Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy while pointing out some shortcomings.

Senator Gold, could you tell us when the government will create an accompanying plan to measure and report on progress and create accountability for implementation of this important national climate adaptation plan?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you. I’ll certainly make inquiries and pass that on.

Measuring progress is a critical aspect of any plan. Plans aren’t fully successful unless there are measures taken to account for progress so that course corrections can be taken. I’ll certainly bring this to the attention of the minister.

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

On October 24, Minister Guilbeault announced a joint investment of $30 million with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, or NCC, to further protect 10 national parks, which include Kouchibouguac National Park near my home in Kent County. The press release on the NCC’s website states that the funds could be used for land purchase, donation and agreements with land owners. People in Kent County are still reeling from the expropriation of 250 families in 1960.

Government leader, can you guarantee the people of Kent County that the Liberal government will not repeat the mistakes of the past, mistreating and unjustly displacing people without consent around the park in Kouchibouguac?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for that and for reminding those of us, shamefully, who are not necessarily aware of the details of that incident in our history.

This government will do everything that it can in this program to provide for recreational and conservancy space for all of its citizens, and I have every confidence that will also include treating the residents in the area with respect. I will certainly undertake to make inquiries and pass on the understandable preoccupations of the residents of your area.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The report to which you refer is an important report, which the government is taking seriously. There are many aspects of that report which indicate that although the government’s current plan, which is always being revised, will fall somewhat short of the targets that are identified for 2030, there are many elements of the plan that are working well, including the carbon price on pollution. If the report had one central message, it was that this is one of the most effective measures, not only in theory but in practice.

The government is committed to reaching its targets. It knows it has more work to do in collaboration with the provinces, municipalities and the private sector, and it will continue to do so in as effective and expeditious way as possible.

Hon. Leo Housakos: Senator Gold, yesterday, we heard scathing testimony in the House of Commons committee looking into the ArriveCAN outsourcing scam. The former director general of the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, accused his superior of lying to the committee, in particular about who made the decision to go with GC Strategies. He testified that he had recommended Deloitte, but he was told that they were put in the penalty box. He said he was told by his superior that the decision comes from above.

The only people, Senator Gold, that the director general’s superior has above are the President of the CBSA and the minister himself. Who of the two decided to bypass not just the hundreds of IT experts in the public service but also Deloitte in favour of whichever Liberal insiders lined their pockets through GC Strategies?

I’m sure we’re all concerned, senators, aren’t we?

Who gave the order, Senator Gold? Was it the President of the CBSA, or was it the minister? Who gave the order?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Although I’m always happy to answer questions, there are so many more people in this country who live it on a day-to-day basis or have the expertise to answer that question properly.

I can’t tell you what all levels of governments are doing. Each province has its own approach, and properly so, as do municipalities and individual industries. This government has a suite of measures, a comprehensive climate plan which is designed to address the climate crisis while still providing support for Canadians who need it, and it is doing so in a sustainable and responsible way.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I will say a number of things.

First, these are very troubling allegations of a superior lying, and I have no comments on the truth or otherwise of the claims of one employee to his former superior.

As you know, colleagues, the CBSA has suspended contracts with GC Strategies, with Coradix Technology and Dalian Enterprises. The government is aware that the RCMP is investigating these allegations.

Misconduct of any kind in procurement is never acceptable. To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigations, the government cannot provide any further comment.

Hon. Mary Coyle: Senator Gold, as mentioned earlier by Senator Dennis Patterson, yesterday, Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco issued a report indicating that Ottawa does not have a clear plan to achieve its 2030 emissions reduction target of at least 40% below the 2005 levels. Canada is the only G7 country whose emissions are higher now than in 1990. In fact, Canada has never met a climate emissions goal, even though we have had 10 plans since 1990.

Senator Gold, what does the government have planned to recalibrate, accelerate and get on track to meet its emissions targets?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for underlining this important issue, an important one and a moral one for those who have served our country admirably, and their families as well.

I’m advised that the government is investing $445 million over the coming years to tackle the important issue of housing. It’ll be used to build new housing, bases and wings, and renovate a number of existing housing units. That’s one piece of it. In addition, I’m advised that the government has put into place a number of policies to support veterans and their families. For example, increasing rates of pay for military members to assure alignment with increases in the federal public sector; implementing an interim relocation policy to enable remote work options; and covering some additional expenses for dual residency for up to six months if a Canadian Armed Forces member cannot sell their residence. This is not a complete answer to the problem, that is for sure. It continues to work on this important matter.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, in March, almost 2 million Canadians used a food bank to feed themselves and their families. This number has increased by almost a third in one year, and it’s increased 79% compared to just four years ago.

These aren’t just stats, Senator Gold; they are Canadians. They are young people with jobs. They are seniors on a fixed income who can’t afford home heating. They are families with children. In fact, one third of all food bank users are now children. After eight long years of the Trudeau government, this is where we are as a country, with record food bank usage. How many more Canadians will go hungry if the Prime Minister gets his way and quadruples his carbon tax?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The issue of food insecurity for a growing number of Canadian families is a serious one, it is a challenging one and it is one that the government is taking seriously within its areas of jurisdiction.

Not being an economist and not wanting to minimize at all the impact of every aspect of the increased cost of living on Canadians’ ability to feed their households with the nourishing food that they deserve, the evidence is not at all clear that the price on pollution adds a significant amount to the growing food costs. We heard that expressed quite clearly in a recent intervention in this chamber.

The fact is Canadians are struggling; the federal government is doing its part, as are our provinces and, thank goodness, the non‑profit sector. We should all continue to do our part to help Canadians in need.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. It’s the position of the government, and all responsible professionals and students in this matter, that vaccines are absolutely the best defence to protect Canadians from the flu, respiratory diseases more generally and COVID-19 in particular. We saved countless hundreds of thousands of lives through vaccination programs during the pandemic, and that continues to be the centrepiece of both provincial and federal governments’ approach to combatting and protecting Canadians.

It’s important that Canadians protect themselves, especially seniors and those most vulnerable. The government will continue to use its national surveillance system. It monitors the spread of influenza and shares that information with provincial counterparts — as well as influenza-like illnesses — throughout the year so that decisions can be better informed. I’m assured that the government will continue to follow the advice of health experts in this important area.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, my question concerns two federal programs aimed at helping homeless veterans. In 2021, your government promised $45 million for a two-year pilot project to reduce homelessness among veterans through such measures as rent supplements. Rent is now the highest it has ever been in Canada, at an average of $2,149 in September according to the Rentals.ca National Rent Report. Your new program was finally launched in April of this year and accepted applications for eight weeks.

Government leader, has any of this funding been allocated? Have any veterans been helped under this program? Why did it take so long to get it up and running when rent has doubled in the meantime?