Hon. Donald Neil Plett: Honourable senators, last May I rose in this chamber to bring you the story of an outstanding junior women’s curling team who went on to become gold medal winners in the Under-18 Canadian Girls Curling Championships. Now I know you’ve been waiting anxiously for an update on the team’s success this year, and I’m happy to be able to bring you that today.

This year, Team Plett consists of my granddaughter Myla Plett as skip, Alyssa Nedohin as third, Chloe Fediuk as second and Allie Iskiw as lead. Together with their coaches, Blair Lenton and David Nedohin, they have had a very busy winter.

From November 25 to 27, Team Plett competed in the Canada Winter Games Trials. They went 4-2, playing the other three teams twice, and then went on to the final to emerge victorious with a score of 8-2. This means that Team Plett will be representing Alberta at the Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island from February 18 to March 5.

Right after Christmas, Myla’s team headed to the Under-18 provincials, which were held January 4 to 8 in Cochrane, Alberta. The team went 6-1 during a round robin, giving them first place, which meant they had a bye straight to the final. They won the final 4-3, making them the Under-18 Alberta provincial champions for the second straight year.

Team Plett is in Timmins, Ontario, this week, representing Alberta and defending their title at the 2023 Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships. They are 2-0 so far.

Two weeks after winning the Under-18 provincial championships, the team was on the road to Ellerslie, Alberta, for the Under-20 provincials, which were held January 25 to 29. There, they had a record of 5-2 and advanced to the semifinals, which they won by a score of 7-3. In the final, they faced their long-time nemesis Team Booth and came out victorious with an 8-6 victory, becoming the Under-20 Alberta provincial champions. Team Plett is now headed to Quebec on March 25 for the 2023 New Holland Canadian Under-21 Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships.

Colleagues, as you can imagine, I am a very proud grandpa. But I am not only proud of my granddaughter Myla and her team. I’m also extremely proud of all the athletes in Canada who work very hard at their sport, often without securing those coveted spots on the podium.

I salute their discipline, determination, dedication and good sportsmanship. I invite you to join me in congratulating not only my favourite curling team, but all of our athletes who make us proud as they pursue their dreams.

Thank you.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, let’s continue in the same vein of the question that Senator Dagenais raised about Roxham Road.

The Trudeau government has done nothing — absolutely nothing — to fix the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States and has presided over massive backlogs at the immigration department for people waiting patiently to come to Canada legally.

Last weekend, leader, the New York Post reported that U.S. National Guard soldiers have been distributing free bus tickets at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan to asylum seekers in order to take them to our border so they can illegally enter Canada at Roxham Road in your province and that of Senator Dagenais.

When did the Trudeau government learn that American authorities are giving free bus tickets to people seeking to cross into Canada at Roxham Road? If you don’t have the answer, please get it for us. Has your government raised that practice with the Biden Administration, and if not, why not?

Senator Plett: In December, leader, the RCMP intercepted 4,689 people at Roxham Road. This is more than the total number of people who entered Canada at Roxham Road in all of 2021 combined. The situation is getting worse, yet the Trudeau government told Canadians last month not to expect a resolution to this when the Prime Minister meets with President Biden in March.

If you’re not going to fix the agreement with the Americans anytime soon, what exactly is the Trudeau government’s answer to Roxham Road, leader? Is it for the immigration department to keep giving taxpayer money to Liberal-friendly consultants at McKinsey?