Hon. Renée Dupuis: Will Senator Mockler take another question?

Senator Dupuis: Senator Mockler, Senator Woo’s question is extremely important. I don’t want to make this a question of privilege, but would you be willing to share your written response to Senator Woo with the rest of the senators?

Hon. Renée Dupuis: Honourable senators, I would like to follow up on something the Chair of the Human Rights Committee said.

You will understand that we didn’t have as much time to prepare as the people who made the proposal, but what strikes me in this case is that, in the documentation that was given to us today, if I’m reading the letter correctly, both the French and English versions read as follows:

The timing and content of an article . . . may constitute intimidation of a witness appearing before a Senate Committee.

The letter is not stating that it is intimidation, just that “it may constitute” intimidation.

Could you help us clarify what the nature of a question of privilege is? If we are citing the publication of an article, I am guessing that your decision will deal with the article, the timing of its publication and its content.

I would like to come back to the minutes of the Transport and Communications Committee. I see nothing in that document that would lead me to agree with what the Chair of the Human Rights Committee stated. In other words, it seems to me that the question of privilege is the responsibility of individual senators, Senate committees and the entire Senate. Therefore, we have the responsibility of ensuring that witnesses can come to a safe space to present their arguments. That is not the experience we have always had at Senate committees or in the Senate of Canada.

The senator who chairs the Human Rights Committee raised an extremely important issue. I would like you to give some thought to this. In this specific case, what measures did the committee, its officials and its members take, if they were that worried about what they consider to be intimidation, to ensure that the witness in question felt completely safe in coming to testify before the Senate committee?

When I read the minutes, I see nothing to suggest that any measures were actively taken to correct what the other place considered to be intimidation or that highlights the fundamental difference between how the two chambers treat witnesses.

I would like you to spend some time reflecting on that, and I would also like you to enlighten us more specifically about what is involved in the requirement for senators on committees to ensure that witnesses who appear before us . . .

As we know, it is extremely difficult. You said it yourself, and I will say it again: It is extremely difficult for witnesses to appear before a Senate committee, because that alone is intimidating. People may not have experience testifying, and even those who do tell us that it’s always a challenge. I think we have an obligation to make sure we create a safe environment for these witnesses. Thank you.

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