Senator Plett: Thank you, Senator Gold. I look forward to you getting back to us on that.

Senator Gold, I’m puzzled — indeed, outraged — about this situation, as are Canadians. Why does the board not automatically — and I believe you served on the Parole Board — post every decision with reasons on its website?

One could easily black out information to protect victims, so why isn’t there full transparency in every other respect? Why isn’t every Parole Board decision automatically made public? Will the government commit to making them so? Court proceedings, as well as nearly every other tribunal, are public.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your answer in the form of a question. I will add it to my answers.

[English]

Senator Gold: I’ll certainly speak to the minister, whom I will be seeing later today in committee, and I will pass on that message.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for highlighting this issue that is important both to the students who want to come here and also to our universities and our country that benefit from those students. The government understands the hardships, difficulties and uncertainties caused by longer wait times in their applications.

That’s why the government has taken a number of measures to do more to tackle the backlog while making the immigration system more sustainable in the long term. That includes the fact that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, will have hired approximately 1,250 new employees to improve processing capacity.

Allow me to share some figures with you regarding student permit processing. IRCC finalized almost 560,000 study permit applications in 2021, and that beats their previous record in 2019 by 31%. IRCC is already outpacing that amount this year, with almost 452,000 study permits finalized between January and August this year, which compares to about 367,000 finalized during the same period last year.

Government will be open and transparent in their plan to tackle the backlog and return to service standards. That’s why the government has, in fact, started publishing their progress online on a monthly basis.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Yes, of course.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Will Senator Gold take a question?

Senator Gold: I will inquire with the government to see whether that is accessible. I do want to point out, however, that there’s a big difference between decisions made by the tribunals and those made by the Parole Board. The Parole Board itself does not do the monitoring. This is done by the Correctional Service of Canada. That said, I’ll look into it and will report back in this place.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I don’t know. I have no idea.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order, or usual practice, until end of the day on December 22, 2022, any joint committee be authorized to hold hybrid meetings, with the provisions of the order of February 10, 2022, concerning such meetings, having effect; and

That a message be sent to the House of Commons to acquaint that house accordingly.

[English]

Senator Gold: I will check.

However, I would like to mention that, for those who had the honour and privilege of taking part in the ceremony here in Ottawa, it was very moving. The Speaker of the Senate was there to represent the Senate and had a place of honour in the room.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, on September 4, a small community in Saskatchewan was devastated when it lost 10 of its residents and 18 more were wounded in a horrible and senseless act of violence. The sister of one of the victims described her feelings as “climbing a mountain” of devastation. These words apply to all who live in James Smith Cree Nation.

The impact on this community of 1,900 souls cannot be understated. One of the news crews who arrived to cover the tragedy expressed their amazement at the resiliency, compassion and generosity they observed from residents, who insisted that the reporter and crew share a meal with them so as to hear the stories of those they lost.

Carol Burns was 46. It is said she had an infectious laugh and a colourful sense of humour.

Thomas Burns was 23. He was Carol’s son. A friend posted on his Facebook page, “You were so funny and kind and you didn’t deserve this at all.”

Gregory Burns was 28. He was a father to two young children and he had a third on the way.

Lydia Gloria Burns was 61. She was a first responder on the reserve, and she died while responding to a crisis call during the attacks.

Bonnie Goodvoice-Burns was 48. She was the matriarch of her family and she died outside her home trying to protect her children.

Earl Burns was 66. He was a veteran with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and he was a loving father and grandfather, who also died protecting his family.

Lana Head was 49. She worked as a security guard and was a mother of two daughters.

Christian Head was 54. He was an avid golfer, enjoyed going to car shows and loved teaching his toddler grandchildren to speak.

Robert Sanderson was 49. He was a cook and wanted to be a caterer.

Wesley Petterson was 78 and lived in Weldon, about 30 kilometres away. He loved his cats and was very proud of his homemade Saskatoon berry jam.

Eighteen people were wounded and are recovering.

Honourable senators, this small, tight-knit community was impacted greatly, and everyone — literally everyone — has been touched by this tragedy: parents, brothers, sisters, partners, spouses, children, grandchildren, friends, co-workers. The number of lives affected is unimaginable. But neither will this small, tight-knit community allow these people to be forgotten. The incredible number of lives they touched will be the incredible number of lives who will remember.

On behalf of the Senate of Canada, I extend our most sincere condolences to all who knew the victims and for the speedy recovery of those who were injured. Please know that the country mourns with you.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): My answer will simply be that I will have to make inquiries and find out about that. I’m not aware of what the position is at this juncture.

Senator Gold: I’ll be brief. The government has put into place the measures I described. It believes that these will make a difference. We are on track to do better than last year, and the government will continue to do what it can to clear the backlog and make our universities accessible to those students from abroad who wish to come here.