Senator Martin: Senator Gold, it seems like your government thinks that the fix-all solution to this problem is to simply throw money at issues as they arise rather than to address the root cause.

Former minister Perrin Beatty has said that your government has tended to measure infrastructure spending in terms of job creation, as opposed to what the “problem in need of a solution” is and what the economic returns are. This short-sighted approach is evidence of a lack of long-term planning by your government on this issue.

Senator Gold, when will your government start to get serious about the development of a long-term national plan to strengthen and secure Canada’s infrastructure and supply chains?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 59, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding the Jordan decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the delegation of Easter Seals Canada, including Hoor Ulain Nassani, Sebastien Parent and Alex Lytwyn. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Ravalia.

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

Senator Mégie: I am pleased to know that certain points were covered. Would it be possible for you to table in the Senate the responses to the various recommendations that were made or inform us of the measures that have been taken and what remains to be done? Would it be possible for you to take care of that?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Speaking of pipelines, Senator Gold, Canadians are trying to make ends meet amidst rising inflation rates and struggling to provide essentials like food for their families and filling up their cars. Global News reported today that tomorrow, on Thursday, Metro Vancouver gas prices will be 239.9 cents per litre, so $2.40 per litre, and will break an all-time record by three to four cents per litre for any city in North America. In Ontario, gas prices are significantly lower, with rates of $1.49 per litre, which is still high compared to other places. Leader, what is the government doing to help British Columbians and other provinces with skyrocketing fuel prices?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 43, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding forced labour — Employment and Social Development Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 41, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding the firearms buyback program.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 94, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding the Security and Intelligence Diversity and Inclusion Tiger Team.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 128, dated February 8, 2022, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding the Royal Canadian Air Force — bio-containment.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Would the honourable senator take a question?

Senator Bovey: Absolutely.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Again, the fluctuation in energy prices and increasing food prices are a concern for all Canadians, regardless of their province. They do vary from province to province and city to city.

As I outlined yesterday and will not repeat, the government has a suite of measures that it has put in place and continues to put in place to provide help to Canadians, especially those with fewer means than most of us in this chamber enjoy, to get through these difficult times. It will continue to use its best efforts and resources, working, of course, with its partners and counterparts in the provinces and, in some cases, municipalities, to address the challenges that Canadians face.

Senator Plett: Leader, for grain farmers the railways represent a lifeline, as they rely on this critical infrastructure to get their product to customers across Canada and around the world. Shipment delays translate to a higher cost to the grain company. The biggest loser in the end, Senator Gold, is not only the Canadian farmer but the entire world, especially in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.

Of course, we cannot fault the railway companies for this either, as so much of their capacity is taken up by Canada’s oil and natural gas due to this NDP-Liberal government’s efforts to prevent pipeline projects. Leader, why does this NDP-Liberal government not recognize the ripple effect this has on our supply chains and other commodity industries?

Hon. Robert Black: Honourable senators, on Wednesdays the Canadian Senators Group directs questions to committee chairs. Therefore, today my question is for my honourable colleague, the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.

Senator Housakos, I understand that the pre-study the committee has been conducting on Bill C-11 has been an extensive process, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and our honourable colleagues on the committee for their continued dedication to tackling this topic.

I know that many Canadians have concerns with Bill C-11. I recently heard from members of 4-H Canada — an organization that is close to my heart, as many of you know — who shared concerns that the bill could set back many non-profit organizations, such as 4-H, that produce independent content on YouTube.

With that in mind, can you advise if your committee has heard from expert witnesses about concerns regarding the role of content creation and disallowing content on YouTube, as well as on other such platforms within the context of Bill C-11? Can you advise us if there are any potential impacts on non-profit organizations’ use of YouTube? Also, are there any other concerns that you believe the chamber should be made aware of with regard to this issue?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader.

Senator Gold, Canada is falling behind under this Trudeau government. According to a report released earlier this year from the Canada West Foundation, confidence in the reliability and competitiveness of Canada’s trade infrastructure has been declining, both here at home and abroad. In 2019, Canada was ranked thirty-second in the world, placing us below all of our major competitors. Trade and infrastructure experts have long been sounding the alarm on this and calling for Canada to urgently address its long-neglected trade infrastructure in order to remain competitive.

As our economy and population continue to grow, more strain will be put on our existing infrastructure.

Leader, why has your government not heeded these warnings? When are you going to address this?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Michèle Audette: Kuei.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Audette spoke in Innu.]

Colleagues, I would like to acknowledge, thank and give hope to all nations, but especially the one that is hosting us today on their unceded territory, the Anishinaabe nation. Tshinashkumitnau.

Today, I stand before you to honour the memory of a gentle warrior named Joyce Echaquan.

Two years ago, she left us in a very tragic manner. This Atikamekw woman tragically died at the Joliette hospital under a slew of racist insults from the staff. The horrific video of this incident outraged the world and raised the public’s awareness about systemic racism and discrimination.

Faced with this intolerable and unacceptable situation, the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan and the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw proposed Joyce’s Principle, a principle the draws inspiration from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This principle also seeks to ensure that all Indigenous people have the right to equitable access to health and social services without discrimination, as well as the right to enjoy the best possible physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. In fact, colleagues, if you have not already done so, I encourage you to read Joyce’s Principle and support it.

Coroner Kamel’s report also called on the Government of Quebec to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism within our institutions and commit to helping eliminate it. I would like to quote from Ms. Kamel’s report:

It is clear that the road to reconciliation is a long and arduous one. Efforts are all the more necessary, as the findings of this enquiry indicate that Mrs. Echaquan was indeed ostracised, and that her death was directly related to the care that she received during her hospitalisation in September of 2020, and that her death could have been avoided.

The courage in the words aiming at pacifying our relationships with others is crucial. We must have a firm will to name, but without having a cosmetic intent regarding a principle that is so clear: The right of all to goodwill and to living in a free and democratic society, in the hope that every human being deserves the same services with dignity and respect and who above all, deserves to live.

I made a commitment to Joyce, to her husband Carol, to her late father Michel, who is now with his daughter, and to her whole family and the entire Atikamekw community to walk by their side, to walk with them. We have a responsibility and a duty to work together to change things.

Carol, Jemima, the children, Diane, Solange and Chief Flamand, you are always in my thoughts.

Joyce, you inspired us with your courage. I am hopeful, and I will carry on.

Iame.

[English]

Hon. Rosemary Moodie: Honourable senators, I address you on behalf of the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians for Population Development, or CAPPD — a multi-party group of parliamentarians committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all — of which I am a proud member.

Today, on International Safe Abortion Day, this group recognizes the tireless efforts of health care providers and community organizations, across Canada and around the world, who work to support access to safe and dignified abortion care. Globally, a staggering 45% of abortions are unsafe. Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal death globally and hospitalizes millions of women every year.

While abortion care is about providing essential health care, it’s also about the right to control one’s own body. The United States Supreme Court’s decision to repeal Roe v. Wade is the culmination of decades of attacks on abortion rights, led and funded by anti-human rights groups. These actors are organizing against the rights of women.

We need to organize in support of human rights and equality. CAPPD welcomes the 2022 World Health Organization’s Abortion care guideline that recommends the full decriminalization of abortion and universal access to abortion and self-management options. Canada must continue the important work of increasing access to abortion care in our country, as well as continue to champion this work globally.

As a group of parliamentarians, CAPPD is committed to advancing work that would help close gaps in accessing safe abortion care in Canada and around the world and support the fundamental right to bodily autonomy for everyone. It welcomes others joining us in our collective work in this area.

Canada has a strong history of commitment to sexual and reproductive health rights, both domestically and internationally, with a series of investments in recent years. This commitment should make us all very proud. We must continue to safeguard access to sexual and reproductive health services and ensure that we continue to work hard to end preventable death and illness from unsafe abortion worldwide.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, the preamble of the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement specifically recognized “the contributions of Inuit to Canada’s history, identity and sovereignty in the Arctic.”

I’m happy to announce that I’m working with Inuit development corporations from all regions of Inuit Nunangat to host an Arctic sovereignty and security summit in Iqaluit on October 3.

After welcoming the early explorers, whalers, traders and missionaries who needed help navigating and surviving in the Arctic, Inuit have provided ongoing contributions to sovereignty and security in Canada’s Arctic. They have been an important presence during the operation of the Distant Early Warning Line system during the Cold War, and Inuit corporations have played a lead role in the cleanup of that DEW Line and other contaminated sites from that era. More recently, a pan-Arctic, Inuit-led consortium, Pan Arctic Inuit Logistics Corporation, Nasittuq, has recently been contracted by Canada again to operate and maintain the North Warning System.

That technology is now outdated and in need of modernization — a reality that decades of Russian militarization in their Arctic and Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and reckless invasion of Ukraine has highlighted this year. So it was welcome and long-awaited news that Canada is now committed to NORAD modernization with a commitment of $4.9 billion in Budget 2022, and a further $20 billion over the coming decade.

Arctic sovereignty cannot and must not be only about militarization. It must be about more than new military hardware and modernizing surveillance technology. It must also be about the people and communities of the Arctic. This summit is being organized with the aim of sensitizing our federal government to opportunities for legacy community infrastructure and continued Inuit participation in NORAD modernization. We must seize this opportunity to reinforce Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic by also working toward narrowing the infrastructure gap in the North in communications, transportation, energy, roads, ports and airports. This is about not neglecting the human and community dimension in establishing sovereignty and security in the Arctic.

In the past, sovereignty and security in the Arctic has come at the expense of Inuit, including a tragic history of forced relocation. Today, we have the opportunity to include Inuit from the very beginning, letting them lead the discussion with their stated priorities and goals.

I am happy that the Senate Defence Committee will travel to the North in its forthcoming fact-finding tour as part of its study on Arctic sovereignty. I’d like to thank Senator Dean, chair of the committee, and his steering committee colleagues for supporting this opportunity for our Senate committee and its staff. I hope this summit will be helpful to the committee in formulating its recommendations to our government on strengthening Arctic sovereignty. Qujannamik.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your supplementary question, honourable colleague. I will commit to seeking additional information from the government and to sharing the response with the chamber as soon as possible.

[English]