Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. I will have to look into the matter and report back as quickly as I can.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Senator Housakos, I think we both enjoy some aspects of this, but if my answers are predictable, so too, frankly, are your questions.

This government has made enormous efforts in order to ensure that the Senate returns to its proper role and not simply be an echo chamber of the House of Commons. Alas, that message, I guess, is not accepted by all.

The fact is that inflation and the hardships Canadians are facing are caused by multiple factors, some within and many without our control. It is easy and facile and, dare I say, hardly sober and serious, the need to blame someone for something that is much more complex. It may be satisfying, and it may work well on Twitter clips, but it is not a proper and, dare I say, responsible way to help Canadians understand not only the difficult situation that they are in — and they are — but the help that all parliamentarians should be affording them and that this government is doing its best to provide.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, esteemed colleague, for your question.

I understand that the Investing in Canada Plan was established before Canada took action to implement the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, I’m told that the objectives of the plan and its programs are directly aligned with the sustainable development goals. Some examples of these objectives are long-term economic growth that benefits all Canadians; environmental and climate sustainability; and communities that are more resilient to climate change.

The government’s investments in infrastructure contribute directly to the sustainable development goals of equality and social inclusion, and environmental and financial sustainability. Infrastructure Canada is tracking these goals and collecting detailed, useful data on the projects it funds and the programs it administers.

The process is constantly changing. I’m told that Infrastructure Canada is working with its partners to improve how it collects and uses relevant data to better assess findings and consequences based on various parameters.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the supplementary question.

I will have to do some digging and get back to you about several aspects of your question.

To the important issue of GBA+, I’ve been assured that Infrastructure Canada would work with project proponents to report on the parameters relating to gender, diversity and inclusion and to improve measurement and reporting of these parameters in the design of future programs.

As I said, I will endeavour to get answers to the other aspects to your question.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your comments and question. I’ll try to answer your last question as I’ve already addressed the other issues several times.

As I explained in the chamber a few days ago, problems with the cultivation of cannabis, the revelations about who has obtained licences and the involvement of organized crime are concerns for the government. It is working with its provincial partners and police to address this serious and real problem. Thank you for the question.

Senator Gold: The clear and direct answer to both questions is that the bill will be sent to us soon, I hope, and that we will have the opportunity to study it and to put questions directly to those in charge of drafting and implementing the bill.

[English]

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:

1.the Senate resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 6, 2022, to consider the subject matter of Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (temporary enhancement to the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax credit), with any proceedings then before the Senate being interrupted until the end of Committee of the Whole;

2.notwithstanding rule 3-3(1), the sitting be suspended at 5 p.m., rather than 6 p.m., for a period of 60 minutes;

3.if the bells are ringing for a vote at the time the committee is to meet, they be interrupted for the Committee of the Whole at that time, and resume once the committee has completed its work for the balance of any time remaining;

4.the Committee of the Whole on the subject matter of Bill C-30 receive the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P., Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, accompanied by no more than two officials;

5.the Committee of the Whole on the subject matter of Bill C-30 rise no later than 95 minutes after it begins;

6.the witness’s introductory remarks last a maximum total of five minutes; and

7.if a senator does not use the entire period of 10 minutes for debate provided under rule 12-32(3)(d), including the responses of the witnesses, that senator may yield the balance of time to another senator.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Thank you for your follow-up question. I’m not going to take the time because I, frankly, don’t think —

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you. The problem facing young Canadians seeking to enter or stay in the housing market is a very real one, and it is exacerbated, to be sure, by the necessity of interest rates rising to address inflation, a concern that has been raised, properly so, in this chamber many times, even if the government and the opposition disagree as to the causes or even how to describe it.

That said, the Government of Canada, and not merely in the provisions of Bill C-31, which we will receive, but in other measures, is taking steps to assist Canadians in meeting the challenge, whether in acquiring or renting homes.

I’ve mentioned all of these in the chamber before, so in the interest of brevity, I will give you the top lines: provisions to provide financing for the building of new housing stock to create a greater supply, support for those seeking to rent and so on. The Government of Canada is committed to helping Canadians get through this period, and that’s why it has introduced measures such as in Bill C-31 and other bills to assist Canadians.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I have the honour to table the answers to the following oral questions:

Response to the oral question asked in the Senate on December 14, 2021, by the Honourable Senator Marshall, concerning the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security — National Defence.

Response to the oral question asked in the Senate on December 14, 2021, by the Honourable Senator Marshall, concerning the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security — Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Response to the oral question asked in the Senate on December 14, 2021, by the Honourable Senator Marshall, concerning the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security — Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Elizabeth Marshall on December 14, 2021)

The Communications Security Establishment’s Supplementary Estimates B 2021-22 included funding to enhance the reliability and security of Government of Canada information technology networks ($15.6M). This funding will enhance and expand the Government of Canada’s existing network. It will also improve the robustness and capacity of the Government of Canada’s connections to the internet and to cloud service providers while providing the security posture (i.e., monitoring and defence capabilities) required to protect Government of Canada data and applications.

In light of the networks upgrade that Shared Services Canada will implement via the Secure Cloud Enablement and Defence project, the Communications Security Establishment will invest $15.6M to upgrade the processing capabilities of our infrastructure in order to maintain our level of cyber defence services, as well as investing now in order to be able to absorb expecting growth in Government of Canada traffic.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Elizabeth Marshall on December 14, 2021)

SSC’s Supplementary Estimates (B) 2021-22 included funding to enhance the reliability and security of Government of Canada information technology networks. The funding is for the Secure Cloud Enablement and Defence Evolution and the Departmental Connectivity and Monitoring initiative to enhance the reliability and security of Government of Canada information technology networks ($44.0 million). This funding will support the Secure Cloud to Ground operational activities and thereby support Shared Services Canada in delivering up to PROTECTED B secure cloud connectivity to partner departments, which is only one of the numerous cybersecurity projects within SSC’s project portfolio.

(Response to question raised by the Honourable Elizabeth Marshall on December 14, 2021)

The Government of Canada works continuously to enhance cyber security in Canada by preventing attacks through robust security measures, identifying cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and by preparing for and responding to all kinds of cyber incidents to better protect Canada and Canadians.

On 10 December 2021, Apache (the vendor of the software in question) released a Security Advisory highlighting a critical remote code execution vulnerability in Log4j, a widely deployed logging utility used in a variety of consumer and enterprise services, websites, applications, and Operational Technology (OT) products.

As part of the response to this global security vulnerability, some GC organizations proactively took their online services offline to allow the time to assess the impact and take mitigating steps to prevent potential exploitation. All services are now available.

There has been no indication that GC systems have been compromised because of this vulnerability.