Hon. Paula Simons: Would the honourable senator take a question?

Senator Jaffer: Yes.

Senator Simons: Senator Jaffer, one of the challenges you and I have discussed is that it is provincial governments who are responsible for acting as the guardians of these children. It is provincial governments who are often the ones failing to apply for citizenship. Understanding, of course, that we can’t tell provinces what to do, what do you hope your bill will accomplish to encourage provincial governments to actually make these applications in the first place?

Senator Jaffer: Thank you very much, Senator Simons. This is something that I have struggled with a lot, because it is true. We all know that it is the provinces who take the children into care.

But in our wonderful federal system, immigration law is under the federal government. It is something I really believe is our responsibility. So the immigration law can only be changed by the federal government or by us in Parliament. It is the beauty of our federal system that if the federal law changes and becomes the law of the country, the provincial social workers would have to apply to get citizenship.

I have struggled a lot with this, but that’s the only way to do it. The courts have held that as well, because the provinces don’t form immigration laws.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Klyne, seconded by the Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., for the second reading of Bill S-241, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (great apes, elephants and certain other animals).

Hon. Paula Simons: Thank you very much, minister. With regard to beef slaughter in Canada, 84% is done by just two companies — JBS Foods Canada and Cargill, two large multinationals. Cattle producers and consumers, thus, are captive to a market without competition. According to Alberta government data, prices for slaughtered cattle and calves in Alberta stayed almost unchanged between January 2021 and January 2022, but over the same period retail beef inflation in Canada rose by 15.4%, while beef consumption went into sharp decline.

Minister, while I understand there are no easy answers to increasing slaughterhouse capacity, what steps are your government taking to protect Canadian consumers and beef producers from this degree of corporate concentration?