Senator Gold: Thank you, senator, for the question. With regard to the specifics of the question, I will have to make inquiries with the government and hope to report back in a timely fashion.

Senator Gold: I will follow up with the government and try to provide a response shortly.

[English]

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. Again, it’s an important and serious one that affects millions of Canadians and their families. This government has been there for Canadians through difficult economic times and continues to be there through difficult economic times. It continues to be there for those who grow, produce and distribute food to Canadians and will continue to be there for them.

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, in accordance with subsection 53(1) of the Privacy Act, Chapter P-21, R.S.C., 1985, the Senate approve the appointment of Mr. Philippe Dufresne as Privacy Commissioner, for a term of seven years.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. First of all, what I’ve said in this chamber on many occasions — and I’ll say it again — is not that these bills are not important, but that the Senate will and that the government respects that the Senate will take the time that it chooses to properly study bills.

Why the government may have moved time allocation in the other place might have something to do with the degree of obstruction that has characterized this Parliament for some time, and I think the best answer is the short one in this regard.

Senator Gold: The leadership in this place and the Senate has made it clear that they demand — and properly so — proper time to study bills. I have no control over the will of the Senate, but I respect that.

I wish the same respect would be shown to the words that I have pronounced publicly and in private on an ongoing basis. What knowledge I may or may not have of parliamentary strategy or government’s intentions are things that no responsible parliamentarian would inquire of as those with experience — and indeed those who have more recently arrived — would understand it would be an inappropriate breach of confidence.

Senator Gold: The government has respect for the PBO Office. As I said, I’m not aware of the situation which you brought to my attention and I’ll certainly look into it.

[Translation]

Senator Petitclerc: Senator Gold, in our role as legislators, it is important for us to have access to all the tools we need to do our work in a thorough and professional manner.

Would it be possible to provide us, on a regular basis, automatically or systematically, even a summary of the comparative analyses conducted as part of the development of government bills every time they are brought to our attention?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Senator, thank you for the question. The government welcomes the recommendations of the Auditor General and acknowledges, frankly, that there is more work to be done.

Barriers keeping at-risk Canadians from accessing benefits include lack of awareness, lack of cultural awareness, service design, accessibility and others. To address these barriers, ESDC developed a strategy structured around four key components: simplification, direct reach, inclusion, and promotion and awareness. This strategy includes client-centric solutions to connect with at-risk Canadians where they live, similar to the successful Indigenous Outreach initiative that obtained funding in 2018 to reach remote and northern Indigenous communities that have been historically underserved. I’m also advised that the CRA continues to support and build trust with hard-to-reach and vulnerable communities across the country. For example, free tax clinics and outreach programs serve approximately 600,000 people a year.

With respect to your question regarding the Reaching All Canadians initiative, I’m advised that the government is presently seeking to strengthen this initiative to respond to the findings in the audit. I have been assured that the government will continue to develop programs and processes to ensure that all Canadians — especially marginalized and underserved people — are able to access services, benefits and support.

Senator Loffreda: Thank you for the answer, Senator Gold. It’s reassuring.

As Ms. Hogan said, the government needs to find out what the barriers that prevent hard-to-reach populations from accessing these programs are and then tailor its outreach programs instead of repeating the same recipe over and over again in the hopes that it will generate more buy-in.

I know the government acknowledged the responsibility to help Canadians receive their benefits, and to that effect it allocated $18 million in 2021 to ESDC and CRA for targeted outreach activities. Is the government able to provide us with an update on how this money was spent, and how many Canadians it helped obtain benefits they otherwise would have likely not received or applied for?