Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, from its inception, your government’s mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app has caused problems for Canadians because of its inefficiency and unreliability, oftentimes resulting in people ending up in two weeks of forced quarantine because the app simply wasn’t working properly. It’s a tool that never lived up to its hype, and should never have been mandatory to begin with.

Senator Gold, when will your government get rid of this intrusive, ineffective tool, or will they get rid of it at all? Could it be that this isn’t the temporary measure your government claimed and promised that it would be?

Senator Housakos: Senator Gold, I know your government doesn’t share my views. That’s why we have huge backlogs at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, enormous lineups at Canadian passport offices and, of course, the only thing your government has really unleashed is terrible inflation that we have not seen in 30 years.

Senator Gold, Canada’s largest airport, Toronto Pearson, remains paralyzed because of the doubled processing times caused by the mandatory use of ArriveCAN. At the same time, we have tourism industry representatives and mayors of Canada’s border towns calling for its discontinuation because of its negative impact on tourism across the border.

Your government claims it invoked the Emergencies Act over concerns for economic reputation. What about the damage to our economic reputation over the petulant insistence of your government to hold on to this ridiculous app? Is that of any concern to you and your government?