Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Canada is grateful for the assistance Taiwan provided, as you properly pointed out, and grateful for the collaborative and good relationship Canada has with Taiwan.

The question you raised is an important one. The government continues to value its relationship with Taiwan and works in all ways in which to provide both the benefits of Taiwan’s participation and the benefit to Taiwan of its participation in international fora.

Senator Downe: Thank you, Senator Francis. That was very detailed and much appreciated. My supplementary is this: During the study conducted by the senators of the Prosperity Action Group, we heard that Indigenous-owned businesses contribute over $30 billion annually to the Canadian economy. They hope to grow that to over $100 billion over the coming years.

Has your committee examined or considered examining the best way for the Government of Canada to assist Indigenous-owned businesses in achieving that goal and providing greater prosperity to all Indigenous Canadians?

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I would ask that you rise and join me in observing a moment of silence for our former colleague, Senator Josée Forest-Niesing.

(Honourable senators then stood in silent tribute.)

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

[English]

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

Hon. Frances Lankin: Honourable senators, the words and tribute that I will be delivering are the words of Louise Mercier, the director of parliamentary affairs for Senator Forest-Niesing:

I can’t believe how lucky I have been to work with Senator Forest-Niesing. It has been a great privilege in my life. Not only considering her amazing wit, her exceptional diplomacy and extended know-how, but for the fact that she was a truly luminous human being and became a very close friend.

Her empathy and true interest for every person she met gave her exceptional insight into the human psyche. In reviewing legislation, she adopted the perspective of Canadians targeted by a particular bill. She was not afraid of bringing forward amendments and special initiatives if she believed the legislation under review did not accomplish all that it should to make life better for the Canadian population.

She was also truly dedicated to the people of her native region of Sudbury, especially the French community. I travelled twice to Sudbury for a week’s visit to meet with key stakeholders, MPs and the mayor. We visited Science North and the SNOLAB. The SNOLAB is a renowned scientific facility that studies the particles of sunlight two kilometres below the earth’s surface, which made for a very peculiar scene because we had to shower — hair and body — and wear the facility’s clothing in order to avoid contaminating the experiences. At the time, I remarked to Josée, “Oh, just another day in the Senate with you, senator.”

Visiting Sudbury, I also got to meet numerous members of Senator Forest-Niesing’s family. One in particular was her pride and joy, her brand new grandchild Jacob. Since then, she has been blessed with a second grandchild, Léo. Her family was her number one priority. Having lost her father in June 2020, she made sure to be as present as possible with her mother and sisters, Sylvie and Dominique — “the girls,” as she would say. She was especially proud of her daughter, Véronique, and of her son, Philippe, and admired the adults that they had become. She had just celebrated her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary with Robert, her partner in crime and the love of her life.

I am still feeling the aftermath of her passing and miss her every single day. However, trying to make sense of it all, I am choosing to focus on the fact that I was blessed to share a part of my journey with her, which made me a better person.

[Translation]

Thank you for everything, Josée.

Speaking for myself now, I would like to say that Senator Forest-Niesing was a remarkable, supportive and hard-working colleague. She was a woman who carried herself with grace, and I will miss her very much. Thank you.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Teresa Woo-Paw, Chair of the Action Chinese Canadians Together Foundation and the Asian Heritage Foundation, and Patti Pon, CEO of Calgary Arts Development. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Woo.

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

Senator Gold: Thank you for the follow-up question. As I said, the government continues to monitor its application and use in order to determine whether it or some other technique, app or method would prove even more effective and popular. As soon as decisions are made, I’m sure they will be communicated in a timely fashion.

[Translation]

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Bill C-36 has been in force since 2004 and was supposed to be based on the Nordic model, which relies on the criminalization of johns, the purchasers of sex, and on sweeping public awareness campaigns. The reality is that very few johns are arrested and, most importantly, the federal government has not rolled out a public awareness campaign to make men understand that purchasing sexual services is nothing other than sexual exploitation. How can the government justify its lack of action on behalf of victims of exploitation?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, a committee in the other place is currently in the process of reviewing Bill C-36 on prostitution. At the same time, a hyper-realistic and almost unbearable film called Noémie dit oui, or Noémie says yes, reminds us of the central role that johns play in the exploitation of young girls and women in prostitution, whatever their age.

Is the federal government considering amending or strengthening the legislation on prostitution, which for the past eight years has been based on criminalizing the purchasers of sex and decriminalizing individuals who sell sexual services?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the question is as follows: It was moved by the Honourable Senator Plett, seconded by the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C.:

That the motion be not now adopted, but that it be amended —

Shall I dispense, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that a message had been received from the House of Commons with Bill C-8, An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update tabled in Parliament on December 14, 2021 and other measures.

(Bill read first time.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 9-10(7), the sitting is suspended. The bells will start ringing at 5:15 to call in the senators for a vote at 5:30 p.m.

(The sitting of the Senate was suspended.)

(The sitting of the Senate was resumed.)

(1730)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson:

That, notwithstanding any provisions of the Rules, previous order or usual practice, the provisions of the order of November 25, 2021, concerning hybrid sittings of the Senate and committees, and other matters, extended on March 31, 2022, have effect until the end of the day on June 30, 2022, subject to the following adjustments:

1.subparagraph 7(a) to (e) of the order of November 25, 2021, be replaced by the following:

“(a)when the Senate sits on a Monday, the sitting:

(i)start at 2 p.m.; and

(ii)adjourn at the earlier of the end of Government Business or midnight;

(b)when the Senate sits on a Tuesday, the sitting:

(i)start at 2 p.m.; and

(ii)adjourn at the later of the end of Government Business or 6 p.m.;

(c)when the Senate sits on a Wednesday, the sitting:

(i)start at 2 p.m.; and

(ii)adjourn at the earlier of the end of Government Business or 4 p.m.;

(d)when the Senate sits on a Thursday, the sitting:

(i)start at 2 p.m.; and

(ii)adjourn at the earlier of the end of business for the day or midnight; and

(e)when the Senate sits on a Friday, the sitting:

(i)start at 9 a.m.; and

(ii)adjourn at the earlier of the end of Government Business or 4 p.m.;” and

2.the provisions of paragraphs 12 and 13 of the order of November 25, 2021, cease to have effect, so that the evening suspension be as provided for in rule 3-3(1), including on Mondays, and, consequently, if the Rules require that something take place at 8 p.m., it take place at the time provided for in the Rules; and

That the Senate recognize the need to work towards a return to a schedule of committee meetings reflecting Ottawa-based operations, and call upon the Committee of Selection to continue to work with the leaders and facilitators of all recognized parties and recognized parliamentary groups to advance this objective.

And on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Plett, seconded by the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C.:

That the motion be not now adopted, but that it be amended:

1. by replacing the words “June 30, 2022” by the words “May 9, 2022”; and

2.by adding the following after the word “objective” at the end of the motion:

“; and

That, before introducing any motion on the extension or resumption of hybrid sittings of the Senate, the Leader of the Government in the Senate must:

1.table in the Senate:

(a)all opinions and guidelines from public health officials from the federal government regarding in-person meetings in the federal public service;

(b)all opinions and guidelines from public health officials from the Ontario and Québec governments regarding in-person meetings;

(c)a letter from the Clerk of the Senate outlining how the Senate sitting in-person only would contravene any opinion or guideline mentioned in points (a) and (b); and

(d)a plan for a transition back to in-person sittings of the Senate as soon as practicable in accordance with the commitment made by the Senate on March 31, 2022; and

2.consult in an open and constructive manner with the leaders and facilitators of all recognized parties and parliamentary groups”.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. As colleagues may recall, I have had previous questions about the Strategic Innovation Fund. Indeed, I have made inquiries on your previous question with regard to that. Regrettably, I have yet to hear back from the government. Pursuant to your question, I will add a query that is specific to the province of Saskatchewan and I hope to provide an answer in that regard in a timely manner.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Gold, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

(At 5:42 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Last year, both the Auditor General and an independent review panel released reports which looked into Canada’s early warning system for threats to public health, known as the Global Public Health Intelligence Network.

The Auditor General found that changes to this network in 2018 significantly decreased the number of alerts, and, of course, as we know, no alert was issued to provide early warning of the COVID-19 virus. Among its findings, the independent review panel found deficiencies within the chain of decision making and the system’s risk assessment, as did the Auditor General.

Leader, since these reports were released last year, what specific steps has your government undertaken to overhaul the Global Public Health Intelligence Network?

Senator Marwah: Thank you, Senator Batters. I think that’s a fair question, but I think we’ve heard time and time again in this chamber that the bottleneck is not technicians; it’s not broadcasting services or clerks or capacity. The bottleneck is translation and interpretation services. We did increase capacity last year. We hired one more — I think it’s called an MMS technician, with which the House of Commons helped us. We hired one which allowed us to go from two simultaneous virtual meetings to three. Beyond that, there was no point in hiring additional technicians or increasing other capacity because we couldn’t get additional interpretation services. That is the bottleneck, Senator Batters. If that is resolved, other capacity can be increased. Otherwise we’ll be increasing and spending money for no benefit.

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

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Honourable senators, it’s Wednesday so the Canadian Senators Group question will be to a committee chair. The question today is to Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. As we work to correct historical wrongs, in addition to issues like the protection of culture and language, can you advise the Senate what work your committee will be undertaking to identify educational and economic development opportunities for Indigenous Canadians for a more promising future?