Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 5-7(k), I move that Order No. 4 under Reports of Committees other, which deals with the Supplementary Estimates (C) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022 be discharged from the Order Paper.

(Order withdrawn.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Boniface, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., for the second reading of Bill S-7, An Act to amend the Customs Act and the Preclearance Act, 2016.

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: Thank you for the question.

There is no doubt that the issue of protecting and promoting French is a top priority for me as Minister of Official Languages and for the government. I think our work on Bill C-13 shows that we want to move forward with a bill that has teeth, a new version of the bill.

The Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, Brenda Murphy, is a very dedicated woman who has served her community. She improved her French language skills by taking courses for several years.

Mary Simon is another woman who has made an effort. She wants to learn and be able to communicate with all Canadians.

Let us be clear: Many criteria are considered during these appointments to ensure that the best person is chosen to serve Canadians. As an Acadian and as Minister of Official Languages, I think it goes without saying that the ability to communicate in both official languages must always be at the top of the list of criteria to be considered, and it is important for our leaders to lead by example. That is why I am pleased that Ms. Murphy and Mr. Simon are taking French courses, since they know how important it is to represent all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: We will suspend until the minister returns from the vote.

(The sitting of the Senate was suspended.)

(The sitting of the Senate was resumed.)

[Translation]

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Minister, I have a follow-up question. In your first answer, you spoke about various agencies located in Atlantic Canada. However, the only national headquarters of any department is Veterans Affairs, and that’s located in Charlottetown.

I would suggest for your consideration that a first step for decentralization of federal government national departments would be to move the national headquarters of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which is currently located on the fifteenth floor of a high-rise office tower on Kent Street in downtown Ottawa — where they cannot see a fisher or the impact of their policies as far as their eyes can see — to Sydney, Cape Breton, home of the Canadian Coast Guard College.

Will you request a study of this opportunity to provide secure, well-paying federal government jobs to all Atlantic provinces so they can enjoy the same benefit that Prince Edward Island currently enjoys with the national headquarters of Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown? That is, over 1,200 permanent jobs are now located in P.E.I., and there are summer student jobs and contract employees who provide professional services to veterans and their families. The pandemic has shown that remote work can be done from anywhere. Why not move more of these national headquarters, jobs and payroll to Atlantic Canada?

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Minister, you told a House of Commons committee on March 22 that your official languages bill gives the commissioner additional tools to impose decisions not only on Air Canada, but on all airlines. The very next day, you qualified your statement by saying that the French requirement will be regional and covered by regulations, not by the law itself. I look forward to reading those regulations, but I have the impression that you are talking out of both sides of your mouth when it comes to respect for French in this country.

Here is what I want to know. Why is respect for francophones, one of the two founding peoples recognized by the Constitution, not equal throughout Canada?

Aside from Quebec, where in Canada will your government enforce the use of French in the air transportation sector?

Hon. Brian Francis: Welcome, minister. Prince Edward Island has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. At the same time, a wide range of industries face ongoing labour shortages, especially in remote areas. What exactly is the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, or ACOA, doing to address the mismatch between people without jobs and jobs without people on Prince Edward Island? Could you point to specific programs and initiatives?

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: Thank you, senator. It is great to see you as well. Thank you for your great representation of Prince Edward Island.

ACOA is a fantastic department. I’ll say it again: The secret sauce is the boots on the ground in Atlantic Canada, because they know the pulse of what’s going on in the communities.

I absolutely agree with you, senator, that more jobs need to be diverted to local areas. When I was part of the Treasury Board a few years ago, every time we had Treasury Board submissions that would come forward for approvals, I would always ask where the jobs would be located. Do they always have to be in the big centres, or can they be in smaller areas as well? It’s important to me to ensure that not all jobs are in Ottawa or the big cities.

I use my being in the Moncton area as an example. In Shediac we have a pay centre with more than 500, if not 600, employees working there. The employees stay there for 20 to 30 years. They are good-paying jobs. They retire in our communities as well. We have a lot to learn from putting into place those types of centres in different parts of the country to provide economic opportunities, not just for the big centres but also for regional areas.

Thank you so much for your question. I will absolutely continue in that vein to make sure that jobs are dispersed across the country.

[Translation]

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

(On motion of Senator Gagné, debate adjourned.)

(At 4 p.m., pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on May 5, 2022, the Senate adjourned until 2 p.m., tomorrow.)

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: Thank you very much for your question, senator.

Obviously, I have spoken to many stakeholders and the commissioner himself in my six months as Minister of Official Languages and before I introduced Bill C-13. They all asked us to ensure that the Commissioner of Official Languages would have more tools to do his job. The government recognizes that the Commissioner of Official Languages has a very important role to play in protecting and promoting official languages in Canada.

Since Bill C-13 has not yet received Royal Assent, the only tool that the commissioner has at his disposal right now is the ability to conduct investigations and publish reports. This bill, which will have more teeth, will give him more tools to do his job. Now, the commissioner will be able to mediate between the parties and negotiate compliance agreements. He will also have the power to make orders and will be able to impose administrative monetary penalties on companies in the transportation sector that are already subject to the Official Languages Act.

The regulations cover companies like Air Canada, CN, VIA Rail Canada and the airport authorities. We have been very clear that these institutions will be identified in a regulatory framework, but so far, we have clearly stated that these four companies will be subject to administrative monetary penalties if they fail to comply with the Official Languages Act.

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: Thank you, senator. It’s always nice to see you, and you are quite right. With 8 million francophones in Canada living amongst more than 360 million anglophones from coast to coast to coast in North America, protecting the French language warrants special and immediate attention. Protecting French and promoting French internationally are also top priorities for me. Minister Joly and I are promoting it because we want to make sure we’re doing our part to protect our French language. The digital world is indeed causing some real concerns, and we must work tirelessly to ensure that French is used equally on the international stage.

Senator Dalphond: Yes, I will be careful not to try to give an answer to colleagues that are still doing the work.

The first and most critical element will be the content of the regulations to be adopted by the minister or the government because they will provide some indicators — like taking notes and having a record of what was done in what type of circumstances — because what the courts will not accept is a process which is not reviewable by the court.

The word “reasonable,” within the rest of the sentence, normally refers to something that is an objective criterion. The court, in order to find if this objective criterion has been met, will have to get a record that shows, for example, how it was applied, what the questions were, whether the device was disconnected from the cloud — because you are entitled to search only the device, not outside the device — and whether there are notes taken because the officer may not remember because perhaps he has done hundreds since then. All factors that are critical will be found, unfortunately, not in the law, but in the regulations because the concept is undefined in the law. As I said, it will have to be fleshed out by the courts, and the courts will be careful to balance all the interests at stake.

You may end up with criteria that are a bit lower than reasonable suspicion but maybe not far from it.

Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: Thank you so much for that question. Once again, I’m fully aware and have read the report that was provided by the commissioner. The transition to a low‑carbon economy is a massive economic opportunity, and ACOA is certainly vigilantly working towards that. Creating sustainable jobs will look different across the country to meet the needs of each region’s unique landscape. Because a one-size-fits-all approach is not ideal, ACOA officials are working closely with communities across Canada to build inclusive solutions that can mitigate potential future projects for employers and workers. We are focused on outcomes that create non-coal jobs that diversify local and regional economies and that allow our communities to develop and prosper economically now and well into the future.

Once again, we welcome the commissioner’s report, and we really are looking at finding ways to boost economic growth while also doing so in a green way.

Hon. Dennis Dawson: Thank you, minister, and welcome to the Senate. I’m going to open a debate on a new topic, the issue of French on the international stage. As you know, at the UN, the International Olympic Committee, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and other organizations, French has the same status as English. However, that status is not respected and the use of French is decreasing every year. This week, you are meeting with the president of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. I also know that the APF is meeting in Quebec City on the weekend to promote French. Should we be ensuring that French is used wherever we have the right to do so? In light of the growing use of English in the digital world, we in the international francophone communities need to work together on finding a way to combat the growing presence of English internationally and ensure the presence of French.

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: Thank you for that question. When it comes to making sure that we have the proper representation, that is really important. I was not aware of that process where there’s always been an Acadian senator appointed from Nova Scotia. I will certainly be following up with the Prime Minister’s Office on that with respect to the vacancy. Being an Acadian from New Brunswick myself, I’m proud of my culture and my heritage. We always hope there will be proper representation of senators within specific communities. I commit to you that I will certainly be following up on that matter with the Prime Minister’s Office.

Hon. Kim Pate: Minister, given your excellent engagement, both as the Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and as a member of Parliament, I’m sure you are aware that P.E.I. is eager to move forward with a guaranteed liveable basic income. They would be a valuable demonstration project and site because of the diversity of industries and income levels, as has already been mentioned by some of my colleagues. Also, P.E.I. leaders, including the premier, have emphasized the necessity of federal government support. In addition, Newfoundland and Labrador is also interested in exploring a guaranteed liveable basic income and is focused on poverty as the number-one social determinant of health.

Economic security and stability ensure basic needs are met in addition to promoting dignity, equality and meaningful participation by enabling people to exercise agency in their own lives and communities. Can you advise what concrete steps have been taken by you as Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and your government to ensure federal involvement in the implementation of a guaranteed liveable income project on Prince Edward Island? Also, are there any action plans for Newfoundland and Labrador?

(Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, to receive a Minister of the Crown, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, appeared before honourable senators during Question Period.)

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, we welcome today the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, to ask questions relating to her ministerial responsibilities.

Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, senators do not need to stand. Questions are limited to one minute and responses to one-and-a-half minutes. The reading clerk will stand 10 seconds before the expiry of these times. Question Period will last one hour.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my wife Betty and I had the privilege of watching a wonderful sporting event recently, the 2022 Under-18 Canadian Boys and Girls Curling Championships. This week-long event was hosted by the Oakville Curling Club from May 1 to May 7, and they put on a world-class event. There were more than 200 curlers in attendance, along with 42 coaches and a multitude of parents, grandparents, siblings and friends.

I want to thank the City of Oakville and the Oakville Curling Club for hosting the championships and congratulate them for putting on a professional, well-organized event. It truly was exceptional and no small undertaking, with most provinces putting forward two women’s and two men’s teams.

I had the privilege of taking part in this fabulous event over the past two weekends as an active and enthusiastic participant from the bleachers. However, colleagues, I must confess that I was not cheering for a Manitoba team like I normally would. Instead, I was rooting for the Alberta provincial champion, skipped by none other than my granddaughter Myla Plett, as they competed tirelessly for the win.

Honourable senators, what a competition it was. Alberta had two women’s teams at the championships, with the second Alberta team skipped by a young lady named Claire Booth. Over the last two years, Claire and her team have given Myla’s team their biggest challenges on the ice, and the Canadian Under-18 Championships were to be no different. Team Booth went into semi-finals with a record of five and one, while Team Plett had four wins and two losses. When Team Booth beat Saskatchewan in their semi-final game, and Team Plett beat Quebec in their pool, the Alberta teams found themselves again face to face for an all-Alberta final. In the end, patience combined with strategy worked to the advantage of Team Plett, as they scored a 5 to 1 win, becoming the gold medal winners of the Under-18 Canadian Girls Curling Championships.

I want to offer my congratulations to the entire team for their victory, including Myla Plett as skip, Rachel Jacques as third, Alyssa Nedohin as second, Lauren Miller as lead and Chloe Fediuk as alternate, along with their coach, Blair Lenton. I am proud of them all, but it probably goes without saying that I am beyond proud that the best women’s under-18 curler in Canada calls me grandpa.

Myla, you have my love and my congratulations. And to paraphrase my good friend, colleague and Paralympian gold medallist Senator Chantal Petitclerc’s kind words, I am delighted to see that we both share the same fighting spirit. Colleagues, please join me in congratulating not only Team Plett but all of the athletes who competed, wishing them the very best in all future competitions. Thank you.