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. Yes, it’s a very important issue. When I became the Minister of Official Languages, in putting together the new Bill C-13, I really wanted to ensure that all Canadians saw themselves in this legislation. Being a francophone who lives in New Brunswick, and belonging to an official language minority community, I know the importance of protecting and promoting our rights, may it be anglophones in Quebec or francophones outside of Quebec. That is why, in the piece of legislation we brought forward, we have enshrined in the legislation, if you will, to ensure that the Court Challenges Program was not going to be optional for future governments. We want to make sure that the Court Challenges Program is going to remain, because it is an important tool for many official language minority communities to use when their rights are not respected. So moving forward in the bill, we wanted to make sure that was defined there as well.

Finally, my message to English-speaking Quebecers and to francophones outside of Quebec is that we want to ensure that people are aware that, through this legislation, we want to protect the official language minority rights all across the country. It is absolutely imperative that we do so, and again, as I have indicated, if I had the advantage of living in Moncton, studying in Moncton and doing my post-secondary education in Moncton, it’s in part because of the official languages legislation that existed when I went to school.

[Translation]

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Welcome to the Senate, minister.

On March 29, the Senate adopted a motion reminding the government of its commitment to have a fully bilingual Constitution, as set out in section 55 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and noting that, of the 31 enactments that make up the Constitution, 22 are not officially bilingual in both official languages, including almost all of the Constitution Act, 1867.

The motion also calls upon the government to consider, in the context of the review of the Official Languages Act, the addition of a requirement to submit, every 12 months, a report detailing the efforts made by you or another minister to finally comply with section 55 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

How can we have a country that calls itself officially bilingual when our Constitution, our supreme law, is not bilingual?

Are you willing to amend Bill C-13 to add this obligation and the obligation to submit an annual report detailing the government’s efforts to finally make the Constitution bilingual?

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to civil society and the thousands of charities and not‑for‑profits who do amazing work here in Canada and overseas in good times, bad times and in really hard times. Like others, the charitable sector has been hit hard during the COVID crisis. Demand for services has risen, even as its revenue has fallen. Notwithstanding, the sector has been ever-present and ever ready to serve Canadians. I’m delighted to see their leaders in the gallery today. They include the leadership of Imagine Canada, Philanthropic Foundations Canada and the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities.

The sector and its work is so deeply embedded in our daily lives that I fear we tend to take it for granted. We don’t grasp that there are 170,000 charities and not-for-profits that are the veritable glue that hold our society together. We don’t see the more than 2 million jobs that the sector creates. We don’t always appreciate that it contributes over $150 billion to our economy. They are here on the Hill today to knock on the doors of Parliamentarians and to make their requests. So, please, if they knock on your door, open it and listen to them.

Next to them in the gallery, we have the recipients of the Global Pluralism Award for this year. The award celebrates the extraordinary achievements of individuals and organizations who are tackling the challenge of living peacefully with diversity side by side.

I was honoured to serve on the selection jury this year under the able leadership of former prime minister Joe Clark, and I appreciate so much more that they work in places such as India, Israel, Kenya, Afghanistan, Dominican Republic and Malawi, but also here in Canada. They make a significant contribution to the notion of pluralism, which is a uniquely Canadian idea.

It is very appropriate that we are celebrating them here in Ottawa this week. Please join me in acknowledging these individuals and their organizations in our chamber.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 2 p.m.