Hon. Brian Francis: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the apology made by His Holiness Pope Francis to Indigenous peoples on the role of the Catholic Church in the residential school system.

I am a Catholic. I am also an Indian day school survivor. I can tell you that it was important for me to hear the Pope say he was “very sorry” for the conduct of some of its clergy. But I wish he had gone further. The Catholic Church must take full accountability for its role in instigating, supporting and defending the historic and ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada — including in the Indian residential school and Indian day school systems, where hunger, neglect, abuse and death were rampant.

It must also condemn the Doctrine of Discovery and other undoubtedly racist and unjust narratives, which not only depicted Indigenous people as inferior or savages but also enabled the displacement and dispossession of our land and resources.

Colleagues, the partial apology came after a week of meetings in Rome requested by Indigenous delegates. It is a product of the courageous and persistent efforts of survivors and their descendants, who fought for decades to ensure the truth is known while still healing from their trauma.

It is, furthermore, a product of the domestic and international outrage over the discovery of thousands of unmarked graves at the sites of former Indian residential schools. Had it not been for these devastating, but not surprising, discoveries, who knows how much longer it would have taken for the Catholic Church to apologize.

In the next months, Pope Francis must respond to Call to Action 58 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which requires that he come to Canada to issue an apology — one that must be robust and meaningful. In addition, the Catholic Church, which already failed to meet its obligations under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, must use its vast wealth to make substantive financial reparations. It must also turn over all Indigenous artifacts held by the Church and release all relevant documents and records. These next steps are non‑negotiable.

To conclude, colleagues, to me a partial apology is important, but is simply not enough. If the Pope is really committed to the path towards truth, healing, justice and reconciliation, concrete actions and changes by the Catholic Church must follow.

The wrongdoings of the Catholic Church are not just in the past. Indigenous people continue to be impacted, including our children, who are overrepresented in the child welfare system at rates higher than at the height of the Indian residential school system. Wela’lin, thank you.

[Translation]

[Editor’s Note: Senator Audette spoke in an Indigenous language.]

Senator Francis: Thank you for your answer, Senator Gold. I’m concerned by the impact the ongoing ban will have on the Island industry and economy. Could you please let us know when seed producers will receive financial compensation from the federal government and when other supports will be made available to those who wish to transition to other crops?

Hon. Brian Francis: Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold.

Last November, following the detection of potato wart in two fields, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency banned the export of all potatoes outside of P.E.I., including to the United States and the rest of Canada. This decision shocked and devastated the industry, which is a major employer and economic contributor in our province.

Last Friday, the ban was finally lifted on the export of P.E.I. table, or eating, potatoes, but not seed or processing potatoes, which is not expected to resume until at least 2023. That could mean two more seasons of losses.

Senator Gold, what steps, if any, are the federal government taking to move up the timeline on lifting the ban on seed potatoes?

Hon. Brian Francis: Would the honourable senator take a question?

Senator McCallum: Yes.

Senator Francis: Senator McCallum, I note that in the previous iteration of your bill, which was introduced last Parliament, there was a clause that is no longer found in the current bill. That clause explicitly stated that the National Ribbon Skirt Day is not to be considered a legal holiday or non-juridical day. Would you be able to explain why this clause is not found in Bill S-219?

Senator McCallum: Thank you for this question, Senator Francis. This clause was removed by the office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel when they prepared this bill for reintroduction into this current Parliament. As we were informed by the Law Clerk’s office, it was removed because it has no legal effect. “For greater certainty” clauses serve to resolve ambiguities in legal texts. These clauses do not actually have any substantive legal effect. They simply reiterate the law as it already exists.

This is the case here. National Ribbon Skirt Day is not a legal holiday or non-juridical day. Legislation establishing a holiday is very explicit that it is creating a legal holiday — the Holidays Act being a prime example — or else it modifies relevant statutes directly to produce the effects of a holiday.

For example, the recent legislation to establish the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation amended the Canada Labour Code to make that day a holiday for federally regulated workers. The prevailing view in the Law Clerk’s office is that if the bill does not amend anything else or explicitly state that it is a legal holiday then there is no reason to believe the legislation would create a legal holiday.

As for the meaning of non-legal or non-juridical days, these are days that do not count for the purpose of determining deadlines for court filings. As an example, weekends are non-juridical days as are legal holidays like Canada Day or Victoria Day. A National Ribbon Skirt Day would not fall under this category.

Additionally, there is precedent in federal statutes that create special days without using this type of for-greater-certainty clause. These include the Holocaust Memorial Day Act and the Merchant Navy Veterans Day Act, and it appears that nobody has been confused as to whether these establish legal or non-juridical days, which they do not.

As my office has been advised by the Law Clerk’s office, they, along with their counterpart in the House of Commons as well as the Department of Justice, work under the principle that legislation should say no more than is necessary for them to operate. This reduces the possibility of ambiguity or error when people read a bill, but it also saves us senators time at committee and in the chamber as there is less to review and less to vote on or possibly amend. As such, in this case, the Law Clerk’s office is starting to remove this clause as it has no impact on the bill and does not add any requisite clarity.

As a final relevant point, you will note that this clause is also missing from two other day bills in this session, Bill S-227, An Act to establish Food Day in Canada and Bill S-209, An Act respecting Pandemic Observance Day. It is my hope that this provides clarity to your question.

(On motion of Senator Hartling, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Boisvenu, seconded by the Honourable Senator Plett, for the second reading of Bill S-205, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to another Act (interim release and domestic violence recognizance orders).