Hon. Diane F. Griffin: Honourable senators, thank you for your support. I wasn’t sure we were going to get to this stage tonight, but I really appreciate your indulgence in allowing me to speak to this motion today. I will be brief.

My comments will serve as a prelude to the more fulsome remarks that Senator Deacon will give either later this day or another. I’m the warm-up act for the main attraction.

Senator Deacon, Senator Carignan, Senator Anderson and I worked together since last May on a report that was presented to the Internal Economy Committee in February this year. We were tasked with some recommended short-, medium- and long-term actions that the Senate could take to make our institution more environmentally sustainable.

Our advisory working group report, which is available on the CIBA website, includes 11 recommendations. But the motion before you today asks you to approve two things: the proposed environmental policy statement, and the path that the Internal Economy Committee will take going forward.

The new principles-based policy statement would replace the Senate’s current environmental policy, adopted in 1993. We propose this principles-based policy statement, rather than a policy, in order to take a whole-of-organization approach. The statement is not prescriptive. We have a collective goal of reaching net zero by 2030, but what is practical for one directorate may not be for another. Therefore, we recommend the creation of “green teams,” and Senator Deacon will tell you more about this in his presentation. These green teams will be within individual directorates and an accountability framework to ensure integration into Senate-wide operations. Objectives and targets will be defined and reported.

The second part of this motion that will come from the group would empower Internal Economy to further examine the recommendations and include it in our report which: one, would secure external expert advice; two, empower the directorates of the Senate, senators and their staff; three, integrate a robust accountability framework into Senate governance.

Honourable senators, I thank Senator Deacon and his staff. They have done a lot of hard work on this, as well as Senator Carignan, Senator Anderson, their teams, our collaborators in the Senate Administration, the Library of Parliament analysts and Public Services and Procurement Canada. I know it’s starting to sound like a cast of thousands, but it was a small working group and we reached out to many. It was a great opportunity.

We have an opportunity here to show leadership and to serve as a model for other legislators in Canada and elsewhere. I therefore encourage you to support this motion when it comes to a vote. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Wells, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Omidvar, seconded by the Honourable Senator Audette, for the second reading of Bill S-217, An Act respecting the repurposing of certain seized, frozen or sequestrated assets.