Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question.

The rising cost of living is a preoccupation for all Canadians. Even those of us in our privileged position know it when we go shopping, as we all do, for our daily bread and for that of our families.

We live in a free economy and in a federal system. We do not live in a command economy, and we should all count our blessings for that. It is not the role of the federal government to dictate or manipulate the prices of basic goods.

That said, the government, through various initiatives, has been working hard to help Canadians buttress or mitigate the impact of this. But there are certain levers simply not open to a government in a democratic country. The recent hike of the interest rates by 25 basis points may have some impact on the cost of goods.

Much of what we’re experiencing in Canada is outside the control of any one government. It has to do with worldwide issues, worldwide supply chain challenges, to say nothing of the effects of the pandemic and of war currently raging in Ukraine. The government is doing what it can, and it will continue to do so.

Senator Poirier: A recent report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer noted that since the start of the pandemic about one third of the Trudeau government’s planned spending is not related to its COVID-19 response plan.

The PBO also pointed out that the Liberal government’s plan for future spending puts additional pressure on inflation. This is at a time when inflation is at a level not seen in over 30 years.

Leader, the observation is from the non-partisan Parliamentary Budget Officer, who supports the work of all parliamentarians. Will the Trudeau government listen to this warning from the PBO?

Senator Gold: The government takes very seriously the advice, input and warnings of the PBO, and properly so. The government is doing what it feels it needs to do at this juncture, with the tools it has, to address the situation of rising inflation and will continue to do so.

[Translation]

Hon. Colin Deacon: Honourable senators, three years ago this month I was in Ukraine as part of the presidential election oversight effort. It was my first and only trip to that remarkable country.

Over the past week, I have been thinking a lot about one of the other Canadian parliamentarians on that trip. Mark Warawa was an energetic and youthful 68-year-old entrepreneur and the Member of Parliament for Langley—Aldergrove, B.C. He was on another of his countless trips back to his Ukrainian roots, heading to oversee polls in his ancestral home city of Lviv. His dedication to helping the Ukrainian people create the conditions for their increasing success was infectious.

I had several conversations with Mark, each one more enlightening. He was massively dedicated to supporting Ukrainian democratic reform and freedom. I cannot imagine how his heart would be breaking today if he were with us. Mark cut his trip short due to ill health and soon discovered he had pancreatic cancer. He died three months after returning home. Mark Warawa’s sudden death shattered his family, friends, constituents and colleagues — much like the events of the last two weeks have shattered us all.

I had no connection to Ukraine prior to this trip, but was instantly inspired. Hope was everywhere, and the electoral process and turnout were impressive.

Everyone was concerned over Russian involvement in election disruption. Already then, Russian disinformation sought to discredit the electoral process, using the rhetoric of a failed puppet state run by fascists, language all too familiar today. The Ukrainian Central Election Commission was under threat of repeated cyberattacks, again a recurring theme.

Starting in Kyiv, together with a Swedish MP, we travelled east from the city with our driver and translator. The polling stations were often in local schools and were run by incredibly strong, dedicated and disciplined women. They blew us away with their professionalism and their determination to prevent anything inappropriate happening in their polls. I would be comforted by their presence at a poll in my community.

In one of the villages, we met two elderly babushkas. They had walked several kilometres to the polling station to vote, but they did not really walk, they shuffled. I commented on their dedication and they looked at me as if I was the idiot that I instantly felt I was. They simply replied that they’d been in kindergarten together in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Nothing else needed to be said. They knew all too well a world without democracy. I can’t imagine how these two ladies feel today. I am hopeful about one thing, though, the people of Ukraine are incredibly courageous and strong-hearted. We must increasingly stand with them. Thank you, colleagues.

Hon. David M. Wells (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Senator Gold, last April our Chief of Defence Staff warned the Senate National Security Committee that Canada needed to put a greater focus on continental defence and NORAD modernization. General Wayne Eyre said:

The Russians are putting tremendous amount of focus on their military capabilities in the North, including significant exercises, projection capabilities, resurrecting Cold War-era bases for their use. So it is something we definitely need to be concerned about.

Leader, what actions has the Trudeau government taken to demonstrate that it takes this threat seriously in the year since the general issued his warning and given Russian threats against NATO partners and the provisions of Article 5 of NATO?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) moved third reading of Bill C-10, An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19.

He said: Thank you, Your Honour. I rise briefly to speak to third reading, Bill C-10, An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19, and to highlight the ongoing and urgent need for the government to ensure that Canadians have access to COVID-19 rapid tests.

Over the past two weeks, provinces and territories have announced the relaxation of many public health measures as the country transitions its pandemic response towards an endemic state. As part of this shift, Canadians have expressed the desire to assume responsibility for managing their own health and well‑being.

[Translation]

To support this transition, Bill C-10 will enable the government to continue purchasing and distributing COVID-19 rapid tests. Supply chains and transportation requirements for tests have been under a significant amount of pressure and disruptions over the past three months. Numerous countries started enhancing their large-scale testing strategies in the fall of 2021, after seeing peaks in the number of COVID-19 cases attributed to the Delta variant. With the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant, countries quickly increased their demand for rapid COVID-19 tests. Furthermore, the countries that are able to manufacture these tests took steps to supply their own residents before sending the surpluses abroad.

[English]

Consequently, a highly competitive market became even more so. This required the government to take an even more active approach to securing adequate supply.

The government has been proactive in seeking the additional necessary funding through Bill C-8 and now Bill C-10 to ensure a consistent and reliable quantity of rapid tests for Canadians. Colleagues, without the buying power of the federal government, Canada would not have been able to secure enough COVID-19 tests, so badly needed in months past and those required going forward.

Colleagues, several senators have raised questions in respect of the interplay between the funding allocations contained in Bill C-8, Bill C-10 and Supplementary Estimates (C).

I will quote the testimony of Mr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister at Health Canada, who provided an explanation as to how both the statutory and voted spending authorities would enable the government to have maximum flexibility for the large‑scale procurement of test kits, in the face of provincial and territorial demands:

In regard to Bill C-8, those funds were for tests purchased in December through January and into February. We had some flexibility to charge against. So that will enable reimbursement of those funds. For Bill C-10, the urgency is our ability to be able to contract and secure through advance payment contracts heading out into the end of March, April and into May. Global competition remains stiff, and our ability to secure those supplies requires that lead time. Hence, the passage of Bill C-10 on an urgent basis will allow us to be able to secure those contracts in the coming weeks in advance of the passage of supplementary estimates so hence during March and enable the advance payment which suppliers are looking for to allow for the provision of those tests and to have those tests be delivered in the next fiscal year, into April and May.

In essence, these planned expenditures for rapid tests have been included in both the Supplementary Estimates (C) and in the bill before us due to timing constraints and as a result of the highly competitive global market requiring, in some cases, advance payments. The statutory authority in Bill C-10 would provide the ability to advance procurement and make payments needed ahead of the supplementary estimates being approved by Parliament.

Through Bill C-10, the Minister of Health is also seeking authority to distribute COVID-19 tests to provinces and territories, organizations and individuals in Canada. This authority will assist in streamlining and expediting shipments in Canada, further ensuring timely and equitable access to tests for those across the country.

In light of the increased need for rapid tests and in agreement with the provinces and territories, allocation has shifted since January 2022 from a demand basis to a per capita approach to ensure equitable distribution across the country.

Honourable senators, you may be asking yourselves, given many provinces and territories are moving away from more restrictive public health measures, whether or not this would be the time for government to also step back from procuring and distributing COVID-19 tests.

What I can tell you is that COVID-19 rapid tests will continue to be critical to Canada’s ongoing response to the pandemic.

[Translation]

Canadians want to make their own informed decisions about their health needs and how COVID-19 might affect them personally or affect the vulnerable people around them. It will therefore be important that they have access to the necessary tools and resources, including COVID-19 rapid tests. Ensuring timely access to these tests will help relieve the pressure on health care systems and support reopening plans in the provinces and territories. Given the supply chain problems I mentioned earlier, and to ensure equitable access for all Canadians hoping to get their hands on rapid tests, the government must continue to purchase and distribute COVID-19 tests and support the provinces and territories that are taking steps to reopen their economies.

[English]

We know that the pandemic has disproportionately affected certain segments of the population more than others. We must keep these inequalities in mind. The government took steps in the past and is continuing to take steps to ensure that populations most vulnerable have access to COVID-19 tests.

Honourable senators, the partnership of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has ensured that small- and medium-sized enterprises had access to tests for voluntary workplace testing as well as to protect those individuals who, for medical reasons, were unable to get vaccinated. Through this association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce worked with provinces and provincial chambers of commerce to distribute COVID-19 tests to small and medium enterprises.

Another critical partnership has been with the Canadian Red Cross. As workplace screening initiatives rolled out in provinces and territories, focus was on the retail manufacturing and service-related sectors. With its commitment to ensure equitable access, the government collaborated with the Canadian Red Cross to support the non-profit sector by developing tools and resources, and distributing tests to organizations such as shelters, food banks and other partners for their respective screening programs.

Given the success of this initiative and the advent of the Omicron variant, the partnership with the Canadian Red Cross was expanded to include distribution of tests to individuals from populations most at risk. Since December, the Canadian Red Cross has provided tests to additional organizations to distribute directly to those individuals accessing their services and programs.

Colleagues, since the outset of the pandemic, all levels of government have worked together to take a “Team Canada” approach. The delivery and distribution of COVID-19 rapid tests into and across Canada is a high priority. It is a large and complex operation. It is the shared responsibility of federal, provincial and territorial governments. The Government of Canada continually assesses the federal testing strategy with the evolving situation.

Leveraging its buying power, the government secured sufficient supply of vaccines for all eligible Canadian residents who wanted them.

Similarly the government spent approximately $3.8 billion and produced over 520 million tests. These tests have been an important tool in the management of the pandemic. As the pandemic numbers lessen and provinces and territories transition to the next phase, Canadians will be able to use these rapid tests when making personal choices and decisions.

As noted by departmental officials at committee, a minimum of 400 million tests would be contracted through the financing in Bill C-10, and the government would look to facilitate contractual arrangements that would ensure the best value for money based upon the funding available.

Several senators have also raised concerns with respect to the accountability standards concerning rapid testing and how the funding allocated will be utilized and spent. As part of its commitment with the passage of Bill C-10, the government will report to Parliament every three months with information on how the funds provided for in the bill have been spent, including the number of tests purchased and where they have been distributed. The reporting requirements that were incorporated as a part of Bill C-8 will also apply to any funds that will be made available in relation to Bill C-10.

Colleagues in this chamber will be able to hold me and, by extension, the government accountable to this commitment, and parliamentarians will be appropriately informed as to how the funds have been utilized.

Given the ongoing global shortages, issues with supply chains and the need to ensure equitable access to these tests, based upon provincial and territorial stresses, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the urgent adoption of Bill C-10. It will allow the Minister of Health to procure more COVID-19 rapid tests and to distribute these important tests across Canada so that Canadians can keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill C-10, An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19, at third reading.

Just to remind us once again, the passage of Bill C-10 would give authority to the Minister of Health to make payments of up to $2.5 billion out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in relation to COVID-19 tests. It would also allow the Minister of Health to transfer the COVID-19 tests to the provinces, territories and other establishments.

During my speech at second reading in this chamber, I raised a number of concerns with regard to Bill C-10. First and foremost, the lack of a provision for parliamentary oversight in this bill. You might remember the conversation that I had with Senator Lankin when she specifically asked me about my concerns and said that if there was one or two particular issues that I was concerned about, which ones would I recommend in amending this bill. You are going to hear that right now.

Honourable colleagues, as some of you may know, during the debate on Bill C-10 in the other place, the Minister of Health made a verbal commitment to report to both houses of Parliament every six months on the procurement, distribution and use of rapid antigen tests. At the Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee meeting on Wednesday of this week, the minister reaffirmed and modified his commitment to present a report to Parliament every three months as opposed to every six months.

When asked by my colleague Senator Poirier what accounts for this change, the minister said:

That came from a reasonable request from the opposition party in the House of Commons. They said that six months is good but three months is better. We considered that request and felt that, in collaboration with provinces and territories, it would be even better to do it in that relatively shorter time period.

Honourable colleagues, parliamentary oversight is an integral component of our democracy. It allows for greater transparency when discussing the federal government’s policy objectives, especially when it concerns matters of public spending.

As the minister himself acknowledged Wednesday in committee, “. . . transparency is key in not only informing senators and members of Parliament but also informing Canadians.”

Including a provision in Bill C-10 for parliamentary oversight, as opposed to something that is just said in words, would ensure that the federal government is held accountable for its spending. It would allow us to monitor critical data that pertains to the cost, use and number of rapid antigen tests delivered to their final point-of-care settings. This is not only the purpose of good governance but also in our duty to be a chamber of sober second thought.

Honourable senators, that is why I am proposing an amendment to Bill C-10 to address this issue of accountability.

The amendment would ensure that the Minister of Health reports to Parliament every three months. It would also require the minister to report on federal spending incurred from the period of January 1, 2022, up until the date that Bill C-10 receives Royal Assent.

As written in clause 1 of Bill C-10, the Minister of Health may spend money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to account for any expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2022, in relation to COVID-19 tests. This is why parliamentary oversight is of utmost importance. This amendment would ensure that critical data does not go unreported to Parliament for indeterminate periods.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, Senator Seidman, not only for your speech but for your thoughtful and helpful intervention in this chamber over the course of the pandemic, especially with regard to the issue of tests and the things that Canadians need in order to protect themselves and their families, whether it was vaccines in an earlier phase or rapid tests, which has been a subject that you have brought to our attention and educated us on happily and thankfully over a long period of time. But here we are.

It is the position of the government that this amendment is not only not necessary but actually would cause harm. I want to take a few moments, respectfully and sincerely, to explain why.

As our colleague Senator Seidman pointed out, and as those of us who were at the committee on Wednesday would know, the minister made a clear public commitment. He stated in the House on February 14, and again before our committee on Wednesday, that the government is committed to reporting to Parliament every three months with information on how the funding in Bill C-10 will be spent, including the number of tests purchased and where they will have been distributed.

As I said in my speech, it is also the position of the government that the provisions that were included as part of Bill C-8 — to which Senator Seidman referred in her remarks — dealing with reporting requirements will also apply to funds paid for rapid tests under Bill C-10 because these are statutory expenditures. Therefore, respectfully I submit that an amendment of this kind is simply not necessary.

Furthermore, might I submit, colleagues, that the amendment as drafted would be problematic. The Crown cannot divulge payments made to specific suppliers, as the number of tests is already made public and competitors would then be able to determine the price of tests, which is commercially confidential information.

Let me now turn, if I may, to the consequences of not passing this bill today without amendment.

There is an urgent need, as I said in my speech, for this bill to pass so that there is a guarantee of supply for this month and into April and the spring. Not passing the bill before the two-week March break in our parliamentary calendar, as a result of an amendment, would significantly delay its implementation when funds are urgently needed to secure rapid tests in a highly competitive global market, including a competitive market from a procurement standpoint.

The consequence, colleagues, is that educational institutions, small- and medium-sized businesses, pharmacies and other suppliers will not get the rapid tests they need. If I may quote again from the comments of Mr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister at Health Canada:

For Bill C-10, the urgency is our ability to be able to contract and secure through advance payment contracts heading out into the end of March, April and into May. Global competition remains stiff, and our ability to secure those supplies requires that lead time. Hence, the passage of Bill C-10 on an urgent basis will allow us to be able to secure those contracts in the coming weeks in advance of the passage of supplementary estimates so hence during March and enable the advance payment which suppliers are looking for to allow for the provision of those tests and to have those tests be delivered in the next fiscal year, into April and May, as I noted.

The minister has confirmed, including at committee, the commitment to report to Parliament, as I’ve said before, and to uphold this commitment. He acknowledged that, “. . . transparency is key in not only informing senators and members of Parliament but also informing Canadians.” If there is a delay in passing Bill C-10, the government may experience difficulty in meeting the increasing COVID-19 rapid testing needs of Canadians as well as those of the provinces and territories.

Health is a provincial jurisdiction. The federal government has a role to play — and has played throughout this pandemic — in providing the necessary funds to provinces and territories to meet needs that their budgets simply could not otherwise meet. They need the resources so that their residents and citizens have access to the rapid tests and so that individuals can take control over their own lives. These tests empower individuals to make decisions about their own health and those whom they care about.

It is an appropriate role for the Senate — which exists to represent regional and territorial interests and the interests of all Canadians, especially vulnerable Canadians — to at least be mindful of the impact of delay in that regard, and especially and importantly because, as I said, the measures introduced by this amendment are simply not necessary. They are redundant in terms of what is already in place in Bill C-8 and has already been committed to, solemnly and publicly, by the minister.

Let me add that in addition to the reporting requirement every three months, the government does, in fact, proactively disclose a number of information sources, reviewed on a continual basis, on COVID-19 medical devices as can be found on Health Canada’s website.

Colleagues, you in this chamber, through me, can hold the government to account to the reporting commitments. As I said in my speech, parliamentarians will be appropriately informed as to how these funds have been utilized.

For these reasons, and to ensure the government has the tools readily available to assist provinces and territories and Canadians to meet the rapid test demands this month and heading into the spring, I would respectfully and humbly urge colleagues to reject this amendment. Thank you very much.

Senator Gold: Senator, thank you for the question. As I said, the amendment you are proposing is redundant and not necessary and would impede the passage of Bill C-10. Bill C-10 is necessary, notwithstanding the funding also contemplated in Bill C-8 and the supplementary estimates, because of the actual situation in the global market, namely, the demand of suppliers facing tremendous competition for advance payments as well as the inability of the government — unless Bill C-10 is passed and until it gets the authority through Bill C-8 or supplementary estimates — to have the statutory authority to enter into these contracts.

Senator Seidman: So you said that, yes, it does cohere, in fact, with the amendment that was made to Bill C-8, if I understand you correctly.

Now that we are quoting testimony from the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, or SOCI, on Wednesday evening, I too was unable to be present because of a conflict of meetings. However, I did listen carefully to the recordings of the committee meeting.

Testimony at SOCI from the chief financial officer and the deputy minister was quite clear. They said that they procure the tests and what they call “cash manage” from other resources within the department. They are able to pay for the tests by cash managing within the department. I presume that means moving monies around until they receive the cash to pay.

In fact, during the discussion on Wednesday night, Senator Patterson paraphrased what he had heard from the chief financial officer. Senator Patterson said:

. . . Bill C-10 allows you to retroactively collect for monies spent up to $2.5 billion after January 1, 2021. . . . Do I understand that right?

And Ms. Francis, the chief financial officer, said “Yes.”

Senator Gold: Thank you. I did attend the committee meeting, though I don’t have the transcript in front of me.

The officials were very clear that the tests that had been procured to date were funded out of existing statutory authorities that the law allows to be used and then be reimbursed. Those statutory authorities have run out. There is simply no legal capacity for the government to enter into contracts — today or tomorrow, if and when this is passed — with the suppliers demanding advance payments. Unless and until Bill C-10 is passed, or some future statutory authority is granted — supplementary estimates at the end of March perhaps; Bill C-8 whenever we might get it — the government is without capacity to find funds elsewhere to prepay or to move forward.

That’s the urgency. The government has no legal authority, for the moment, outside the authority that Bill C-10 would grant, to continue to seek those hundreds of millions of tests that Canadians are demanding, and that provinces and territories are demanding.

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Senator Gold, I have to tell you I don’t take particular comfort in your reassurance of transparency. We heard this morning another senator complaining about not getting answers. We have had questions on the Order Paper for weeks, months and, in some cases, a year, that have not been answered since you have been the government leader. I don’t know if the problem is in your office or the problem is that you can’t get answers from ministers, but this is very different than the situation when Senator Harder was the government leader in the Senate.

He made an effort to get these answers, and he made a public commitment similar to the rules of the House of Commons. The rules of the House of Commons are that members of Parliament can get an answer to written questions, as required by the rules, within 45 sitting days. Senator Harder attempted to and had some success in meeting that same standard in the Senate. That has now completely disappeared.

Where is the trust and the confidence when you say that you can advise us and give us answers when that has not been the case since you have been the government leader in the Senate?

Senator Gold: I am going to answer much of your question very briefly, Senator Downe, and with restraint. There is no problem in my office nor in my efforts to represent the Senate and to seek answers wherever appropriate. But that’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about, today, a bill to provide assistance to the provinces and the territories, including your own and the residents that you represent, so that the Government of Canada can fulfill its role in partnership with provinces and territories to assist individual Canadians, who have a constitutional right over their own bodies, to make intelligent and informed decisions.

The minister, not Marc Gold, in the other place and in committee, made an undertaking publicly to report in a transparent way, in addition to the reporting that has already taken place.

I ask this Senate to have confidence and trust in its institutions, in the federal institutions and in those who serve in it, to be honourable people and to honour their words.

Senator Downe: Well, actually, it did, Your Honour. Senator Gold urged us not to vote for the amendment because of the commitment of transparency. That’s the issue I want to confirm. He also just said that the Minister of Health indicated a verbal commitment to transparency. So, given the record of the government on transparency, particularly in the Senate, why would we not get that confirmation in writing through the amendment proposed by Senator Seidman?

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question, and at the risk of repeating myself — I seem to be in the habit of doing that over the last few weeks — the reason the government is urging senators to pass this bill without amendment is so that there will be no further delay in the ability of the federal government to procure those tests which provinces, territories, Canadians, the Red Cross and the chambers of commerce are asking them to procure.

It is only the ability of the federal government and its spending power that enables Canadians to have those tools, even though this is not an area of its jurisdiction. It is the practical real-life situation facing Canadians that we in the Senate are being asked to address, under circumstances where the reporting measures which this amendment seeks to incorporate in this act — with the corresponding impacts as I have described — are not necessary. This is not only because of the publicly stated commitments of the minister both in our committees and in the other place but because those reporting provisions that exist in a bill yet to be passed would apply to these as statutory expenditures.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. The government shares your concern as I think many Canadians do. I’m not sure if the image of the belt and suspenders is appropriate. There are belt, suspenders and one other girding instrument.

It is precisely because the demand for tests ramped up so dramatically. It is not that long ago when we worried that tests were being delivered to provinces and they were sitting on them. As the minister pointed out in his testimony, the exponential increase in demand is only expected to increase, for reasons that you outlined very well. That’s why the government introduced Bill C-10 but also wanted to cover its bases — because one can never tell when a bill will pass or if it will pass — with the supplementary estimates and Bill C-8.

My former law professor Laurence Tribe once said, if you live by the crystal ball, you had better be prepared to eat glass. I have a strong stomach, but I’m not going to take that risk. I don’t know. That’s the point. We don’t know what the delays will actually mean. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, there is worldwide competition for a finite supply — I hope it’s growing but, still, finite in any given moment — from a finite number of suppliers.

Unless and until the Government of Canada is legally able to start negotiating contracts, much less concluding contracts, much less paying in advance of delivery, we just don’t know. But when you do a risk-reward — and dare I say a utilitarian — calculation, which is part of our political obligations as members of a Parliament, the risk to Canadians’ health far outweighs the risks to transparency, given, as I have already said, the commitments and legal provisions in other bills that will come before us. I hope that answers your question.

Hon. Jane Cordy: I was going to ask — as a mother and grandmother — a similar question as Senator Ringuette, so I’ll just reiterate that and ask another question. I think it’s extremely important that tests be made available as quickly as possible with March and spring breaks coinciding with the reopening of many provinces and territories. We would all like assurances that we will have access to the testing.

My other question has to do with section 3(1)(a), the details of payments made under section 1, including the recipient of each payment. If I recall, way back when, almost two years ago, which is sort of scary, when Canada was trying to find COVID tests and people were asking about the cost and all those kinds of things, you mentioned “commercial confidentiality” in your speech — that those things can’t be given out publicly — whereas this amendment would actually require that.

Senator Kutcher: I will speak to the preamble as someone who has just had COVID-19. It was brought to the family courtesy of one of our grandchildren who was asymptomatic. He picked it up at school courtesy of another student, and it went through the whole family. I was as sick as a dog for about a week.

The rapid tests were absolutely essential. My son-in-law took a rapid test and was asymptomatic — he tested positive. He didn’t go to his workplace and infect all his employees. My daughter didn’t go to school, didn’t go to the classroom, didn’t go to her job site and didn’t infect everybody else. I happily stayed at home in bed.

As I understand this amendment, your argument is that the amendment will not significantly and substantially improve reporting commitments made in public by the minister and that it has the potential to delay the procurement of needed rapid tests which will then make it difficult for Canadians to manage their own COVID risk. Is that your argument?

Senator Gold: Senator, I very much hope that you can see your family in the U.K. No, that would be fear-mongering and that is not what I do in this place. I don’t know what the delay would mean. I suspect the delay will be felt less severely by those of us in this chamber. We have access to rapid tests by virtue of our privileged position.

Yes, because we are who we are. We don’t live in remote areas. We have access to pharmacies. Most of us have access including rapid test procedures made available to us here in the Senate. That’s all I was referring to. But not all Canadians are necessarily in the same position that we’re in, and not all Canadians will necessarily have the ability, without these tests, to take the measures to protect themselves.

I don’t know, and that’s the point. We don’t know the extent of the impact of delay. We know there will be an impact because demand from provinces is growing. The federal government is trying to play its responsible part in meeting the stated needs of the provinces and territories.

I remind senators that it is the provinces and territories that have responsibility over health. They are the ones that understand what the needs are. They understand the needs in remote areas, rural areas and Indigenous communities. The Canadian government is there to help them. That is what I am asking us to do today.

The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that the following communication had been received:

RIDEAU HALL

March 4, 2022

Mr. Speaker,

I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada, signified royal assent by written declaration to the bill listed in the Schedule to this letter on the 4^th day of March, 2022, at 12:20 p.m.

Yours sincerely,

Ian McCowan

Secretary to the Governor General and Herald Chancellor

The Honourable

The Speaker of the Senate

Ottawa

Bill Assented to Friday, March 4, 2022:

An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19 (Bill C-10, Chapter 2, 2022)

(At 12:47 p.m., pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on November 25, 2021, the Senate adjourned until Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 2 p.m.)