The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the time for Question Period has expired.

(For text of Delayed Answers, see Appendix.)

Senator Patterson: Thank you, Senator Marwah. I would just remind you and note that our former colleague Senator Griffin asked you on February 10, 2021, about reallocating some of the $5.5 million in savings — born from the decrease in travel as a result of the pandemic — to support additional staff and technology infrastructure. On May 25, 2021, she asked you about training new staff to support our sittings and committee meetings.

I know you’ve said that sometimes Internal Economy is constrained by not having a mandate or by supply-side issues, but we have savings of over $5 million. Have you been able to make some progress on utilizing this money to solve these problems of which we all are so keenly aware?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, 12 days ago one of the most famous prisoners of conscience in the world, Raif Badawi, was released after spending 10 years in prison in Saudi Arabia.

Unfortunately, that is not the end of his ordeal. His passport was confiscated and he has been banned from leaving Saudi Arabia for the next 10 years, in addition to being fined the equivalent of $335,000. Knowing that Mr. Badawi’s wife and three children, all naturalized Canadians living in Sherbrooke, have had to live without him for the past decade, is Canada prepared to give him safe passage and issue Raif Badawi a temporary passport so that he may be reunited with his family?

Hon. Victor Oh: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak about the unacceptable rise of racially motivated hate crimes in our country.

Once again, I was deeply disturbed to wake up to news of a senseless attack on our Muslim community. This time the attack happened in my own city of Mississauga, at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre during their morning prayer. Luckily, however, a heroic group of worshippers bravely stood up and subdued the attacker before something worse could happen.

Unfortunately, this attack is a symptom of a larger problem: the overwhelming rise of hate crimes in Canada. It pains me to rise in this chamber, yet again, to share these unsettling statistics with you. The trend of racially motivated hate crimes only appears to be getting worse. In the city of Ottawa alone, hate crimes increased 185% since 2019, while national numbers, according to Statistics Canada, point toward a 37% increase in 2020.

Colleagues, the core of Canadian values of tolerance, pluralism and multiculturalism are beacons of hope for those who escape tyranny and hardship for a better life in Canada. These values make up the very fabric of our nation. Nevertheless, we are failing to stand up for them. Whether you worship wearing a hijab, kippah, dastar or nothing at all, you must never live in fear because of your faith.

Our fellow Canadians deserve better. We must do better. From coast to coast to coast, let us stand up as one Team Canada, just as we do to cheer on our Olympians, united in our condemnation of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and anti-Asian racism and all stripes of hate in Canada.

Thank you. Shukran.

Hon. Wanda Elaine Thomas Bernard: Honourable senators, I join you today from East Preston, Nova Scotia, unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Today, in honour of National Social Work Month and International Women’s Day, I pay tribute to the late Alexa McDonough, an influential social worker, politician and dear friend. Alexa was a courageous and passionate social worker who became the first woman leader of a major federal party.

Alexa inspired and encouraged all women, including me, to get involved in politics. She died earlier this year, having lived a life advocating for equity and justice.

This year’s National Social Work Month theme, announced by the Canadian Association of Social Workers, is “In Critical Demand — Social Work is Essential,” which invites us to recognize the profession’s essential role during COVID-19 and the work we must do as we build back better.

Alexa’s life and work are shining examples of social workers as essential in bringing about meaningful change. Alexa spoke on unpopular issues with conviction. As a teenager, she engaged in positive disruption, using her own privilege to effect change in Halifax. She valued the voices and experiences of those who lived outside the margins.

Alexa taught me that being born into privilege is not a problem. It’s what you do with that privilege that can influence a positive shift. She led by example, using her platforms to highlight the inequities that were revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic, like anti-Black racism and workers’ rights. Alexa also encouraged social workers to move away from Band-Aid solutions and to move toward equitable policy development.

Honourable colleagues, Alexa McDonough’s legacy reminds us that social work is a profession where both advocacy and the development of social policy are essential and that social workers are leaders who are in critical demand.

Thank you, asante.

Senator Housakos: Government leader, as you likely know, your NDP coalition partner had this to say about Israel in its 2021 federal election platform:

Canada must play an active and constructive role in advancing peace, beginning by suspending arms sales to Israel until the end of the illegal occupation.

I guess this is the NDP-Liberal government’s position now, isn’t it, leader? Isn’t this why B’nai Brith shouldn’t expect any help from your government to remove a UN Human Rights Commission chair highly biased against the State of Israel?

Hon. Nancy J. Hartling: Honourable senators, I would like to begin by thanking my friend Senator Bernard for her lovely speech on Alexa McDonough, who was my favourite person too. March is one of my favourite months of the year because there is a lot to celebrate, including International Women’s Day on March 8 — which is also my wedding anniversary and my son Marc’s birthday — but it’s National Social Work Month too.

[Translation]

Today I want to celebrate and honour Canadian social workers as we celebrate our profession this month. There are 52,823 social workers in Canada and 2,096 social workers in my province, New Brunswick.

[English]

This year’s theme is “In Critical Demand — Social Work is Essential.” I have seen first-hand the importance of our profession and its impact on people in need, especially during the pandemic. Social workers have been a lifeline for many, whether working in health care, social development, child welfare, with seniors or in community services. A predominantly female profession, social workers too often go unnoticed and are undervalued, but it’s important to recognize the value they add to society as they are important and they are essential and critical in demand.

[Translation]

One of the first social workers in Atlantic Canada was Jane Wisdom, born in 1884. Since then, thousands of people have worked in the profession, including many parliamentarians such as Alexa McDonough, Rosemary Brown and Ginette Petitpas Taylor, and, here in the Senate, Wanda Elaine Thomas Bernard, Margaret Dawn Anderson, Judith Seidman and me, to name but a few.

[English]

Since March 2019, we have been celebrating National Social Work Month on the Hill in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Social Workers, or CASW. The first couple of years we held it here at the Senate, but due to COVID-19, the events in the last two years have been virtual. This year’s events were scheduled on March 15 and 28, and Senator Bernard and I worked on the events with CASW staff and our staff. The presentations included social workers and students from Atlantic Canada discussing challenges that are faced by social workers in contemporary society. These events were accessible to social workers and to the public in Canada and internationally.

As we honour and celebrate National Social Work Month, let’s remember these dedicated, caring and thoughtful professionals who are absolutely essential and a necessary part of strengthening the social infrastructure of society.

[Translation]

We thank you for your good work and your service to society. Thank you very much.

[English]

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, my question is for the Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. Senator Marwah, as the Senate considers extending the hybrid motion — and we all know we have a motion now before us which I understand is endorsed by leadership to extend the hybrid sessions to the end of April — I’m concerned that the reality is that, due to the pressures of the hybrid format on Senate human resources, Senate committees remain seriously under-resourced.

You’re the chair of an important committee, so you would know very well that many committees have found it difficult to meet, some waiting weeks even to have an organizational meeting. Other committees are having difficulty fitting in all the studies and important work they want to move forward into the schedule of one meeting per week that we currently have to work with under the hybrid format.

Government legislation continues to take precedence at the cost of Senate public bills, special issues, hearings and studies that, in my opinion, form the real strength of Senate committees. We’ve lost our flexibility to extend Senate hearings if clause‑by‑clause consideration goes long or to have longer meetings if we need to hear from multiple witnesses integral to a bill’s consideration.

Senator, is your committee looking at options to increase the availability of resources, including interpreters? I understand that there are no fewer than 10 companies in Ottawa that provide translation services, but we also need technology and camera operators, committee staff and so forth to enable us to resume our regular meeting schedules if hybrid settings continue.

Hon. Sabi Marwah: Thank you, senator, for that question. There are several dimensions to the problem. I think you’ve mentioned the first one, and the biggest bottleneck by far: the availability of translation services.

I would remind the senator that translation services are under the purview of the Translation Bureau and not under the purview of the Internal Economy Committee. We’ve had many discussions with them, and I’m told they are hiring all available staff but there is an acute shortage everywhere. They’re making every attempt to hire any available capacity they can find.

Another compounding problem is that the hybrid sittings we have authorized are much more difficult to manage for translators than in-person sittings. Hence that has constrained the availability on the supply side, because we’ve reduced the service levels to which translators can operate. They normally work six hours, and now they can only do four hours because of additional demands. That’s the supply side.

There are a couple of dimensions to this, senator. One is that we keep extending hybrid sittings one and two months at a time. Hence that’s not very conducive to long-range planning on our part, and we don’t want to invest in resources when we don’t know how long the hybrid setting is going to last. That has been a constraint.

Our third and fourth constraints are that senators agreed to prioritize government business, and that leaves less time for everybody else.

The last point is that there are more groups in the Senate. There used to be only two groups. Now there are four, and each one wants translation services. When you add that up, it constrains the availability of translation.

Senator Marwah: Thank you, senator, for that question. I think where it can have an impact, Internal Economy has authorized additional resources. We have authorized at least 10 to 15 additional translation booths. We have authorized additional staffing in the Information Services Directorate — which is technology — and in broadcasting, but there is not much point in hiring additional staff if we can’t solve the translation issue. That remains the bottleneck.

What I will do, senator, is revisit this issue and see if there are other short-term measures we can take that will help alleviate some of the bottlenecks, and I shall let you know.

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Senator Gold, I have a question about Bill C-8 that is currently under debate in the House of Commons. That’s the bill to implement the fall fiscal update. Parts of the act are very complex, and within that act is another act called the Underused Housing Tax Act, and I think that’s where most of the complication resides.

I’m looking at the calendar for this fiscal year. There are eight days left in the parliamentary calendar for this fiscal year. If and when Bill C-8 arrives in the Senate, and most likely it will be “when,” will senators have time to thoroughly review this bill?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Yes, we will.

Senator Marshall: My supplementary question is that quite a few bills are being rushed through during the review cycle. I’m a member of the Finance Committee, and we are quite often rushed in reviewing money bills. Do you have any concern that there’s a perception that the Senate is becoming a rubber stamp for government legislation?

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. My concern is to do my part and my very best with my colleagues to ensure that the Senate has the opportunity to do the important work that we were summoned to do. That is often possible, and, indeed, the quality of our work is testament to that.

Colleagues in this chamber with many more years than I, and who have been here through different governments, will also know that certain circumstances inevitably recur. We’re approaching one now as we close the end of the fiscal year with regard to the supplementary estimates. There are other circumstances where bills come to us rather late in the day for a variety of reasons — in some cases bureaucratic and in others a function of the minority nature of Parliament.

Fortunately, at least to date, we as a chamber, in our wisdom and in the exercise of our wisdom in a responsible way, have undertaken pre-studies of such bills. This has allowed for an opportunity for senators and committees with expertise and institutional memory to dig in and advise the Senate as to their views when the bills finally do arrive.

We are not a rubber stamp. The history of our involvement in the Senate since 2015, as set out in my predecessor’s reports and simply in our own experience suggesting amendments to bills — a significant number of which were accepted in whole or in part — is testament to the fact that the Senate continues to do its job responsibly for the benefit of all Canadians.

[Translation]

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Honourable senators, March 21 was the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was designated by the United Nations in 1966. An organization in Quebec, the Centre international de documentation et d’information haïtienne, caribéenne et afro‑canadienne, or CIDIHCA, created the Action Week against Racism and for Equal Opportunities to mark the occasion. This year marks the twenty-third anniversary of this event. The CIDIHCA coordinates activities dedicated to the fight against various forms of intolerance in our society.

A wide range of activities is planned for the week of action, which runs from March 21 to March 31. Virtual and in-person activities will take place in several cities across Quebec. They include exhibitions, workshops, webinars, film screenings and plays performed by students, to name but a few.

This year’s theme is about welcoming refugees and migrants to Quebec.

A CBC/Radio-Canada article from March 11, 2022, detailed several reports of racist behaviour on the part of border officials towards people of colour fleeing the war in Ukraine. Here in the nation’s capital, the African Canadian Association of Ottawa has already raised nearly $80,000 in donations to help students facing discrimination. The association hopes that Canada will consider these students like other migrants from Ukraine.

I am encouraged by the solidarity shown in welcoming Ukrainians to Canada. While we celebrate this generosity, I hope it translates into immigration measures that make it easier for other migrants to come to Canada.

Temporary foreign workers represent another challenge in this context. In 2017, there were more than half a million of them in Canada. These workers come to Canada to carry out essential tasks and help fill the labour shortage, particularly in the farming sectors, private homes, service stations, the restaurant industry and health care, to name a few.

Currently, there are nearly one million job vacancies. That is a record. Let’s work together to improve how we welcome refugees and migrants. It is a matter of human dignity and also a way to share our Canadian values to build a fairer and more equitable world. Thank you.

[English]

Hon. Scott Tannas: Honourable senators, I have a question for Senator Boniface in her role as Joint Chair of the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency.

I noticed from the first report filed that you have had your initial meetings. You have some timelines with which to work, you now know your colleagues and so on. I appreciate that there may be things that you can and can’t say, but could you give us your take on how things might go and your sense of your and the committee’s ability to get the job done as was envisioned?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): A supply and confidence arrangement does not — and I will insist on using those terms, colleagues, because in any serious parliamentary institution, facts should matter. However, that is not to deny you the right to continue to call the arrangement whatever you want. It’s your privilege, but it is mine to insist on the terms that are accurate.

There is nothing in the arrangement that has been communicated publicly or to me that speaks to this issue, nor is it the case that the call for 2% of GDP is necessarily the same thing as doing one’s fair share. The position of Canada has been for some time that it does indeed do its fair share, notwithstanding the fact that according to certain calculations, Canada has not and does not provide spending as requested by NATO.

Canada continues to re-evaluate its needs. The crisis in Ukraine has certainly shone a spotlight on it. As I said in my response to our colleague’s questions, details of what the government’s intentions and plans are for its defence spending will be revealed in the budget. Until then, we’ll just have to be patient.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of March 22, 2022, moved:

That, in accordance with subsection 39(1) of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (S.C. 2005, c. 46), the Senate approve the reappointment of Mr. Joe Friday as Public Sector Integrity Commissioner for a term of 18 months.

Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia: Honourable senators, I rise today to recognize the outstanding contributions of my colleague and friend Senator Salma Ataullahjan.

Today is Pakistan Day, a national holiday in Pakistan that commemorates the passing of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, a major milestone in the struggle for an independent state. Following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent republic on March 23, 1956, the Pakistan Civil Awards were established.

On August 14, 2020, Senator Ataullahjan received one of Pakistan’s most prestigious awards, the Sitara-e-Pakistan, translated as the “Star of Pakistan.” Due to the pandemic, the senator was unable to travel to Pakistan to receive this civil award.

Earlier this morning, at the High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa, the award was bestowed upon her, and you may admire the decorative star around her neck. This award recognizes individuals who have made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavours.

Senator Ataullahjan continues to be a fierce advocate for international diplomacy, particularly Canada-Pakistan relations. She is a leader in polio eradication in Southeast Asia, provides extensive services including personal financial donations in natural disaster relief, mentors and builds connections with female parliamentarians in Pakistan and also provides supports for internally displaced persons.

It was an honour to attend this ceremony this morning alongside my colleague Senator Victor Oh and Senator Ataullahjan’s daughter Shaanzeh as well as our staff.

I would like to congratulate Senator Ataullahjan for this honour and highly prestigious civilian award, and I encourage you to join me in applauding our honourable colleague for her continued tremendous efforts.

Meegwetch. Thank you.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.