Senator Gold: Thank you, senator, for your question and for your long-standing work in support of the charitable sector, which is well known to all of us, certainly in Quebec.

I’m advised that most charities, in fact, meet or exceed their disbursement quotas but that there is a gap of at least $1 billion in charitable expenditures in our communities that exists today.

With regard to the specifics of your remaining questions, I will make inquiries with the government and report back to the chamber as soon as I receive an answer.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. As we all know, the federal government has made changes to the vaccine mandates through the course of this pandemic. It has been evaluating the state of the science and the advice that it gets, and it will continue to do so. When and if further changes are to be announced, they will be announced in due course.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you. The Government of Canada has always supported the victims of that terrible tragedy. With regard to specific steps the government may be taking, I’ll have to make inquiries and report back.

Senator Gold: Thank you, honourable senator, for the question.

Canada is working with international partners to address all barriers to equitable access of vaccines, in part by improving global capacity to manufacture them.

I’m also advised that the government has announced an investment of up to $15 million to COVAX Manufacturing Taskforce partners in support of establishing the South African technology transfer hub. This initiative will help build capacity to enable the development and production of mRNA vaccines and technologies in the region.

With regard to the rest of your question, I’ll have to make inquiries and will be happy to report back.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you very much for your question. Distress centres are a vital part of our community, providing mental health support and resources for those in need. We know that across our country, these centres are seeing a real surge in demand for their services.

While none of the 57 organizations that received funding through last year’s announcement were located in Prince Edward Island, I’m advised that the Public Health Agency of Canada is currently working with an organization that services P.E.I.’s mental distress support needs regarding their funding request. The Public Health Agency of Canada is also providing over $14.8 million over 36 months to Kids Help Phone to provide crisis supports for children and youth across Canada during the pandemic, including for young people in your province.

All Canadians, including those who are at risk and those living in rural and remote areas, need access to critical health and mental health resources and services. The government is working with provinces and territories on expanding virtual services, and the government is making sure that Canadians can use emergency supports and have access to them when they need them.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question.

Again, I’ll make inquiries and will be happy to report back when I get the answer.

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

I don’t know the answer, but I will make inquiries with regard to whether the payment has been made and what the future intentions are of the Government of Canada.

Senator Gold: Senator, thank you for your question. I don’t know the answer to that. I will have to undertake to try to find the answer.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, senator, for the question. It’s an important one.

Canada has contributed $2.6 billion to the global fight against the coronavirus. This includes a total of $1.3 billion to support access to the COVID Tools Accelerator.

Canada has also committed to donating the equivalent of at least 200 million doses to the COVAX facility by the end of 2022. This includes both financial commitments to COVAX and surplus dose donations. I’m advised that, as of March 4 of this year, 13.9 million surplus vaccine doses have been delivered through the COVAX facility, and the equivalent of 87 million doses have been provided through financial support.

I’m further advised that Canada has provided $50 million to the Pan American Health Organization to support efforts to introduce COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies to reach those living in situations of vulnerability across the Caribbean and Latin America, including at-risk Venezuelan migrants and disadvantaged populations.

Portions of this grant, colleagues, are being used to procure vaccine doses for countries through the organization, and these are in addition to Canada’s commitments to COVAX.

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

I’m not in a position to confirm that without making inquiries, which I will undertake to do.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question.

No, I do not agree.

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

In Budget 2021, the government announced its intention to potentially increase the disbursement quota which could boost support for the charitable sector and benefit those that rely upon its services.

I’m advised that the federal government, indeed as you alluded to, launched a consultation process to give stakeholders and interested members of the public the opportunity to provide feedback. This process ended in December 2021.

The government looks forward to sharing the results of this consultation in due course.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question, senator. I’m advised that the successful applicants within the second process to which you referred have not yet been announced as some final work with applications is still ongoing. As I noted earlier and will repeat, the Public Health Agency of Canada is currently working with an organization to service P.E.I.’s mental distress support needs regarding a request for funding. I’ll endeavour to seek clarification from the government and provide further information on federal funding for distress centres serving P.E.I. as soon as it becomes available.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question, dear colleague. I am completely comfortable with it. I consider myself a man of integrity, and I am comfortable continuing to advocate for government bills here in this chamber. I should emphasize that government bills are government bills. The NDP is not part of the Government of Canada, so I am completely comfortable continuing to do the work I do as well as I can. Thank you.

Senator Gold: The short answer is no. Everyone in this place, and I mean we as parliamentarians, understands very well how our democratic system works. Elections are held. Voters elect an MP for their riding, and the government is formed by the party with the most support in the House. It is neither unacceptable nor shameful, nor outside the parliamentary norms of our Westminster system, that agreements and arrangements are reached between various parties.

In closing, I would like to point out that most Canadians, over 50%, voted for either the Liberal Party or the NDP. That being said, this agreement between the two parties is quite normal under our parliamentary system.

[English]

Senator Gold: Neither one nor the other, with respect, senator. Science does not speak with one voice or a diversity of views, as there inevitably are in other areas of life as well. The government continues to evaluate the rules that it put in place, and its primary and exclusive concern is the health and well-being of Canadians.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. As I have mentioned in this chamber, I think as recently as yesterday — and the Minister of National Defence, Minister Anand, has announced this — Canada is evaluating and considering what changes or what measures are to be included in the budget with regard to defence spending.

I’m going to take this opportunity to remind this chamber that nothing in the supply and confidence agreement that was entered into between the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party either undermines or compromises the government’s commitment or the vision it set out in Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada’s defence policy, which was widely applauded as a major step forward. At the top of the minister’s mandate letter is making sure that the Canadian Armed Forces have the capability and culture needed to meet current and emerging threats.

I remark that when it comes to defence spending, the government is on an upwards trajectory, reversing years of cuts. Canada is notably now the sixth-largest contributor to NATO’s commonly funded budget. The government has been making critical, smart investments into our forces in addition to increasing spending by 70% between 2017 and 2026 to ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces have the right people, equipment, training and culture to do the difficult tasks that we ask of them.

As I said at the beginning, and I’ll conclude on this, the government continues in a responsible manner to evaluate a number of options to ensure that Canada continues to have a robust and effective response to Canada’s defence needs both at home and abroad.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. Again, as I have stated on other occasions in this chamber, Canada is committed to doing everything that it can do, and is doing everything it can do, to defend our sovereignty in the Arctic. That includes investments in assets and training, and through other measures of diplomacy and the like.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the provisions of the order of November 25, 2021, concerning hybrid sittings of the Senate and committees, and other matters, be extended to the end of the day on April 30, 2022;

That the Senate commit to the consideration of a transition back to in-person sittings as soon as practicable in light of relevant factors, including public health guidelines, and the safety and well-being of all parliamentary personnel; and

That any further extension of this order be taken only after consultation with the leaders and facilitators of all recognized parties and parliamentary groups.

Senator Gold: I don’t have those figures, but I will certainly make inquiries and report back.