Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, thank you very much for the question. I will start by answering the last component of your question.

We are introducing transformative, new investments to both stabilize Indigenous policing for those communities that have access to it, but equally to expand Indigenous police services to those who are still in need of it. It is my sincere hope that we’re going to be able to move forward with legislation that will ensure that Indigenous policing is seen as an essential service, which it is, because Indigenous peoples, like all Canadians, have a right to be safe in their communities.

I will say that my mandate lays out very clearly a number of ways in which we hope to move forward, in conjunction with the RCMP, when it comes to transforming the police service. I am very encouraged by the conversations that I have had with the commissioner around making changes to our Management Advisory Board, which is an adjunct body that provides independent advice to the commissioner, by making additional changes around the way in which grievances are brought forward, particularly as it relates to those claims involving sexual harassment and violence within the service, to make sure that that process is independent and, lastly, to be sure that the RCMP is reflective of the diversity of our country.

In conclusion, I would say that I am very proud that the RCMP has deployed to the International Criminal Court to advance the investigation into war crimes in Ukraine.

Hon. Vernon White: Minister, thank you very much for being here. Since 2006 and just prior, the federal government made a decision to shift the three separate legacy agencies working at our borders to become a new agency: the Canada Border Services Agency. With the change came new training, equipment, firearms, use of force and new peace officer powers, but the officers are not police officers and cannot carry out the duties of police officers. I have asked ministers for the past decade why we do not shift the CBSA’s role at our inland and border crossings to provide them with the police officer designation, with immediate responsibility and accountability.

As we saw from the recent challenges at our border crossings — and there were many other incidents across Canada over the past years — it could have been helpful. Arguably, it would be helpful every day, as the access to police officers at the more than 100 Canada-U.S. border crossings is not always available. Canada is one of the very few countries, if not the only one, not to have that in place.

Why can we not action such a move from the current half measure to a more fulsome model of border security and law enforcement?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: First, we would say to them that the government is very aware that there have been far too many tragedies caused by gun violence. You’re right, senator, it’s a serious threat not just in Quebec, but across Canada.

Roughly two weeks ago, I had a productive meeting with my Quebec counterpart, Minister Guilbault, and we agreed to do more work on this issue, which is having a major impact on the province of Quebec.

We have a very effective strategy, but we must invest more in our police forces, as we have already done, to help them prevent illegal gun trafficking at the border.

Last week, I also had a meeting with my U.S. counterpart. In the past week, there has been a record number of arrests. Progress has been made, but we must make more investments to help prevent gun violence.

Finally, this government promised to introduce stricter controls to ensure public safety in communities. There is a three-pronged strategy in place, and the work will be done in collaboration with the provinces.

Hon. Renée Dupuis: Welcome to the Senate, minister.

Your mandate letter says that you are responsible for co‑developing a bill on First Nations policing. On March 22, your department and the two other ministers responsible for these issues launched an engagement process to consult with First Nations.

Funds have been allocated. You said earlier that you want to stabilize existing police services and also expand them to communities still in need of such services. Can you tell me how the funds are being allocated, since the situation in First Nations communities varies a lot from province to province?

Also, can you tell me what steps you plan to take following these initial consultations in order to be ready to introduce a bill, and what the deadline is for completing this process?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Minister, the Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for seizing goods produced by forced labour at the border.

Such seizures are very rare, partly because the standard of proof is almost impossible to meet. In addition, Canada releases hardly any information about the seized goods or the company involved, because it says this information is protected under the Privacy Act.

In the United States, however, the authorities are much more transparent. They have carried out 31 seizures in three years. They publish the date, the type of goods and the name of the supplier. Obviously, this information can then be used by American businesses to avoid sketchy suppliers.

By hiding information about seizures of goods produced by forced labour, isn’t Canada putting businesses’ commercial interests ahead of workers’ human rights?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, I agree. We must protect workers’ rights. I know there is a bill to that effect. We will keep working with all members in the other place to study that bill.

At the same time, I must also assure you that there is a lot of cooperation between Canada and the United States. We share information pertaining to many cases, but we always respect privacy rights and Charter rights. There is a high degree of collaboration between our two countries. I know this because, in recent weeks, I have had productive meetings with my counterpart, Secretary Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security. Our collaboration is very important to protecting border integrity and Canada’s interests.

[English]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, thank you for that question and for highlighting advocacy that I am sensitive to.

I represent a community in Toronto where there’s a shooting more often than I’m comfortable even mentioning in this chamber. It can happen as often as every week at certain points of the year. In many of those cases, I know the people and the families who have been impacted by gun crime. I’m moved by their resilience to persevere, but we have to meet them at the moment that we find ourselves in, which means taking more action to reduce gun violence, including gun violence that is generated by handguns. For the benefit of this chamber, handguns are the number one type of killer in this country. It’s unacceptable.

That having been said, while we’re committed and while my mandate instructs me to work with provinces and territories to take more action on that front, it’s not the only thing that we need to be doing. We also need to be investing in law enforcement at our borders to stop illegal trafficking of guns into this country. Equally, we need to be investing in preventive strategies so that we can create safer spaces so that these tragedies don’t occur in the first place. My commitment to you is that we will do that work in cooperation with all of the communities across this country, so we can finally rid ourselves of this scourge.

Hon. Vernon White: Thank you, minister. Hopefully, we see you here more often. As you can see, there are lots of people with concerns.

I understand there’s been a promise to review the contract policing role of the RCMP and their dozens of contracts across this country. Can you walk us through the process that will be followed, who will be involved and what type of reporting might be offered to parliamentarians as that process takes place?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, first, I’ll assure you that there will be transparency about the ways in which we are enhancing and modernizing contract policing services across this country. As you will you know and others in this chamber may know, the RCMP has recently become unionized, which is to say there’s representation of rank and file in the collective bargaining process that sets out, among other things, how we provide the RCMP with the resources and the tools they need in the communities where the RCMP has been contracted to provide policing services. I’ll just tell you a little bit about how that process is unfolding.

My officials, along with other branches within the government, are engaged directly with those provinces that have contracted through police service agreements with the RCMP. They are also engaged at the municipal level to ensure there is a way forward so that those communities and provinces that contracted the RCMP can recruit and retain the labour force that is necessary to ensure that we are providing public safety right across this country. We will be very transparent about how that process unfolds going forward.

[Translation]

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Minister, the lack of a response to my first question is very troubling and leads me to believe that the RCMP thinks it’s above the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights.

As the person responsible for enforcing laws in Canada, what would you say to the Savoie family in New Brunswick, who have been waiting 15 years for the RCMP to inform them of the circumstances surrounding the death of their 17-year-old daughter, who was killed by an impaired driver?

What would you say to the families in Portapique who are being denied the right to participate in the public inquiry into the killing of 22 people?

Is the RCMP not accountable to victims of crime and their families?

Regarding your question specifically, there is a process for victims, and there are principles enshrined in several laws to protect their rights. They have access to information on the justice system, and it is our government’s duty to defend the rights of victims so they can obtain justice.

[English]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, thank you very much for the question and for your advocacy.

As I have stated on a number of occasions during this Question Period, I believe we need to continue to move forward with an ambitious agenda to reform our criminal justice system. That also means looking at the overuse of mandatory minimum penalties, or MMPs, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly either struck down or noted as not being an effective tool for ensuring justice.

Where we are overly reliant on MMPs, all we’re doing is simply contributing to the revolving door of crime. It seems to me that we have to be smart about this. Part of taking a smart and effective approach is, first and foremost, recognizing that our courts and the judiciary are best situated to dispense justice according to the circumstances of the offence, the background of the offender and the best way to ensure that justice is delivered to victims but also, equally, to promote the rehabilitation of those individuals.

I assure you that the government, through the leadership of the Minister of Justice, is looking at and has identified a list of offences where we can repeal MMPs. We look forward to advancing that work in the chamber. We also look forward to your contributions here in the Senate as we move forward with that agenda.

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Thank you for being here today, minister.

International concerns regarding illegal trafficking of cultural property are serious and increasing with the alarming pillaging and looting of antiquities in many war-torn parts of the world, which now, alas, includes Ukraine. Works of art, the world’s third most trafficked commodities, have the fastest growing rate and fund the arms and drug trades.

It is clear that stronger international cooperation with UNESCO, with high, uniform operational standards that reinforce bilateral and regional cooperation frameworks of law enforcement and investigative agencies, are essential. I also believe stronger awareness and training of Canada’s border officials need to be addressed as well.

What is Canada doing to tighten and update our legal protections and regulations to meet the new challenges between source, transit and destination countries?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: To begin with, senator, I would point out that we were in Washington, D.C., just last week when this priority was specifically discussed. We talked about how we could prevent the kind of illegal trafficking of intellectual property, other counterfeits and other properties that have been stolen across our borders so they are interdicted.

Coming out of that meeting, there were concrete assurances from both sides to share information and intelligence so that our law enforcement branches, including the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP, and, on the other side of the border, Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, known as ATF, are working at the highest level of collaboration so that we can stop that crime from occurring in the first place.

Your question is very timely. It comes on the heels of a very productive meeting last week to battle transnational crime on this front, and we’re committed to continuing to work on it together.

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Minister, last week, your colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs was asked during a House of Commons committee meeting if she believed that Canada experienced foreign interference by state or state-backed actors in last year’s federal election. Minister Joly declined to answer, saying the matter was under the purview of the Minister of Public Safety.

So I will ask this of you, minister: Do you believe Canada experienced foreign interference by state or state-backed actors in the last federal election? If you agree that it took place, where will you lay the blame for this interference, and what will your government do to take action and prevent this in the future?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, first, thank you for asking that question because it allows me to emphasize to you and to all members of this chamber that we are operating in an environment of heightened threats to our national security, including when it comes to foreign interference.

I would urge you, all of your colleagues in this chamber and indeed all Canadians, to be very much “eyes wide open” about what those threats are and how they have created a more complicated environment. We need to be sure that we are providing all of the tools and resources necessary to our national security apparatus so that we can mitigate those threats.

I also want to provide you with my assurance that all of the agencies that operate within my portfolio, as well as other portfolios, are on it. We’re very alive to these concerns. We need to be sure that we’re vigilant about mitigating those threats, and we need to do this work together.

Our commitment is to work with you and all parliamentarians to make sure we protect our national security.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

(For text of Delayed Answers, see Appendix.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gagné, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., for the third reading of Bill C-15, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): The supplementary estimates provide information on $13.2 billion in new voted spending for 70 organizations. They also present information on a $3.9-billion increase in forecast statutory expenditures.

The $3.9-billion increase in statutory expenditures is due to expenditures proposed in the Main Estimates. This amount includes the following increases, and note that figures have been rounded: $2.4 billion for the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit; a $1.6-billion increase in interest on unmatured debt; $300 million in proposed payments to provinces and territories for proof-of-vaccination initiatives; $100 million for ventilation improvement projects in schools; a $209.1-million increase to Canada Student Grants.

[English]

For context and awareness, I think it may be helpful to break down spending found in the estimates for the current fiscal year. In these Supplementary Estimates (C), the proposed budgetary authorities for 2021-22 amount to $415 billion, including $188.8 billion in planned voted expenditures and $226.2 billion in forecast statutory expenditures.

The 2021-22 Main Estimates presented $342.2 billion in planned budgetary spending for 123 organizations to deliver programs and services to Canadians. This consisted of $141.9 billion in voted expenditures and $200.3 billion in statutory spending, authorized or proposed through other legislation.

The Supplementary Estimates (A), which were tabled last spring, included an additional $24 billion in voted budgetary spending and $17.2 billion in forecast budgetary statutory expenditures across 45 federal organizations.

The Supplementary Estimates (B), tabled last November, proposed additional authorities of $13.4 billion in forecast statutory expenditures. Voted expenditures require annual approval from Parliament through appropriation bills, like the one before us today, whereas statutory spending is approved by Parliament through legislation other than an appropriation bill.

[Translation]

Honourable senators, I would also like to point out that nearly $2.2 billion of the budgetary expenditures presented in Supplementary Estimates (C) relates to announcements made in Budget 2021, including $148.4 million for the Small Craft Harbours program, $126.9 million to promote our official languages, and $91 million to advance clean fuel markets and carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies.

Allow me to present a breakdown of the proposed spending in these supplementary estimates. The government is focusing its efforts on important priorities for Canadians, including climate change, housing, education, water treatment, health services and emergency response activities for Indigenous Canadians and their communities, as well as housing and infrastructure projects.

Approximately 81% of the voted spending sought through these supplementary estimates is being requested by 10 organizations. Of those 10 organizations, 6 are each seeking more than $500 million to support their priorities.

Today, I will be providing a breakdown of the major expenditures. The largest expenditures are attributable to the Department of Health, which is seeking $3.7 billion, and to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is seeking $3 billion. Next, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development is seeking $828.2 million. A sum of $766.4 million is set aside for the Department of Indigenous Services. A sum of $638.3 million is earmarked for the Department of National Defence, and $521.8 million is proposed for the Office of Infrastructure of Canada.

[English]

As with recent supplementary estimates, the top priority remains the health and safety of Canadians. Honourable senators, I’m pleased to say that we have come a long way in our battle with COVID-19. Hospitalizations are decreasing, the rate of infection is decreasing and many provinces have either removed or have begun to remove various public health restrictions.

But let us be clear: The reason we can begin to ease certain restrictions with confidence is because of vaccines. COVID-19 vaccines save lives and greatly reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization. When paired with other public health measures and tools at our disposal, we are better able to manage the virus and mitigate its impact.

These supplementary estimates propose $6.9 billion for the government’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has committed to support provinces and territories through the pandemic, with procurement and distribution of COVID-19 rapid tests being an important tool.

With the spread of the Omicron variant, demand for rapid tests has grown, causing existing inventories to deplete at a faster rate than predicted. Funding was requested in Bills C-8, C-10 and Supplementary Estimates (C) to support the procurement of rapid tests.

Requesting both statutory and voted spending authorities means that Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada have maximum flexibility to address this urgent need.

The tabling of Supplementary Estimates (C) in Parliament allowed the immediate signing of new or increased contracts for test kits with payment upon Royal Assent. The estimates also allow for repayment of funds that were temporarily reallocated to make some purchases earlier.

Bills C-8 and C-10 are complimentary, funding purchases during the current or subsequent fiscal year. The expense for each shipment will ultimately be charged to either the stand‑alone statutory authority of Bills C-8 and C-10 or their voted appropriations.

The reality is that several potential treatments for COVID-19, including oral antivirals, are in various stages of development and study, and global demand is competitive. Supplementary Estimates (C) include new funding of $1 billion, specifically for therapeutics, treatments for infected individuals that can reduce the severity of COVID-19 for individuals and reducing the strain on the health care system. Another $1 billion has been earmarked for a wide range of possible needs, including contracting, staffing or acquisition of assets needed to respond to the pandemic. This funding may also be used to exercise options under advanced purchase agreements, as well as funding for secondary costs associated with storage distribution and deployment logistics.

[Translation]

Honourable senators, we all know how important COVID-19 vaccines are for saving lives. That is why the government is requesting $687 million to procure additional COVID-19 vaccines for future variants of concern. To ensure COVID-19 vaccines continue to be available, the Government of Canada has signed an advance purchase agreement with Pfizer Canada.

I will now talk about the proposed spending for combatting climate change. Honourable senators, it is no exaggeration to say that climate change is one of the greatest threats that we face, and it is up to the international community to find solutions to this global challenge. Canada recognizes this, which is why the government allocated $2.65 billion from 2016 to 2021 to combat climate change in developing countries, as part of the commitment we made under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

In June 2021, the Prime Minister announced that Canada would allocate an additional $5.3 billion over the next five years to continue supporting initiatives to fight climate change and biodiversity loss in developing countries.

In November, the government announced it will provide up to $1 billion to the Climate Investment Funds Accelerated Coal Transition initiative. This program is an initiative led by multiple donors that will provide funding for public sector investments to help developing countries transition from coal-fired electricity to clean power as quickly as possible. The Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa and India have already been selected for the first phase of the program.

In these supplementary estimates, the government is seeking $653.7 million for Global Affairs Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada to help developing countries address the impact of climate change. This funding will help developing countries transition towards low-carbon, climate-resilient, nature‑positive economies, in support of the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Those departments will also receive operating funds to build their capacity to implement Canada’s new commitment to funding the fight against climate change.

[English]

Honourable senators, the government is committed to tackling this unprecedented global challenge.

Another major area of proposed funding is targeted at infrastructure needs. Honourable senators, the government is committed to developing infrastructure while ensuring sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Infrastructure Canada is requesting $349.3 million for the P3 Canada Fund in these supplementary estimates. This funding will support the delivery of the remaining, approved and ongoing projects that Canada has legally committed to under the P3 Canada Fund. The projects include the Agence métropolitaine de transport Pointe-Sainte-Charles Maintenance Project in Montreal; the Edmonton Light Rail Transit System; and the Tlicho All-Season Road Project in the Northwest Territories. These are important investments that will help us to make our way out of the pandemic.

The government remains committed to transparency. It continues to prioritize the way these estimates are presented with extensive explanatory documentation readily accessible online to parliamentarians and Canadians alike. I would encourage my colleagues who have not already done so to consult the GC InfoBase, an interactive online tool that presents a wealth of federal data in a visual way.

[Translation]

Honourable senators, the bill I have the honour of introducing today is important for implementing the government’s commitment to the health and well-being of Canadians, as well as other key priorities.

If there’s one thing we have learned from current world events, it’s that we are all in this together. Quality of life improvements and an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic are equally important. The estimates show that the government continues to address immediate needs while also making long-term investments that will benefit all Canadians.

As a final point, I would like to thank all the members of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, especially its chair, Senator Mockler, and its vice-chair, Senator Forest, for their comprehensive study of the supplementary estimates. I really appreciate the work you do. Your thoughtful questions allow us to explore topics in greater depth than our speeches here allow us to do.

I now invite you, colleagues, to vote in favour of this bill without delay. Thank you for your attention.

(On motion of Senator Wells, debate adjourned.)

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate) moved third reading of Bill C-16, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.

She said: Honourable senators, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today to Appropriation Bill No. 1, 2022-23, the government’s interim supply bill.

As you know, interim supply bills are an integral part of the normal supply cycle. In order for federal government agencies to operate, they must obtain parliamentary authority to spend public funds.

[English]

This authority is provided in two ways: through annual appropriation acts that specify the amounts and broad purposes for which funds can be spent, and through other specific statutes that authorize payments and set out the amounts and time periods for those payments.

The amounts approved through appropriation acts are referred to as voted amounts, and the expenditure authorities provided through other statutes are called statutory authorities.

[Translation]

Estimates documents are prepared to support supply bills and provide additional information on voted amounts included in those bills.

Estimates documents also include, for information only, the expenditure authorities provided to Parliament through other statutes, in other words, statutory authorities. While the Main Estimates provide an overview of spending needs for the upcoming fiscal year, the supplementary estimates present information on additional spending requirements.

These are requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or that were subsequently refined to account for developments in particular programs and services.

[English]

Through the Main Estimates, the government sets out the amounts it needs to fund its operations for the fiscal year ahead, which begins on April 1. The government then tables an interim supply bill to authorize funding for the first three months of the fiscal year until parliamentarians can adequately study and give final approval to the Main Estimates in June.

The spending requested through this interim supply bill is, therefore, already included in the Main Estimates. It does not represent new spending.

Another detail about interim supply is that the amounts requested are typically based on twelfths of the amounts in the Main Estimates, notionally corresponding to monthly cash requirements. For most departmental votes, the requested interim supply represents three twelfths of the total voted authorities in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year.

In addition, for business reasons, departments may ask for more interim supply than the standard three twelfths.

This requires providing a justification to Treasury Board Secretariat, which identifies the programs, projects or payments that require additional appropriation in the first three months of the fiscal year.

Once the justification is reviewed and accepted, additional twelfths are included in the interim supply bill for parliamentary approval.

[Translation]

Colleagues, this year, the normal supply cycle is being followed. The President of the Treasury Board tabled the Main Estimates in the House of Commons on March 1, and the interim supply bill was tabled in the House of Commons on March 24. In the coming months, parliamentarians will have the opportunity to carefully examine all of the government’s spending plans before being invited to approve the remaining voted items presented in the Main Estimates through Appropriation Act No. 1, 2022-23, which is expected in June.

[English]

Through this interim supply bill, which is Appropriation Act No. 1, the government is seeking Parliament’s approval of $75.5 billion in budgetary expenditures.

Honourable senators, the Main Estimates for the fiscal year 2022-23, of which this interim supply is a portion, present the government’s ongoing commitment to meeting Canadians’ priorities. They continue to provide economic support to individuals and businesses for a post-pandemic recovery.

As you will recall, the Main Estimates provided information on $397.6 billion in proposed spending for 126 organizations, including $190.3 billion in voted expenditures and $207.3 billion in statutory expenditures.

[Translation]

As a reminder, statutory expenditures are presented in the Main Estimates for information purposes only, as they are authorized through other legislation and are not voted.

Thanks to the interim supply bill, the government will be able to do the following: implement projects started in the spring, such as Canada Summer Jobs, through Employment and Social Development Canada; make payments to the provinces and territories for home and community care, mental health and addiction services, and virtual and long-term care through Health Canada; purchase supplies of COVID-19 therapeutics, protective equipment or medical supplies through Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada; and fulfill its legal obligations towards Indigenous communities, such as the McLean agreement-in-principle on Indian day schools or self-government agreements, through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

[English]

Honourable senators, it’s also worth noting that COVID-19 measures represent roughly $9.2 billion, or 4.8%, of total voted budgetary expenditures in the Main Estimates. In addition, for the 2022-23 fiscal year, major economic response programs are enacted or amended by an act to provide further support in response to COVID-19 — Bill C-2.

The act extended wage and rent subsidies, increased the maximum number of weeks and extended the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, and enacted the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit Act to authorize the payment of the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit in regions where a lockdown is imposed for reasons related to COVID-19. This reflects the government’s continuing commitment to invest in Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic from economic support for citizens and businesses to health care.

[Translation]

Honourable senators, the government has acted quickly over the past two years to provide financial support to individuals, businesses and the health care system.

The government created programs, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the Canada Emergency Student Benefit and the Canada Wage Subsidy, and it also provided targeted support to the regions, the economic sector, and the non‑profits that help Canadians.

We must ensure that all federal organizations can continue to operate this spring and summer and deliver the programs and services that Canadians rely on every day and that address any needs related to COVID-19.

These organizations need the financial capacity to do so. The interim funding set out in this bill will give them the financial capacity they need until the Main Estimates are studied, debated and passed later this spring.

Allow me to digress before I speak about transparency. The federal government moved swiftly to implement new programs to support and serve the public. These programs made a difference for millions of people in Canada, on top of the existing programs and services. To do that, the government relied on an engaged public service that demonstrated bold, unprecedented leadership during this crisis. I want to take this opportunity to salute their dedication and thank them publicly.

[English]

Honourable senators, I would also like to emphasize the continuing importance the government puts on providing clear and easy-to-access information. The government recognizes that Canadians and parliamentarians have the right to know, scrutinize and question how all public funds are spent.

Therefore, I invite my honourable colleagues to refer to all the additional information about the government’s spending plans in recent estimates. For each of these estimates, the government has published a detailed listing of the expenditure authorities approved by Parliament through other legislation.

(At 4 p.m., pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on November 25, 2021, the Senate adjourned until 2 p.m., tomorrow.)