Senator Wells: Thank you, Senator Gold. As you know, many Canadians will be travelling over the next days and weeks, and some are still in quarantine when they perhaps don’t have to be. So I would appreciate a timely answer on this, whether it’s today or tomorrow, because it is time sensitive, and you’ll understand that.

What happens now to those Canadians, many of whom are seniors, who are already forced into quarantine prior to the government’s reversal? Are they required to remain under quarantine?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I’m not in a position to verify that. I’ll have to make inquiries and report back.

Senator Dupuis: Thank you, Senator Marshall, for your comments. You talked about all the spending authorized by legislation other than appropriation acts. Statutory expenditures are estimated at $233 billion this year.

When you stated that there is no parliamentary mechanism to review this spending, what are you suggesting as a mechanism for parliamentary review to ensure that legislators like us can fulfill our mandate to hold the government to account for its spending?

Senator Marshall: Yes.

[Translation]

Hon. Renée Dupuis: Would Senator Marshall take another question?

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Senator Dupuis, do you wish to ask a question?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I am pleased to speak in support of my colleague Senator Thanh Hai Ngo and his motion to urge the Government of Canada to call upon six or more of the current parties to the Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam — which includes Canada, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, amongst others — to agree to reconvening the International Conference on Viet-Nam, pursuant to Article 7(b) of the act in order to settle disputes between the signatory parties due to violations of the terms of the Paris Peace Accords and the Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam.

When World War II ended, there was rejoicing throughout the world. The most horrific war in world history had ended, the axis tyrants were defeated and the hope of freedom to many previously occupied countries like Korea — the country of my birth — and colonial possessions, like India, were on the rise.

Yet the conflict that had so thoroughly ravaged the world for nearly a decade had never really ended in Asia. In the 75 years since the end of World War II, there have been 63 military confrontations in Asia, including major wars in China, Korea, India, Pakistan and Vietnam — nearly one for every year.

As a Canadian of Korean descent, I can tell you first-hand the impact war has on a country and its people — the lingering pain of the loss of missing generations, survivor’s guilt when friends and family perish, the impact of suffering on the children of war and the legacy of that agony passed on to subsequent generations.

Peace treaties are signed; some are upheld and others, like the Paris Peace Accords, are not. The accords included the governments of the democratic people of Vietnam — North Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam — and the United States, as well as the Republic of South Vietnam, PRG, which represented South Vietnamese communists. The accords were an effort to end the conflict and bring peace to the region. The Paris Peace Accords provisions were immediately and frequently broken, with no official response from the United States.

In March 1973, fighting resumed and North Vietnamese offences enlarged their control by the end of the year. In 1975, a massive North Vietnamese offensive finally conquered South Vietnam. On July 2, 1976, the two countries — separated since 1954 — ceased to exist and in its place was born the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Conflict continues to escalate in the region around the South China Sea, which includes signatories to the accord. As Senator Ngo so rightly pointed out in his speech in the Senate on November 25, the Paris Peace Accords remain a valuable diplomatic tool for the resolution of disputes between the signatory parties. It is worth repeating what Senator Ngo said:

Ultimately, if there is consensus among the parties that the Paris Agreement continues to be in force, it can be reopened and renegotiated. The same applies to the act; in its case, it would allow for the international conference to be reconvened in accordance with Article 7(b).

Reconvening this international conference can also be a valuable mechanism in initiating negotiations in some of the most pressing geopolitical issues in Asia today, such as the South China Sea dispute.

Canada, as one of the signatories, has the opportunity to reopen this important debate. Canada has always prided itself on our peacekeeping commitments and peacemaking talent.

Honourable senators, in an effort to spare another generation of children who will witness the atrocities of war, be ripped from their families and unintentionally pass their suffering on to their children, I wholeheartedly support Senator Ngo’s motion. He has long been a champion of human rights, freedom and democracy. As the first Canadian senator of Vietnamese descent, Senator Ngo is a respected national leader. Let us make the most of the opportunity that is before us — for Canada and for us, as the chamber of sober second thought — to adopt this important motion, moved by our colleague as the end of his distinguished Senate tenure draws near. His immeasurable courage that powered his journey to freedom to Canada after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and his resoluteness in getting his Senate public bill, Bill S-219, Journey to Freedom Day Act, enacted into law in 2015, are only surpassed by his hope and commitment to human rights, freedom and democracy for all people.

With that, I hope that honourable senators will support this motion as proposed by our colleague Senator Thanh Hai Ngo.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: I see two senators rising. Do the government liaison and opposition whip have agreement on the length of the bell?

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2021 Fall Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada, pursuant to the Auditor General Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. A-17, sbs. 7(3).

[English]

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, yesterday Ismaili Muslims residing in 25 countries around the world celebrated His Highness Karim Aga Khan’s eighty-fifth birthday.

Born in 1936 in Geneva, Switzerland, His Highness succeeded his grandfather as the forty-ninth spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims when he was just 20 years old.

For over three quarters of his life, His Highness has made tremendous personal sacrifices to improve the lives of Ismaili Muslims and continues to work tirelessly to improve the quality of life of all people, especially those living in less developed regions in the world.

Education, specifically for girls, has always informed much of His Highness’s work. In fact, the Aga Khan Development Network works hard to ensure that students of all ages have access to quality learning opportunities.

His Highness has spent much of his life working to improve health outcomes for people living in vulnerable regions in the world.

The Aga Khan hospitals are a network of international hospitals based in Dar es Salaam, Mumbai, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nairobi and Pakistan.

The hospitals are managed by Aga Khan Health Services, one of the most comprehensive non-profit health care systems in the developing world.

Finally, as the world navigated the hardship and difficulties incited by COVID-19, His Highness reminded us to keep our hearts open and to help one another.

The Aga Khan network of agencies adapted their operations to respond to the pandemic, focusing on developing regions which were in particular need. He has been a vocal advocate for vaccination.

(1420)

Honourable senators, typically on your birthday your loved ones shower you with gifts. I often think about what I could possibly give to someone who has given so much to me.

Without the guidance of His Highness and his grandfather before him, I may not ever have received a high-quality education and certainly would not have become a lawyer or a senator. Without the support of His Highness, I would not have been able to seek refuge in Canada. His constant love and guidance have truly made me who I am today.

On His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan’s eighty-fifth birthday, I would like to reconfirm my commitment to use my time, my knowledge and my position as a Canadian senator to help all those who are most vulnerable in society and to help groom and empower future generations of leaders.

Happy birthday, Your Highness, from the very bottom of my heart. Thank you for everything you do to make the world a peaceful and safer place for all.

Salgirah Mubarak.

Thank you, senators.

Hon. Percy Mockler: Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 12-26(2) of the Rules of the Senate, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, which deals with the expenses incurred by the committee during the Second Session of the Forty-Third Parliament.

(For text of report, see today’s Journals of the Senate, p. 160.)

[English]

Hon. Brent Cotter: Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That the papers and documents received and/or produced by the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators during the Second Session of the Forty-third Parliament, and by the Intersessional Authority be referred to the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators.

An Hon. Senator: Thirty minutes.

Senator Gold: Yes.

[English]

Senator Housakos: I have a supplementary question for the Leader of the Government.

I don’t really understand why the Trudeau government is so dismissive of the Globe and Mail article, given that the Department of Finance’s policies and operations have a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of Canadians, who are already having trouble making ends meet.

We have a Prime Minister who says he isn’t concerned about monetary policy, a government that took more than two years to table a budget, a government that didn’t mention inflation in the Throne Speech and a Department of Finance that has not yet presented the public accounts or the debt management report for the current year.

Senator Gold, here’s another very simple question. Do you dispute these facts, yes or no?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The Government of Canada has confidence not only in the Minister of Finance but also in all those public officials who serve diligently and honourably in their roles.

[Translation]

Senator Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, we are almost two years into this pandemic and little progress has been made to expedite immigration applications.

Most of the department’s in-person offices remain closed and applicants report being unable to communicate with officers unless they hire an immigration consultant, which comes with a hefty fee.

Senator Gold, what measures have been implemented to modernize the IRCC so it can still function in a more virtual world?

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Senator Gold, we are having problems accessing some of the government’s websites. The two we are working with are Canada Revenue Agency and Statistics Canada, but I understand it is not confined to those two departments. There is a message on the Government of Canada website that says there is a problem with cybersecurity vulnerability.

Could you give us some information as to what is happening, the severity of it and, especially, how long you think this problem is going to last, since we are going to be adjourning for six weeks?

Senator Gold: Concerning all these questions, I will ask the government and try to provide answers as quickly as possible.

[English]