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

[English]

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 Gold: Yes.

[English]

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]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. The government, as we know, has delivered on major income support measures that helped buffer the worst economic impacts of this pandemic with unprecedented speed.

With regard to protection against fraud, the CERB had front-end safeguards and back-end verification measures that allowed payments to be made quickly to workers while ensuring that cases of fraud or deliberate misrepresentations were identified. CRA and Service Canada have actively monitored and identified cases of fraud, and the government has announced multi-year funding to increase the capacity to detect, investigate and address cases of deliberate fraud.

As we move ahead in our economic recovery, the government will continue to work on post-payment verification and will be there to support Canadians.

In regard to some of your remaining questions, I will seek details from the government and report back to the chamber.

Senator Gold: I certainly will.

Senator Gold: Senator, I can provide you some answers now.

To date, the ESDC’s integrity measures have identified more than 30,000 cases of potential fraud requiring an immediate stoppage in pay and the start of integrity investigations. By successfully stopping these payments, approximately $319 million in potentially erroneous payments were avoided.

With regard to the breakdown in cases, I’ll have to inquire with the government. I’ll add them to my questions and will report back in due course.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The Government of Canada works hard to ensure that Canadians are properly treated with regard to all of the programs upon which we rely. With regard to your specific question, I don’t have an answer related to this particular policy. I will certainly make inquiries.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, senator, for your question and ongoing advocacy on this important topic. The government understands and agrees that a financially healthy agricultural sector is important for Canada’s economic well-being.

I have been informed that in response to the current challenges facing the sector — notably, impacts flowing from the pandemic — the government has committed programming to support agriculture. I note that the government has committed up to $550 million over the last year to support farmers in the fight against climate change. These include the Agricultural Climate Solutions, Agricultural Clean Technology Program and On-Farm Climate Action Fund program. I have been further advised that the current Canadian Agricultural Partnership provides significant support to the agriculture and agri-food sector, and the next policy framework for agriculture will build off the success of the partnership to help producers and processors address challenges and, importantly, seize the opportunities that lie before them.

Senator Gold: Thank you, senator, for your question. As I mentioned in my previous answer, the government has made progress on the digitization of applications, the creation of a digital portal to facilitate applications in the processing. I’m advised that Canada was the first country in the world to offer citizenship tests online, and the government continues to commit itself to accelerating processing times through the planned investments in modernization set out in Budget 2021.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Senator, thank you for your question, and I thank you for your leadership on this topic. The report from Nature Canada to which you refer is welcomed by this government. The government has seen enhanced research of greenhouse gas emissions and welcomes that research. I’m advised that the government will be taking the report of Nature Canada into consideration. The government remains committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to look into emission leaks and gaps in order to continuously improve its work.

Senator Gold: Thank you, senator, for your question. As I mentioned, the government is committed to improving its work to reduce greenhouse emissions, which includes exploring where there may be possible leaks in data and the like. The government is further committed to continuously improving its practices and will ensure quality reporting to international organizations, such as the ones you mentioned.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for bringing up the unacceptable lack of drinking water in several places on Indigenous lands.

The government has already invested billions of dollars and is committed to continuing investing to ensure that First Nations have reliable water and wastewater infrastructure on reserve for the long term.

The government is also committed to fully funding operating and maintenance costs under the funding formula. It will strive to close any gap in this area.

I am told that the number of high-risk systems continues to decline and that more and more long-term drinking water advisories are being lifted. However, the government knows full well that there is still a lot of work to be done and is committed to addressing these unacceptable gaps.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, Senator Klyne. Recognizing that carbon capture, utilization and storage, known as CCUS, can play an essential role in the transformation of our economy to a prosperous net-zero economy, the government is leading the development of a federal CCUS strategy that will enable Canadian industries to realize its production and commercial potential and ensure that Canada is competitive in this growing industry. This is an important tool to address the challenge that you raise. But it is one solution, and it alone will not solve the problem. Nor should it be considered an entire climate plan.

The government is committed to collaborating with key stakeholders and partners to build a strategy with the vision and set of areas for action to help the CCUS industry realize its full potential. The government will continue to make smart investments to help us reduce our emissions and grow our economy.

With regards to how these jobs will be distributed throughout the country and regions, I don’t have a specific answer. I will have to inquire and report back.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a timeline for when this problem will be totally resolved. As honourable senators know — and, Senator Marshall, you referred to it in your question — there has been a rather broad challenge to our cyberinfrastructure caused by some weaknesses in a program that is used broadly across many sectors.

Out of concern for security, privacy and other considerations, a number of websites, both government and non-government, have chosen to shut down to make sure that nothing worse happens to the data that is contained therein. I will make inquiries. I have every confidence that the CSE and other institutions that are responsible for protecting the security of our infrastructure are hard at work to solve the problem. I will report back if I have more information.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That, notwithstanding any provisions of the Rules, previous order or usual practice:

1.the Senate resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole at 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 16, 2021, to consider the subject matter of Bill C-2, An Act to provide further support in response to COVID-19, with any proceedings then before the Senate being interrupted until the end of Committee of the Whole;

2.if the bells are ringing for a vote at the time the committee is to meet, they be interrupted for the Committee of the Whole at that time, and resume once the committee has completed its work for the balance of any time remaining;

3.the Committee of the Whole on the subject matter of Bill C-2 receive the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P., Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, accompanied by no more than four officials;

4.the Committee of the Whole on the subject matter of Bill C-2 rise no later than 95 minutes after it begins;

5.the witness’ introductory remarks last a maximum total of five minutes;

6.if a senator does not use the entire period of 10 minutes for debate provided under rule 12-32(3)(d), including the responses of the witnesses, that senator may yield the balance of time to another senator; and

7.the start of the evening suspension be delayed until the Committee of the Whole has reported, and last one hour, provided that if under the terms of paragraph 13 of the order of November 25, 2021, something is to take place at 7 p.m., it instead take place once the sitting resumes after the evening suspension.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator, and for underlining the importance to all of those who seek to come to Canada of having their files processed expeditiously. I’m advised that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s operations have continued to adapt, innovate and evolve since the outset of the pandemic. I’m also advised that the government is on track towards meeting its objective of bringing in 401,000 new permanent residents this year, which would be the largest annual arrival in the past 100 years. Indeed, as of early November, Canada has welcomed 325,000 new permanent residents this year alone.

The government continues to shift resources to focus on priorities to increase the digitization of applications through various means, such as a digital intake Permanent Residence Portal, streamlining its processes where possible and to resume in-person operations while respecting public health and safety guidelines.

Senator Gold: Again, thank you for your question and for underlining the difficulties some Canadians experience in the face of changing regulations and protocols, all of which are designed to keep Canadians safe from what appears to be a rapidly accelerating new wave of this pandemic.

I’ll have to make inquiries, senator, and report back.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, I rise today to speak briefly to the motion brought forward by our colleague Senator Ngo.

Over the years, Senator Ngo has provided a voice to issues close to his heart and has done so with honesty and passion. This motion is no different. This chamber — and I will presume to speak for this chamber — but I, speaking personally, thank Senator Ngo for his contributions over the years. We will miss his interventions.

The government agrees with Senator Ngo that Canada has a vested interest in continuing to uphold stability, peace and democracy in Asia. However, the government does not agree with the method being proposed by Senator Ngo in Motion No. 13.

[Translation]

Canada’s relationship with Vietnam has developed significantly over the years. Vietnam is an important bilateral, regional and multilateral partner for Canada. The relationship between our two countries was recently strengthened, mainly due to the establishment of a comprehensive partnership during the Prime Minister’s visit to Vietnam in 2017.

[English]

The comprehensive partnership strengthens cooperation in several key areas, including political and diplomatic engagement; trade and investment; development assistance; defence and security; cultural and academic exchanges; science, technology and innovation; and people-to-people ties. This partnership aims to meet both our countries’ priorities, contributes to upholding the rule of law, and to maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asia and in the Indo-Pacific region.

[Translation]

The government believes that it would be more constructive for Canada to focus on the 2017 comprehensive partnership with Vietnam. As we approach 2023, the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Vietnam, it is vital that we maintain the positive momentum with Vietnam. The Government of Canada will continue to support Vietnam’s progress and to advocate for improved human rights and democracy through this partnership.

[English]

Canada will also continue to support stability, peace and democracy through the existing and growing avenues at our disposal. This includes leveraging our comprehensive partnership with Vietnam, as well as our relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN.

Canada has been a dialogue partner of ASEAN since 1977. We are one of only ten countries with this designation. Canada cooperates on political and security issues, regional integration and economic interests. We also provide security assistance to ASEAN member states, which contributes to regional peace and security and promotes Canadian foreign policy objectives in Southeast Asia.

In addition, Canada supports ASEAN’s regional development priorities. Our assistance is used to promote and protect human rights, inclusive governance and peaceful pluralism.

To support our work with ASEAN, Canada has both a dedicated mission and an ambassador to ASEAN. As an example, the government is pleased to see that ASEAN members and China have resumed negotiations to develop a code of conduct for the South China Sea. Canada encourages transparency in these negotiations and reiterates that the agreement should not derogate from the rights that parties enjoy under international law or prejudice the rights of third parties.

[Translation]

The government does not agree that the Act of the International Conference remains a viable diplomatic tool for settling disputes or an effective mechanism for initiating negotiations on urgent geopolitical issues, such as developing a code of conduct for the South China Sea.

[English]

Reconvening the international conference, in Canada’s judgment, is not an appropriate avenue to uphold stability, peace and democracy in Asia at this time. Moreover, the government does not see a compelling policy rationale to consider reconvening the conference after so many years, as Senator Boehm underlined in his remarks. We have moved on and, frankly, such a motion might very well undermine Canada’s bilateral relationship with Vietnam.

As well, we should take into consideration how such a motion could affect the bilateral relationships between Vietnam and parties to the act. Resuming the conference could, in fact, have a negative impact on the decades-long friendship and cooperation between Canada and Vietnam. Canada will continue to advance its relationship with Vietnam and consistently advocate for peace, stability, diplomacy and the upholding of international obligations.

For all of the reasons mentioned, the government respectfully is unable to support Motion No. 13. However, this chamber should be assured that Canada values its relationship with Vietnam and views Vietnam as a friend and partner in the region. Our two countries will continue to work closely together in multilateral fora. Thank you.