Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. As you and Senator Housakos pointed out in the context of his question and comments, there are victims in this story, and many are members of the Chinese-Canadian community who are either targeted or vilified.

My understanding is that there is actually an investigation going on with regard to at least some aspects of the disclosure of classified information, but beyond that, in response to your question, I don’t have information with regard to other steps the government may be taking.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of members of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Boyer.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of members of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Boyer.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of our former colleague the Honourable Douglas Black and Gary Mar.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of our former colleague the Honourable Douglas Black and Gary Mar.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you back to the Senate of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Chief Darren Blaney. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Ravalia.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Chief Darren Blaney. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Ravalia.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Senator Gold: These are important issues. It is important that we, as parliamentarians, approach them in a responsible way.

Advice that is given, or information, from the security services of the Prime Minister is not something that the Prime Minister is going to divulge, and it is certainly not something that would be appropriate to divulge in this setting.

The fact is, the Prime Minister has announced that NSICOP — a committee of parliamentarians with security clearance — will be examining this issue, as they’ve examined in their important reports on foreign interference the question of the measures that are being taken by our institutions to protect ourselves. I commend to each and every senator to read the NSICOP report on foreign interference because you will see that the issue has been taken seriously by this government for a long time now.

In addition, colleagues, the imminent appointment of a special rapporteur will also have a role to play in advising the Prime Minister as to what further steps might be taken. I should add, again, that the former campaign chair of the Conservative Party recommended that the appropriate way in which to get to the bottom of this is indeed to empower NSICOP to do the work.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

(For text of speeches, see Appendix.)

Senator Gold: Thank you for those suggestions, senator. The government is always open to consider ways in which to improve its ability to disrupt. It’s far better to prevent than to have to cure, if I can use a health analogy.

I would be pleased to arrange meetings with you so that your recommendations can be put into the proper hands. Please contact me, and we will do that.

[Translation]

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Renata Woodward, Brice Caillie, Genevieve Gallant, Paul MacNair, Bianca McGregor and Jodi Joy. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Galvez.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Renata Woodward, Brice Caillie, Genevieve Gallant, Paul MacNair, Bianca McGregor and Jodi Joy. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Galvez.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Elsie Reford and Alexander Reford. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Forest.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Elsie Reford and Alexander Reford. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Forest.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for Senator Gold. You spoke about the Prime Minister’s leadership. I would say that a real leader is also there to reassure citizens.

A recent poll showed that 90% of Canadians are concerned about the situation with the Chinese regime and that 60% of Canadians think that the Prime Minister’s leadership has been rather weak when it comes to dealing with China.

Many incidents that have occurred over the past several years are causing concern about the Prime Minister’s leadership, for example, the RCMP’s investigation into the presence of five Chinese police stations in Toronto.

In 2020, I asked you about the possible presence of the Chinese army on Canadian soil, and General Vance stated his position that it would not come here, because that would give China access to privileged information about Canada and the U.S. At the time, Mr. Trudeau objected to General Vance’s position.

Senator Gold, my question is this. Is Prime Minister Trudeau’s admiration for the Chinese regime an indication of naivety or complicity?

Senator Bovey: Thank you for that, Senator Gold. There have been some very constructive suggestions as to how activity might be curtailed, from instituting an electronic tag system on works while still in artists’ studios, to creating a registry confirming authentication, which could be with the piece as it moves from collection to collection, to developing a fund to assist artists in fighting these breaches of copyright, to better training of CBSA officials. These measures would not only protect artists from loss of their income and legacies but also assist unsuspecting collectors.

Will the government consider these and other proposals that may come forward in light of these frauds?

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Senator Gold, the media reports to which Senator Plett and Senator Housakos referred are based entirely on anonymous, unverified sources who are selectively leaking what appears to be classified information. I would point out that senior officials, when asked to comment on this kind of information, have described it as “not truth,” “incomplete” and “rumours.”

The government has gone ahead with the appointment of a special rapporteur, but what is the government doing to investigate not just who broke the law by leaking classified material, but also into the broader effort by elements in and around the intelligence establishment who are using clandestine methods to spread unverified information that subverts our political system and stigmatizes many Chinese Canadians?

Senator Woo: In the same vein, Senator Gold, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, NSIRA, recently released a damning report on the way in which CSIS can instruct third parties, such as private corporations, to take action against individuals based on a secret risk assessment without taking responsibility for the adverse effects on individuals and entities.

What is the government doing in response to the NSIRA report to rein in any overreach on the part of our intelligence agencies?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, pursuant to the order of Thursday, February 16, 2023, I leave the chair for the Senate to resolve into a Committee of the Whole on the subject matter of Bill C-39, An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). The Honourable Senator Ringuette will chair the committee.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, pursuant to the order of Thursday, February 16, 2023, I leave the chair for the Senate to resolve into a Committee of the Whole on the subject matter of Bill C-39, An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). The Honourable Senator Ringuette will chair the committee.

On the Order:

The Senate in Committee of the Whole in order to receive the Honourable David Lametti, P.C., M.P., Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, P.C., M.P., Minister of Health, accompanied by a total of no more than three officials, respecting the subject matter of Bill C-39, An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).

(The sitting of the Senate was suspended and put into Committee of the Whole, the Honourable Pierrette Ringuette in the chair.)

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. I don’t have specific information about the Copyright Act dimension of your question, but I will say that the government strongly condemns frauds and scams, both in the art world and in every context where they are perpetrated. Indeed, the government and law enforcement continually work to detect, disrupt and prosecute crimes, because that’s what these things are.

As we know, through Budget 2022, the government will establish the Canada financial crimes agency dedicated to investigating complex cases of a wide range of offences. It will work with law enforcement to ensure that criminals are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Her Excellency Ursula von der Leyen was welcomed by the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, by the Honourable George J. Furey, Speaker of the Senate, and by the Honourable Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons.

[Translation]