Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 194, dated January 31, 2023, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding international trade.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 195, dated January 31, 2023, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding a video released by the Minister of Transport.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 181, dated December 13, 2022, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding international aid to Russian or Belarusian organizations.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 201, dated February 2, 2023, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding Health Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 67, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding ministerial exemptions granted under COVID-19 quarantine rules — Public Health Agency of Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 67, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding ministerial exemptions granted under COVID-19 quarantine rules — Public Safety Canada.

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

Part of the preamble to your question was a quote that the Prime Minister “must have known” of the origins of the deal behind this gift, and that is an assumption you’re making and, frankly, somewhat of a smear because you don’t know what the Prime Minister was told or knew.

Indeed, as soon as the report became public, the Trudeau Foundation did the right thing and returned it. That’s what Canadians know and should understand.

As the Prime Minister has said, the minute that he took office — if not, indeed, immediately before that, but certainly since the time he’s been Prime Minister, if not before — he removed himself from any involvement with the foundation. A foundation which, I should add, has done and does important work supporting and mentoring students.

Chinese interference in our elections is an important issue. I know it is the topic that the opposition in the House and here is prosecuting vigorously. That is your right to do. That is how you see your role, and I respect your right to play that role.

However, the fact is that the attempt to focus attention on the serious issue that the government is dealing with in a serious way — to draw everything into the Laurentian elite and the Trudeau Foundation, and that the government or the Prime Minister must have known — does a disservice to the seriousness of this issue and, in my opinion, a disservice to this chamber.

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

The Government of Canada recognizes the critical importance of all well maintained airports for connecting regional communities across the country, including the Bathurst Regional Airport. These airports support essential air services, including the resupply of remote communities.

As you know, the Bathurst Regional Airport is managed by the Northern New Brunswick Airport Authority.

Over the past three years, the Government of Canada has provided significant financial support to the operator of the airport to compensate for the impact of COVID-19. This funding includes more than $2 million in financial aid for operating and capital expenditures through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Airports Capital Assistance Program and the Regional Air Transportation Initiative.

The minister met with the Bathurst airport authority to discuss the situation and he will continue to support the regional airports across Canada. He is working with the airlines and other companies to improve regional routes, because increasing the number of passengers in regional airports is vital to their survival.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) tabled the reply to Question No. 36, dated November 23, 2021, appearing on the Order Paper and Notice Paper in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett, regarding diplomat pay.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) moved second reading of Bill C-232, An Act respecting Arab Heritage Month.

He said: Honourable senators, I’m pleased to rise today as the Senate sponsor for Bill C-232, which would designate the month of April as Arab heritage month. Introduced in the other place by MP David McGuinty, the bill passed unanimously on March 28 of this year and is now here before this chamber.

Heritage months give Canadians the opportunity to celebrate their diversity and to engage in dialogue about their culture and that of others. We already celebrate several other months: Tamil, Irish, Asian, Caribbean, Italian, Portuguese, Islamic, Black, Sikh, Jewish, Indigenous, Filipino, German, Hispanic or Latin American and, of course, Women’s History Month. In the coming weeks, I hope we can all vote to add Arab heritage month to this important list.

The first Arab immigrant to arrive in Canada was Ibrahim Abu Nadir, who settled in Montreal in 1882, some 140 years ago. Since then, the Arab communities in Canada have grown to over 1 million people. They are our neighbours, friends and colleagues. They are our teachers, nurses, doctors and lawyers. We eat in their restaurants, shop in their stores, dance to their music and read their books. Simply put, we share a life together in our great country.

Colleagues, it is fitting, proper and timely that we recognize the important contributions that Canadians of Arab origin make to our country — contributions that have been and continue to be remarkable in all sectors of Canadian society. But it’s also important that we hear about their lived experience as they seek to build their lives in Canada. Recognizing April as Arab heritage month will give all Canadians the opportunity to do just that.

Many Canadians of Arab origin are very well known to Canadians even though not everyone may realize their backgrounds. Think of actor Keanu Reeves, rapper Belly, singer Zaho, comedian Rachid Badouri in my province and — and here I date myself, colleagues — pop stars Paul Anka and Andy Kim. There are politicians, such as premiers Joe and Robert Ghiz of Prince Edward Island, and the many past and current parliamentarians in both the House and here in this chamber.

There are business leaders such as Ablan Leon, who founded Leon’s furniture company in 1909, or media personality Kevin O’Leary; journalists such as Mohamed Fahmy and Nahlah Ayed, both award-winning war correspondents and authors; and, of course, Giller Prize winner and internationally acclaimed author Rawi Hage. There are athletes such as NHL veteran Nazem Kadri and Fabian Joseph, former captain of Canada’s men’s national ice hockey team and winner of two Olympic Games silver medals. The list goes on and on.

There are countless more Canadians of Arab origin whose contributions are equally impressive, but they are not as well known to the public, if indeed they are known at all. So let me take a few minutes to tell you about three people whom I have come to know and why they have made me proud to be the Senate sponsor of this bill.

Amal Elsana Alh’jooj is a graduate of McGill University with a doctorate in social work, and she’s the former executive director of McGill’s International Community Action Network. Born in an unrecognized Bedouin village in Israel’s northern Negev, Amal is a determined advocate for the rights of Bedouins in Israel, for the rights of women within Bedouin communities and an active promoter of peacebuilding between communities both here in Canada and abroad. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, Amal has been the recipient of numerous awards for her human rights work. She has resided permanently in Montreal since 2012.

I first met Amal well over 20 years ago in connection with some philanthropic work I was doing on behalf of the Montreal Jewish community. I had the privilege of being part of several groundbreaking projects that she had initiated, and our working relationship quickly blossomed into a true friendship. Amal has taught me a great deal — about courage, about perseverance and, most of all, about how one person can affect real change both at home and globally. Her work here in Canada and abroad should serve as an inspiration to all who aspire to making our country and our world a better place.

[Translation]

The second person that I want to talk about is Karim Benyekhlef, a professor at the University of Montreal’s faculty of law. Although he is not really known outside legal circles, he makes an important contribution to our country.

Karim is a world-renowned academic and innovator in the area of access to justice. In 1995, he founded the very first French online legal journal, Lex Electronica. He established the Cyberjustice Laboratory in 2010 and is currently its director. He is also leading a national and international project that seeks to put AI to work for defendants and justice system stakeholders in order to improve access to justice. Also, at the invitation of Justice Canada, he will represent Canada in the Canada-Europe dialogue on the digitalization of justice systems.

I met Karim for the first time over 30 years ago when I became a director on the board of the University of Montreal’s research centre for public law, where I spent a sabbatical year in the 1980s. I got to know him even better during the eight years he served as the director of that research centre. I was, and still am, awed by his intelligence, his productivity and, most importantly, his commitment to exploring and promoting technology to improve access to justice for Canadians.

[English]

Finally, let me tell you about Khalid Elgazzar, a Canadian lawyer, indeed an Ottawa lawyer, of Egyptian origin, whom I met when I was the Senate sponsor of Bill C-59, An Act respecting national security matters.

I was introduced to Khalid by the father of a young boy who had been placed on the no-fly list when he was a young child — not because of anything he did or any threat he posed, simply because of his name. While travelling with his father, Sulemaan, to see his beloved Montreal Canadiens play the Maple Leafs, Adam Ahmed, a young boy, was flagged as a possible security threat. He was six years old. This happened a second time four years later, on another trip to see his favourite hockey team.

Now, Adam’s father, Sulemaan, was one of the founders of the #NoFlyListKids group, which was a grassroots coalition determined to get the government to introduce changes to Canada’s Passenger Protect Program that were embodied in Bill C-59.

Khalid Elgazzar was their legal counsel and partner. For four years, he worked with them behind the scenes, pro bono, as they sought to remedy an injustice suffered by thousands and thousands of Canadian kids. Sulemaan tells me that Khalid was critical to their success in achieving their goal.

But Khalid’s commitment to help his fellow Canadians didn’t end there. He was also part of Conquer COVID-19, a grassroots initiative that succeeded in delivering more than 3 million items of personal protective equipment into the hands of front-line health workers and vulnerable communities during the very early months of the pandemic.

Although he is unknown outside his own personal and professional circle, Khalid’s commitment to social justice and to helping his fellow Canadians provides one more example of why this bill is so important.

Thus far, I have focused on a fraction of some of the many contributions made to Canada by Canadians of Arab origin, but there is another side to this story, a less flattering side and one that speaks to the individual experience of many Arab Canadians as they seek to integrate into Canadian life — a lived experience that further testifies to the importance of this bill.

All immigrants face difficulties and hardships when they arrive in a new country. Such was the case for those who came from Arab countries or the Maghreb or elsewhere. They and their children struggled against discrimination and exclusion in housing, in employment and in their day-to-day lives. But since the events of 9/11, the obstacles they face have increased, with attacks on individuals, on community centres and places of worship, a far-too-common reality for far too many.

Heritage months are primarily designed to celebrate culture, but they can serve to remind us of how easily a culture can be misrecognized and marginalized. Workable multiculturalism requires that we stay vigilant.

In my work with Ensemble pour le respect de la diversité, a not-for-profit organization in Montreal, we have, for over two decades now, been committed to combatting anti-Arab prejudice. Ensemble’s team of experienced educators works with thousands of students every year to help them understand the repercussions of these prejudices and stereotypes on our fellow citizens and to provide support to those Arab Canadians who are the victims of bullying and stereotyping in our schools.

Recognizing April as Arab heritage month will give Canadians of Arab origin a chance not only to share and to showcase their culture with us but also to raise our awareness of the struggles they continue to face as they seek to make their lives in Canada.

Colleagues, we often talk about how diversity is our strength in Canada as a country, and I believe fervently that this is so, but for this diversity to be fully appreciated, for Canada to grow even stronger, we must create opportunities to learn about others and from each other as well.

Passing this bill represents one such opportunity. As eminent Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor reminds us, the recognition of our differences is not a simple courtesy we owe people; it is a vital human need. In implementing Arab heritage month, we recognize how integral Canadians of Arab origins have become to our Canadian identity.

I would like to conclude by reading into the record a quote from my dear friend Amal, which she provided to me yesterday. I will adjust it because I was to have spoken to this yesterday.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was, she writes:

. . . Mother’s Day in the Arab world. The value of family, and especially the mother, is the foundation of Arab society. Marking April as Arab Heritage Month gives us — Arab Canadians — the opportunity to share our culture and talents with the general Canadian public, not only to learn, but also to celebrate with them.

Colleagues, as we fast approach the month of April, I ask you to join me in giving this bill speedy passage so that we may all participate in Arab heritage month this year. Thank you, colleagues.