Senator Gold: It is serious, and I told you the truth. I do not have that information.

[English]

Senator Gold: I am going to really try to show you the respect that I think we all deserve in this place, Senator Batters. I did not declare a membership in the Liberal Party because I was not a member of the Liberal Party. I am not a member of the Liberal Party.

I’m going to be very careful here. Your insistence on reading the Rules of the Senate independent of any principle of interpretation and independent of any sensibility that it is not simply the black-letter rules but what lies behind them, including the Parliament of Canada Act and our conventions and practices here, is surprising for someone with a legal background. You know better. The Rules of the Senate have to be, have been and will continue to be interpreted in light of the basic principles that define how we interpret normative texts, not only laws and not only rules of Parliament, but even literary texts. This is Law School 101.

Now, we’re in a political institution and we’re in a partisan environment, as you have celebrated, but it doesn’t change the facts. You asked me a question, and I’ve answered it. If you ask me again tomorrow, you’re going to get the same answer.

Senator Gold: Well, many of the premises, assumptions and assertions in your question are simply false, and I am not going to take the time to catalogue them.

The process of appointing senators — and the senators that were appointed according to that process — is a fair, open and transparent one. It has provided a diversity of views, backgrounds, expertise and perspectives unparalleled in the history of this Senate. If it is true that we are still embarked upon a slow and sometimes painful progress towards a more effective, efficient and less partisan Senate, it is not because of the imputations you made yesterday and again today of interference in this Senate by the government or the Prime Minister’s Office, whether it’s with regard to Speaker’s rulings and interpretation of the Rules.

Let us be clear. You are entitled, and I respect the position of the opposition. You know I do, and I said so publicly long before I took this position. I also respect facts, and I respect the fact — and these are facts on the ground — that we are serving Canadians well in this Senate, and it is thanks in no small measure to the devotion of the people sitting here, regardless of who appointed them.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: You failed in your effort to overturn. The fact that you continued to return to it both yesterday and now in the question, in my opinion, shows disrespect to the office of the Speaker, to the individual — I’m talking about you; I’m talking about this continual return to an issue — I’m sorry that you lost your vote. My heart is breaking. The fact is, the interpretation was correct. I will answer your question if you’ll allow me to continue.

I consider that this line of questioning, the insinuations that you have made and that continue to percolate beneath the surface are disrespectful to the office of the Speaker and, indeed, to the person of the Speaker and to this institution, and I think it is an example of public discourse that breeds delegitimization of our important institutions. Apart from the fact of having spent an entire career and life interpreting legal text, studying writing and teaching the subject, I can tell you that the interpretation the Speaker gave was correct.

Having said that, I will answer your question. I am not a member of the Liberal Party. I represent the government in this place. That has been my role and my predecessor’s role, which he and I were and are privileged to do, and that’s the end of it. It’s a simple matter of fact. You can say whatever you want. You can impugn the independence of our colleagues in this chamber because of who appointed them or how they vote. I’m not impugning your integrity, colleagues. You’ve asked a question, and I’ve answered it. I’m not a member of the Liberal Party, neither is Senator Gagné or Senator LaBoucane-Benson. We represent the government in the Senate. It’s a big job, and we are proud to do it.

Senator Gold: Senator Carignan, I must admit I was rather puzzled to see you proudly brag about never having used the closure motion on messages from the House of Commons during your term as leader of the government in the Senate. However, I understand that your term, which ran from 2013 to 2015, coincided with that of a majority Conservative government in both houses of Parliament.

Am I also to understand — and please correct me if I am wrong — that only one of the 61 government bills passed during that time was amended by the Senate? In comparison, one third of bills were amended during Prime Minister Trudeau’s majority government. Can you confirm how many messages the Senate received during your term on government bills that were introduced in the House of Commons and then amended by the Senate, against the will of the government?

Senator Gold: That is a good question. Thank you for asking it.

As you know, temporary foreign workers play an essential role in the Quebec and Canadian economy. Employers are having a hard time meeting their labour needs and the availability of temporary foreign workers is an important issue for Quebec, where the unemployment rate was 4.2% in March.

The government is implementing a pilot project in Quebec for temporary foreign workers. The purpose of the project is to ensure that intermediate-skilled jobs are included in the facilitated process. The government also signed a new agreement with Quebec to allow key sectors to welcome more temporary foreign workers without displacing local workers.

That is an example of strong collaboration that can help us build the workforce we need and then ensure that foreign workers are able to find a new life with us here in Canada.

[English]

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I don’t know what the status is of the considerations around these issues. The sanctions regime that has been put in place has been used effectively by this government in a number of settings, as you know and as I’ve reported in previous Question Periods. It is a process that is informed by input from various instances, security agencies and others. I’ll make inquiries, senator, and try to get an answer as quickly as I can.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) introduced Bill S-12, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act.

(Bill read first time.)

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you very much for the question. It’s always a timely one — no less so today for reasons we all heard.

The government is deeply committed to addressing the issues and working to eradicate gender-based violence in Canada — focused very much on the safety of vulnerable women. As we know — in the course of the pandemic as well as after — in a series of budgets, the government provided hundreds of millions of dollars of additional funding to support women’s shelters because, tragically — predictably perhaps, but tragically — the isolation and the forced isolation had devastating effects on those who were living at risk in their homes.

The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the historic investments in Budget 2022 of over $530 million are key to support that work. I’m advised that Minister Ien is at the table actively in negotiations with provincial and territorial counterparts as a key step in implementing this plan. And if I can just say, personally, my dear wife Nancy has long been involved in a women’s shelter in Montreal. It touches all of our lives in so many different ways. The government is doing its part, as much as it can, with provinces and territories and the private sector, frankly, to support this important work.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I have been saying for three and a half years that I am proud to be the Government Representative in the Senate — that is, although I was named as government leader because that’s what the Parliament of Canada Act required at the time, I was asked by the Prime Minister to style myself as representative of the government. If this is news to you, honourable colleagues, I am glad to clear that up.

To your question: Neither the Prime Minister nor the Prime Minister’s staff participated in the meeting to which you were alluding in your reference to La Presse. The Prime Minister had no such knowledge of this meeting. It took place in a public service building, as you know. I’m sure you have been in the Langevin Block in your days when your party was in government. You know very well how vast and multi-purpose that building is.

In fact, according to research undertaken by La Presse, the Prime Minister’s schedule for that day — April 11 — contained no reference to this round table. Again, this is an example where the allegations just simply do not hold up.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Unfortunately, I do not have that information.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I will answer your question, Senator Batters. I will answer your question. But I’m also first going to say what has kept me very preoccupied since yesterday. Our Speaker made a ruling. You had the right to challenge the ruling. I’m looking at you collectively.

Senator Plett: So did you.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. The mistreatment and abuse of temporary foreign workers is completely unacceptable, period. Everyone deserves to work in a safe and healthy workplace with dignity. That is why the Government of Canada requires all employers to provide all temporary foreign workers with information about their rights in Canada. It prohibits employers from retaliating against workers and it prohibits employers from charging workers recruitment fees.

The Government of Canada has committed to strengthening these integrity measures to ensure that temporary foreign workers work in a safe and decent environment.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Senator, thank you for raising this. It’s a serious and tragic issue, and I don’t know what the government’s current plans are around the sanctions in this area. I’ll have to make inquiries and get an answer as best as I can.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you. I don’t have a full answer for you, senator, because I’m not aware of the circumstances surrounding the sale, the subsidiary and the offshore company. I don’t want to pretend that I could unravel that without knowing more.

I will say, though — as you properly pointed out — the government has, with its allies, imposed sanctions on the regime and on officials who are responsible for the arms trade, facilitating arms and the like, and more recently — or at least subsequently — announced additional sanctions on individuals, but also including a new prohibition on the export, sale, supply and shipment of aviation fuel, which fuels the Myanmar military regime. That signals to me that the government is aware of the importance of cutting off the oil — in this case, the fuel — that fuels the military power of this regime.

I’ll make inquiries with regard to your question and try to get an answer as quickly as I can.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Would Senator Carignan take a question?