Senator Gold: The answer to your question is that I stand here quite proudly and in good conscience, representing this government. I also stand proudly and privileged to remind the senator that to describe, as you and your leader have done, the former Governor General’s mandate as a “fake job” is something that is once again disrespectful to the institution.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question and for the passionate way in which you asked it.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I’m not able to answer that question directly, because there is a process that is in place for recommending to the Prime Minister names from which he will recommend to the Governor General appointments to the Senate. The Prime Minister has, since becoming Prime Minister, appointed a significant number of Indigenous senators to our Senate, which has enriched the work that we do together. I have every confidence that it will continue to be an important element in the decision making that is applied to the appointment of new senators.

Senator Gold: I’m in the Senate of Canada. I am the Government Representative in the Senate. And that was your question.

Your commentary about respect for this institution, or all of your allegations, fundamentally misrepresents the comments that I have made time and time again. When you show disrespect, whether for the former Governor General, when you attribute motives to the Prime Minister or otherwise in the form of your questions, it simply does not do justice to the seriousness of the issues which you raise. I’ve said this time and time again, and I’ll say it again, colleagues. I respect the role of the opposition. I respect the legitimacy of the questions that you ask, but the way in which you ask the questions, the disrespect you show for the 68 senators who were named under a transparent, merit-based process, which you called a fake process and a fake rapporteur — that is what I find objectionable, and I believe that Canadians find it objectionable as well.

Senator Gold: In my tradition, we are accused of answering questions with questions. So I will answer your question, but I will first pose my question.

We are talking about respect. The Honourable Leader of the Opposition in the other place declined an invitation to meet with the Honourable David Johnston, the Special Rapporteur. He declined to meet with him, notwithstanding the fact that the other leaders of the opposition, who have also called for a public inquiry, did meet with him.

To me, that perhaps answers the question of respect, colleagues.

With regard to the rest of your questions, the actual content of which escapes me, the fact remains that the Prime Minister of Canada eagerly awaits the advice of the Honourable David Johnston, and actions will be taken accordingly.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Thank you. I will certainly bring that to the attention of the minister.

Senator Gold: The ArriveCAN app was put in place to protect Canadians and to protect our health and our communities, and that is why it was done, and that’s my answer.

Senator Gold: The government continues to work seriously to attain these targets. It does so in a responsible way and it has been transparent with Canadians. Market circumstances have changed. Happily and fortunately, inflation has stabilized and has come down from many months. There was a slight uptick, as we know, 0.1%, I believe. Let’s hope that the trend nonetheless continues so that we can return to a proper target level of inflation, and that’s in no small measure due to responsible management of the economy.

In that regard, as interest rates come down and the cost of money comes down, mortgage rates, we hope, will come down as well. The government is doing its part and will continue to do its part.

Senator Gold: With respect, I understand that this is a serious issue.

I appreciate your passion, because this is an important issue. Unfortunately, the facts are the facts. The government’s means of intervening are limited. They are not unlimited, even when it comes to the environment. It is a shared jurisdiction. The fact that there is an Indigenous community involved does not in any way diminish the responsibility of the Sûreté du Québec and the Province of Quebec to maintain law and order and to enforce the law, in a general sense, in communities like Kanesatake.

This does not give the federal government unlimited authority to intervene. Furthermore, this is to say nothing of the dangers to public safety in the event of any heavy-handed intervention that is not well planned with the appropriate authorities, including the community’s band council.

[English]

Senator Gold: I will do my best. Thank you.

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

The Special Rapporteur, the Honourable David Johnston, has been seized with an important task, which is to advise the Prime Minister as to the appropriate and prudent way to continue getting to the bottom of these allegations of foreign interference.

I find it difficult to refrain from —

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, Senator Downe, for raising this issue and bringing it to my attention. I will certainly bring this issue to the attention of the relevant minister.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Minister Miller went on the radio at about 8:15 this morning to further explain the issues and the complexity of this situation.

In terms of this unacceptable and intolerable situation, the federal government’s means for intervening are not unlimited — quite the contrary. The Province of Quebec has a great deal of responsibility here, particularly regarding law and order. It is a well-known fact that there are governance issues within the community in question, as residents are all too aware.

In addition, all levels of government are working together to find a solution, including the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada and the Kanesatake band council. This is an intolerable situation, of course, but the solutions are not obvious and an effort is being made. Unfortunately, this is a tragedy for the residents; the solutions are not obvious in the short term.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. I think all of us eagerly await the arrival of new colleagues to join us.

The government continues to work to ensure that appointments to the Senate are made through an open, transparent and merit‑based process. Indeed, this government has appointed to the Senate 68 eminent Canadians of diverse and distinguished backgrounds.

I have been advised, as we all have been, that more appointments are forthcoming. However, I don’t have any more information that I can share at this juncture. We’re all crossing our fingers and looking forward to welcoming new colleagues as soon as possible.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to the question, but I appreciate you raising it and I appreciate, at least, the tone with which you asked the question, if not the preamble.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question, senator. It’s my understanding that there is an investigation under way. I’m not able to comment on the details of the investigation, nor do I know its progress, but I have been advised that Transport Canada has undertaken an investigation of this matter and I will certainly follow up with the minister to bring these concerns to him.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for underlining the ongoing challenges that Canadians are facing to secure affordable housing in the areas where they want to live.

The Government of Canada is doing its part. I won’t repeat what I’ve said many times in this chamber, but there have been serious investments and programs put in place on the federal side to assist and create incentives — top-ups to the Canada Housing Benefit, the Housing Accelerator Fund and so on. But, colleagues, as we know, the supply of housing is not exclusively a federal matter. It engages not only the provinces and territories but municipalities and their zoning and the private sector, of course, to say nothing of capital markets and the market more generally. The Government of Canada is doing its part, as many provinces, territories and municipalities are doing, in the hope and expectation that the housing crisis will abate and Canadians can find housing fit for their purposes.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I answered it.