Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

On Motion No. 128 by the Honourable Marty Klyne:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order or usual practice, and without affecting progress in relation to Bill S-241, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (great apes, elephants and certain other animals), the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs be authorized to examine and report on legal and constitutional aspects of the subject matter of Bill S-241; and

That, for greater certainty, if Bill S-241:

1.has been referred to a committee before the adoption of this motion, the adoption of this motion have no effect on that referral; and

2.is referred to a committee after the adoption of this motion, that referral have no effect on the study on legal and constitutional aspects of the subject matter of the bill as authorized by this motion.

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

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): My question is again for the Trudeau leader in the Senate.

Leader, yesterday, you indicated that my questions about the made-up rapporteur and his report were not based in fact or truth. You might not like what I’m saying, but I’m laying out facts. It is a fact that the rapporteur admitted he didn’t have the information that CSIS has provided to Erin O’Toole. It is a fact that the rapporteur’s report doesn’t mention the Trudeau Foundation at all. It is a fact that his report also doesn’t mention Beijing’s police stations in our country. Leader, it is also a fact that diaspora groups that have endured Beijing’s interference came here yesterday to plead for a public inquiry.

Which of those facts do you dispute, leader?

Hon. Leo Housakos: My question is for the government leader. My question has to do with Justin Trudeau and his government’s monetary policy, or, should I say, their lack thereof.

As the Trudeau government has been spending like drunken sailors, their achievements have been record-high deficits, record-high debt and we now see record-high interest rates that Canadians haven’t seen or felt in over two decades. Canadians are paying a heavy price for these bad policies. They’re hurting. We see it; we feel it.

My question is simple: Why is it that Prime Minister Trudeau and his government don’t hear them and see them? Why is it that you got up on this floor yesterday and took pride for these economic records rather than accept shame and defeat for them? My question is really this: How come?

Hon. Marty Klyne: Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order or usual practice, if Bill S-241, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (great apes, elephants and certain other animals), is adopted at second reading:

1.it stand referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs;

2.both the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources be authorized to examine and report on the subject matter of the bill; and

3.the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs be authorized to take into account any public documents and public evidence received by either of the committees authorized to study the subject matter of the bill, as well as any report from either of those committees to the Senate on the subject matter of the bill, during its consideration of the bill.

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

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

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Senate acknowledge that Russian political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza — recipient of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, a Senior Fellow of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and a friend of the Parliament of Canada — is an internationally recognized champion for human rights and democracy, whose wrongful imprisonment for dissenting against the unjust war in Ukraine is emblematic of thousands of political prisoners in Russia and around the world; and

That the Senate resolve to bestow the title “honorary Canadian citizen” on Vladimir Kara-Murza and call for his immediate release.

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

It’s the position of the government that the investments it makes, including the debt that is accrued to our national debt, were necessary, prudent and responsible in order to assist Canadians during this difficult and challenging time.

It is also the position of the government — and the facts are the facts — that its stewardship of the economy through the last many years is the envy of the Western world. Our position and our economic growth is the strongest in the G7. Our employment rates are higher than in pre-pandemic years. Inflation has been brought under control, and indeed, if the Bank of Canada raised interest rates — which have an impact on the day-to-day lives of Canadians, to be sure — it is in the service of bringing inflation down, which hurts and cripples all of us in the long term.

The unemployment rate is near its record low. The labour participation of women aged 25 to 54 reached a record high earlier this year.

The economy is in good shape thanks to businesses, workers, the provinces and territories and the contribution of the federal government, which can take some measure of credit for the responsible way in which it has managed our economy, along with all other sectors of the country.

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

Hon. Renée Dupuis: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. In recent years, women’s health research has shown that there are gaps in our knowledge about how diseases affect women. Some of these gaps in our understanding are a direct result of the fact that medical research has been conducted only on male animals and men.

The fact is, women have long been systematically excluded from studies for a variety of reasons, including convenience and prejudice. This shortcoming manifests itself in different ways, including gaps in the ability to recognize women’s symptoms, gaps in the treatments women receive, gaps in clinical management, and the risk of re-hospitalization for women aged 55 and under, which is almost double that of men the same age.

Medical circles now recognize the importance of parity in research. In their view, there is no reason to adopt a male-centric standard for heart attack symptoms, for example. Such a standard is unjustified and biased. We now know that both women and men are at risk of cardiovascular disease. Until very recently, it was thought that only men were at risk, because research focused exclusively on men, and some research found that women with cardiovascular disorders had atypical symptoms compared with men.

It is becoming increasingly clear that women and men are equally at risk of such diseases, but we’re only just beginning to recognize how symptoms present in women, because research is finally being done by and with women.

We know that health research and health care are heavily subsidized by public funds. Can you confirm that all federal health research agencies and programs now require that research on diseases not specific to men or women include both women and men in their studies?

Hon. Mary Coyle: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, today, June 8, is World Ocean Day, a day when people around the world rally to protect and restore our shared oceans and to ensure a stable climate. Canada has 162,000 kilometres of Arctic Ocean coastline, with sea ice across three territories and four provinces, much of it in Indigenous territory.

Yesterday, the CBC reported that according to new scientific research, the Arctic Ocean is predicted to be free of summer ice potentially as early as 2030, depending on global emissions — a full decade earlier than previous estimates. This big melt would significantly impact Arctic communities by damaging infrastructure built on increasingly unstable permafrost, and it would threaten the way of life of Arctic residents.

Ice-free summers would be devastating for the fragile ecosystems that depend on sea ice, from algae to polar bears. Canada is an Arctic nation, and the Arctic is the earth’s air conditioner, with Arctic ice and snow reflecting back 80% of the sun’s radiation. Ice-free summers in the Arctic Ocean will lead to more extreme weather events in the rest of Canada and certainly well beyond.

Senator Gold, what plans does the Canadian government have in place to respond to the multiple and serious implications of the loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for raising this important question. The melting of Arctic ice at an accelerated pace is a preoccupation for all the reasons you mentioned, and they go beyond that, including the challenges for those who rely on the hunting and gathering their food — during my visit to the North a few years ago, that was evident even then — the search and rescue that follows all of that and, indeed, to our sovereignty. The government has taken action with regard to the health of our oceans, and I could — there’s much to say there.

With respect to the particular question, as there is less and less ice in the Arctic, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans along with the Canadian Coast Guard have expanded our presence and capabilities in the short-term to defend our sovereignty, defend the communities that are affected, respond to the increasing risks of climate-based disasters and are working in the scientific community to address and to continue to further address how to mitigate the effects of this seemingly, for the moment, irreversible and dangerous trend.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I thank the honourable senator for her question. It is clear that women face unique challenges when it comes to being research subjects with a view to improving clinical outcomes in areas such as ovarian and uterine cancer, sexual and genetic health, gender violence and health during pregnancy.

The new National Women’s Health Research Initiative launched in October 2022 will advance a coordinated research program that addresses under-researched and high-priority areas. This investment will drive research to enhance health outcomes and eliminate gaps in access to care. I will bring your specific question to the attention of the ministers responsible.

Hon. Brian Francis: My question is for the representative of the government in the Senate.

The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island passed a unanimous motion in May 2022 urging the federal government to rename the Confederation Bridge to Epekwitk Crossing. This change would correct a clear error made in the late 1990s that resulted in the current name being chosen rather than the proposed one that recognizes and celebrates the presence of the Mi’kmaq who have lived on these lands since time immemorial and continue to do so.

Senator Gold, could you please inform this chamber whether the federal government plans to rename the Confederation Bridge to Epekwitk Crossing? If yes, what progress has been made in the last year? When can we expect a name change to happen? If not, why?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The Government of Canada makes its decisions based on the needs of our Armed Forces and our priorities in that area. It will continue to make its decisions for the good of the communities served and Canada.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, two years ago, before the Trudeau government used a made-up rapporteur to cover up what it knew about Beijing’s interference in our elections, it was busy hiding the truth about a security breach at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

First, the Prime Minister said that asking questions about this was racist. Then his government defied four House orders to produce uncensored documents. Next, he sued the Speaker of the House to keep the documents hidden. Now the Trudeau government has hired three former judges to oversee the work of an ad hoc group of four MPs viewing the documents.

Leader, a parliamentary committee should be doing this work. No respect for Parliament, no leadership, no common sense, no transparency and no accountability — why is it always the same story with the Trudeau government, leader?

Hon. Claude Carignan: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Leader, the Government of Canada is preparing to replace 14 CP-140 Aurora aircraft, surveillance planes that are used by the Royal Canadian Air Force to patrol Canada’s coastlines.

Under the army’s procurement system, which is known for being ineffective, the Government of Canada seems to have decided or wants to grant this $9-billion contract directly to aerospace company Boeing, not to name names, rather than hold an open bidding process under which a Canadian consortium, Bombardier and General Dynamics, could make a bid and provide equivalent equipment.

That does not make any sense because usually the government would award a direct contract to favour a Canadian company, but in this case, it is awarding a direct contract that will negatively impact a Canadian company.

Can the Leader of the Government explain what this government is thinking?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. I will bring this to the attention of the appropriate minister and endeavour to have an answer back as quickly as I can.

[Translation]

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: I’m going to try this question again today. My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, I understand that the government has confirmed that there is a drafting error in Bill C-13, which is currently before the Senate’s Official Languages Committee. This appears not to be a minor grammatical or typographical error. I understand that the error is the exclusion of a coordinating amendment that would ensure that former and potential employees outside of Quebec would still be able to file complaints under subsections 18(1.1) and (1.2) of the use of French in federally regulated private businesses act. By fixing this error, the Senate could protect minorities by ensuring that francophones outside of Quebec have the same rights as those who live in Quebec.

As the Government Representative in the Senate, I’d like to ask you this: Are you aware of this error? Have you informed the committee of this error and how it might be fixed?