Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. I regret that the answer that was provided didn’t answer that. I’ll certainly follow up and endeavour to find out why and what the answer might be.

Hon. René Cormier: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the ParlAmericas concerning the Nineteenth Plenary Assembly and Fourteenth Gathering of ParlAmericas’ Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality, held in Bogotá, Colombia, from November 30 to December 2, 2022.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I think the answers to both questions are already in the public domain. However, the important point to make in response to your question — and, again, to this troubling incident, especially for the families who were so tragically affected — is that it is neither the law nor the practice, nor should it be, that ministers direct Correctional Service Canada with regard to whether they transfer inmates from one facility to another or the inverse. As the minister said, he asked for a review, which is the appropriate limit of political involvement in these matters.

With regard to the challenges that have been acknowledged with the transmission of information, the minister has addressed that internally.

Hon. Michael L. MacDonald: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group concerning the Annual Meeting of the Council of State Governments (CSG) Western Legislative Conference, held in Boise, Idaho, United States of America, from July 19 to 22, 2022.

Hon. Michael L. MacDonald: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group concerning the Congressional Visit, held in Washington, D.C., United States of America, from September 12 to 15, 2022.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Senator Marshall, if you can’t figure it out, I may have some difficulty.

The important point to underline here with regard to the numbers to which you referred is that this arrangement with Volkswagen and the monies that the government has agreed to provide are tied to the performance of that factory — the degree to which and the timing with which that production comes online.

In that regard, it may well be that, first, the amount of the funds is not necessarily fully known, which might explain that.

I’ll certainly bring your question to the attention of the minister.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, and thank you to our other colleagues who are tirelessly advocating on behalf of those in our country who are most in need.

The government has certainly heard and takes seriously the concern about possible clawbacks in these various areas.

I can assure my colleagues in this chamber that the government remains committed to working closely with the provinces and territories to harmonize the benefit, in this case the disability benefit, and to ensure that Canadians receive the assistance that they need. In that regard, I look forward, as we all do, to the debate on the message of Bill C-22, which I hope we will adopt today so that the Canada disability benefit can finally come into existence.

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Senator Gold, the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s recent fiscal analysis of Canada’s support for Volkswagen’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant estimated the government’s financial commitment to be $16.3 billion over the term of the agreement. This is for one plant that is being built on today’s technology, based on yesterday’s science. Who knows what the scientific and resultant technological advances will bring us to in 2027, when it is projected to be online?

This is the same government that cannot seem to find investments to bring trainees, who are the scientists that will create the economy of tomorrow, up to a living wage today. These are young people whose innovative minds drive the research, development and economic growth of Canada’s future. Without continued investigatory research, such manufacturing plants will become stagnant and redundant as quickly as our best and brightest head elsewhere.

Senator Gold, will the government commit to increasing the number and value of grants and fellowships programs through the Tri-Council for students in the fall economic update?

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: My question is also for Senator Gold. My question relates to transparency, Senator Gold, because you and the government are always reminding us how transparent the government is.

Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released his report on government support for the Volkswagen battery plant. He said that the agreement is going to cost around $16 billion over the life of the agreement, but the government says it’s going to cost around $13 billion, so I’ll work with the $13-billion figure.

The government has already said that the cost of the agreement has been fully accounted for, but I can’t find it in the government’s fiscal projections. I specifically asked the Parliamentary Budget Officer if he could tell me exactly where that money is, because $13 billion is a lot of money, and he couldn’t tell me.

I know that in the government’s fiscal projections, there are a lot of big numbers floating around with no details provided. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said there’s not enough information. He said you’ll never figure it out.

My question to you is this: Where in the fiscal projections are the $13 billion?

Hon. Kim Pate: My question is for the Government Representative. Senator Gold, The Globe and Mail recently exposed the existence of internal government memoranda revealing that, last winter, the CRA resumed a practice of clawing back vitally needed benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit from low-income Canadians.

The government did so with little notice while housing and food costs skyrocketed and while knowing that this would result in financial hardship.

Revelations such as these heighten the skepticism of many, especially in the current context where the government says they will try to negotiate no clawbacks of the Canada disability benefit.

What commitment can you offer persons in poverty who receive benefits from the government now, whether it be the CERB — the Canada Emergency Response Benefit — the Canada Child Benefit, the Guaranteed Income Supplement or, in the future, the Canada disability benefit, that other forms of such guaranteed livable income will be received by the people who deserve them and are eligible for them and that they will receive every penny of the benefit regardless of the threat from federal, provincial and territorial governments, insurance companies or other clawbacks?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for that question. Thank you for bringing to our attention the important role played by the Tri-Agency, which comprises the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the SSHRC, or Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

The government remains committed to supporting Canadian researchers and scientists and the government, as I have said before in this chamber, recognizes the central role that our graduate students, our doctoral students and the post-doctoral community play within our research ecosystem. That’s why, in October 2022, the government launched the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System to provide independent expert advice on the structure and governance of the federal system that supports such research and talent.

In March, Minister Champagne and Minister Duclos released the panel’s report with its finding and recommendations. I understand the government has been carefully reviewing this advice with a view to further supporting our researchers and talent. However, before we look to the fall economic update to which you referred, colleague, I certainly look forward to this chamber’s third reading of what I hope will be its swift adoption of Bill C-47, the budget implementation act, 2023, No. 1.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Senator Gold, Canadian North and First Air proposed to merge in 2018 so that they could provide more efficient cost-effective service to their customers — as they have said — but the proposed merger would create a monopoly service provider in most of Nunavut. In June 2019, the merger was approved by the Minister of Transport and the Competition Bureau Canada — but with conditions — to ensure that the monopoly the merger would create in most of Nunavut would not allow for exploitation of cargo and passengers.

Despite strict conditions being placed on the merger, a press release — which was released late in the afternoon on Friday, April 21 of this year — from the Minister of Transport’s office announced that the merger conditions had been lifted, and that Canadian North would be allowed to increase passenger fares and cargo rates up to 25% each year, providing they did not make an overall profit of more than 10% each year.

Canadian North was also allowed by the minister to reduce frequency to as low as one flight per week to communities where passenger loads did not reach 85% over six months. This has caused huge concern from smaller, isolated communities, as well as amongst the travelling public and businesses who rely on cargo to deliver supplies and export their products.

Senator Gold, was the Competition Bureau Canada involved in the lifting of the merger conditions, considering they were involved when the conditions to protect consumers were established? If not, why not?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and thank you for highlighting the importance of this proposed Atlantic Loop, which could revolutionize the life and the economy of everyone in Atlantic Canada by ensuring that their dependence on coal is replaced with cleaner energy.

I don’t have the details on the negotiations and the discussions that are under way, but I will make an effort to obtain more information on this.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Senator, thank you for your question and for, again, reminding this chamber of the challenges that communities in the North face, in this case with transportation and the costs associated with that.

I will certainly make inquiries with regard to your question, and I hope to have an answer soon.

Senator D. Patterson: Thank you. Senator Gold, the only check on the staggering 25% increase — potentially per year — in passenger fares and cargo rates is that the Minister of Transport will review the airline’s financial statements every quarter and pay for an independent audit in order to ensure the monopoly does not make an overall profit of more than 10% each year.

Will the Minister of Transport provide a compliance report on the independent audits to advise the public whether Canadian North has met the criteria for profit, passenger fares and cargo rates?

Hon. Amina Gerba: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, in my former life as an entrepreneur, I saw just how long it took to process visa applications and how many of those applications were denied. As a result, we have missed out on the participation of many Africans in our cultural and economic events.

This situation has been going on for decades and is only getting worse. Recently released figures indicate that a person from Senegal or Gabon who wishes to come to Canada must wait 320 days for an answer they cannot appeal, whereas an Indonesian visa applicant must wait only 11 days for a response.

Senator Gold, why the disparity in processing times, and what is the government doing to change this discriminatory policy, which is having a negative impact on our international events, particularly in Montreal?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, colleague, for raising this issue. Generally speaking, the government takes all necessary steps to reduce backlogs in the short term while making our system more sustainable in the long term.

Senator, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada recognized, and I quote, “the presence of racism in Canada and within [its] own organization.”

The department is taking measures geared at achieving racial equity. I have been assured that each case is assessed on its merits fairly and in accordance with Canadian laws. The government has clearly indicated that all applications must be treated impartially and professionally.

Hon. Percy Mockler: Leader of the Government in the Senate, the federal government has been talking about the Atlantic Loop for many years now. This morning, one of the great Canadian journalists, Adam Youris, reported that Prime Minister Trudeau was in Nova Scotia on the weekend to participate in the Atlantic Economic Forum. The Prime Minister took the opportunity to talk about the Atlantic Loop project, which will have a significant impact, especially on the Atlantic provinces. We’re talking about a multi-billion-dollar project that would make Atlantic Canada a clean energy powerhouse.

Could the government leader give us an update on the proposed project? What options have been put on the table in order to carry out this project that is vital to all of the Atlantic provinces?

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: My question is to Senator Gold, please. It relates to the follow-up to Bill C-65.

In 2008, Canada committed to addressing the pervasive problem of workplace violence and harassment by enacting Bill C-65 with new reporting requirements in the Canada Labour Code, such as tracking occurrences of sexual violence, discrimination and harassment in federally regulated workplaces, including in this place for the first time.

Given the dearth of Canadian data on workplace harassment and violence and the severe effects on the affected workers, who are disproportionately women, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities and gender-diverse people, this new law promised to shine a light on the nature and prevalence by requiring federal employers to submit annual reports to the minister and by committing the Minister of Labour to table annual reports in both houses of Parliament, summarizing the information submitted by employers. However, annual employer monitoring and reporting was delayed nearly three years after Bill C-65 became law.

As the five-year anniversary approaches since the bill came into force, and two employer reporting cycles have now come and gone, Canadians have yet to see the publication of any report by the Minister of Labour on the results of monitoring efforts so essential for strengthening harassment and violence prevention efforts and holding perpetrators accountable.

Senator Gold, why has the government delayed addressing the prevalence of federal workplace harassment and violence, in particular, sexual misconduct? When can Canadians expect to see the Minister of Labour’s overdue reports? Will the minister’s reports note if non-disclosure agreements have been secretly used to settle sexual misconduct complaints?

Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, pursuant to rule 4-13(3), I would like to inform the Senate that as we proceed with Government Business, the Senate will address the items in the following order: consideration of Motion No. 1, followed by consideration of the message from the House of Commons concerning Bill C-22, followed by second reading of Bill C-51, followed by third reading of Bill C-47, followed by consideration of Motion No. 110, followed by all remaining items in the order that they appear on the Order Paper.

[Translation]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson:

That the following Address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada:

To Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:

We, Her Majesty’s most loyal and dutiful subjects, the Senate of Canada in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious Speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for highlighting the important issue of ensuring that those workplaces within the federal jurisdiction are safe, secure, healthy places for all who work there.

I will make inquiries with respect to your specific questions and hope to have an answer as quickly as possible.