The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, there have been consultations and there is an agreement to allow a photographer in the Senate Chamber to photograph the introduction of new senators.

Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Senator Gold: It is hard to keep repeating the same thing. Unfortunately, you leave me no choice.

Senators are appointed based on their skills and experience and based on the needs of the committee.

[English]

Senator Gold: Senator, thank you for your question. I regret that the answers have not been received yet, and I will certainly make further inquiries, as I undertook and did, in fact, do.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I have the honour to inform the Senate that the Clerk of the Senate has received certificates from the Registrar General of Canada showing that the following persons, respectively, have been summoned to the Senate:

Judy White

Paul Prosper

[Translation]

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

[English]

Senator Gold: No.

Senator Carignan: Apparently the issues don’t really affect francophones, and they don’t fundamentally affect the Atlantic provinces either. Not one of the 11 committee members comes from the four Atlantic provinces. Again, the Liberals are treating people from Atlantic Canada as second-class citizens, whereas five committee members are from Ontario. I know that during the previous rounds of committee appointments, two senators from Atlantic Canada were put forward as candidates but were rejected by the Prime Minister. Was that because those senators were Conservatives?

Senator Cordy: I am glad that we agree that it has to be a coordinated effort of all governments and all sectors of the population who have concerns, like the people that our group met with yesterday.

Housing must be built as quickly as possible to meet the needs of Canadians. There is a critical shortage of non-market housing and supportive housing. A major hurdle to building 5.8 million homes over eight years is Canada’s labour shortages.

Senator Gold, there are simply not enough skilled tradespeople to build the number of homes that we need quickly. What steps is the government taking to bolster the construction labour market in Canada?

Senator Gold: No. As I explained, the Prime Minister looked at the needs, analyzing the committee and the diversity of skills and experience required when the committee was created. He also considered the issues facing Canada and the work the committee would have to do.

The Hon. the Speaker having informed the Senate that there were senators without waiting to be introduced:

The following honourable senators were introduced; presented His Majesty’s writ of summons; took the solemn affirmation, which was administered by the Clerk of the Senate; and were seated:

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I hope that the efforts of the new president, including what you just mentioned, will have a positive impact on travellers and their experience. This is essential to the Montreal airport.

[English]

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Of course.

[English]

Senator Dagenais: Leader, the pandemic is over and people have started travelling again. Our plane tickets include airport fees for services that are grossly inadequate. Do you understand why I’m feeling skeptical today after hearing that the new president of the Montreal airport awarded a one-year contract to the former president to advise him on how to fix the problems he himself was unable to fix when he had the job? Is that a good use of the airport fees that are charged to travellers going through Montreal?

Senator Plett: The Communist Party in Beijing intimidates our fellow citizens right here on Canadian soil, including a campaign against elected members in the other place. In June, the RCMP confirmed that it opened an investigation into Beijing’s threats against Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family. Yet, just a few weeks later, the Trudeau government thought it was perfectly fine for Minister Guilbeault to take part in this organization, all the while inflicting terrible financial pain on Canadian families through the Prime Minister’s two carbon taxes.

Will the Prime Minister take Beijing’s interference seriously, leader, and order Minister Guilbeault to withdraw from this organization, stop sending the CCP money from Canadian taxpayers and axe the tax on Canadians?

Senator Gold: In an attempt to be brief, let me simply say that your assertions and assumptions about the reasons for the Prime Minister’s decisions are incorrect, nor is it correct to assume that nothing has been or is being done to investigate the serious allegations of foreign interference.

The Prime Minister made his choice for NSICOP based upon the needs of the committee at the time as he saw fit.

Senator Simons: According to Little Red River chief, Chief Conroy Sewepagaham, their federal allocation is $1.1 million per year — a number that hasn’t gone up since 1997. The community of Fox Lake, with almost 3,800 people, has no doctor; they have four nurses and two paramedics. The community also needs federal support to build a bridge and to expand its airstrip. After this immediate crisis is over, will your government commit to meeting with the Little Red River Cree Nation and to addressing the long-term health and infrastructure needs of Fox Lake?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I have the honour to inform the Senate that the Clerk of the Senate has received certificates from the Registrar General of Canada showing that the following persons, respectively, have been summoned to the Senate:

Judy White

Paul Prosper

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. As the Minister of Immigration has remarked in the past months, the government is hoping to attract increasing numbers of skilled immigrant people who can, in fact, contribute to make up the shortfall in our skilled labour force in this particular area. Indeed, there is a labour shortage in many sectors.

It is a challenging and delicate balancing act when all the factors need to be combined in a rational, prudent and sensible policy. The government is committed to doing its part to meet that need.

Hon. Judy A. White, of St. George’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, introduced between Hon. Marc Gold, P.C., and Hon. Michèle Audette.

Senator Housakos: I do not need you to disclose what conversations you have or do not have with the PMO, but at least you can remind them to respect the parliamentary rules and the procedures in this chamber and the fact that there is an opposition party that has a role to play in the Senate.

Senator Gold, part of your job in this newly independent Senate is to provide answers on behalf of the government. You are supposedly non-affiliated. If we give you until Thursday this week, two days, I think that this is more than enough time to go back to the Prime Minister’s Office and tell the Prime Minister that it is unacceptable to exclude the official opposition from NSICOP. In the spirit of independence and of respecting Parliament, as I said earlier in my first question, would you commit to doing that in order to bring back some credibility to this institution and allow it to do its role when it comes to oversight?