Senator Woo: This is about a budget of the Senate. It is not an issue about the government’s management of the Senate. The government has no role in the management of the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration or our institution, and the honourable senator is abusing his privilege by speaking on irrelevant matters.

Senator Woo: Well, I’ve made my point that Senator Housakos is speaking about matters that are irrelevant to the matter at hand. The government, whom he has a right to criticize, does not play a role in the establishment of our budget. It does not play a role in directing the Internal Economy Committee. These points he has raised are perhaps suitable for a pulpit elsewhere and for the base that he wants to appeal to, but they are not becoming of this chamber and they are not becoming of the sorts of discussion we should be having — that is, legitimate discussion on the matter at hand — which is the budget for this institution.

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: I’m happy to oblige, Senator Bellemare. Thank you for your speech.

To what extent would you make the deliberations of this proposed monetary policy committee public, particularly the minutes of their meetings and the detailed discussions that reveal the thinking of the members? As you know, in the Federal Reserve System there’s always a lot of speculation about the different governors of the Federal Reserve System and the positions they take. I’m not sure how beneficial that is and how much more transparent that makes the American system. What is your proposal for this approach that you’re suggesting?

Senator Bellemare: Thank you for the question, senator.

[Translation]

I’ll answer in French if I may.

I’m not sure the monetary policy committee should be televised, but it will produce a report, just like the one in New Zealand. I really like the New Zealand committee’s report, because it specifies who said what, which makes the outcome of the vote clearer.

In Western Canada, the C.D. Howe Institute created its own version of a monetary policy committee consisting of about 12 experts who discuss what they would do and then vote. Every member’s name is associated with their views. That beauty of that is that it results in a moderate, prudent monetary policy.

Senators may not be aware that, in the 1980s, when interest rates were very high, Canada had one of the most restrictive monetary policies in the world. Right now, given the current rate of inflation, Canada’s monetary policy is very restrictive. Leaving out the effects of mortgage rates and rent, we’re not far from our 2.6% target.

There was a time when the inflation rate target was between 1% and 3%, with some flexibility. Right now, the combination of a restrictive environment and rapid interest rate hikes means that many investments are not being made. We are not accelerating our transition to a green economy.

We can’t get that time back. We can’t get that lost prosperity back. We can’t make up for investments that weren’t made. That’s why the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy found that Canada’s per capita GDP wasn’t really up compared to other countries.

I know this is a difficult subject, but my bill has no financial implications because these experts will not be paid.

When I was appointed to the Economic Council of Canada, I was not paid. I did that work for six years. It took up a lot of my time, but I was very happy to be a member. In this case, I think there will be a lot of experts from different backgrounds and it won’t turn into a free-for-all — Earlier, I gave an interview on the radio and I was asked, “Don’t you think there will be bickering?” I said, “No, there will be votes and a result.”

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Honourable senators, I rise on a point of order. I do not see the relevance of these points to the item at hand and would ask that the honourable senator revert to the question at hand and educate us again on the golden period that he so eloquently reflects on.