Senator Gold: Thank you for the question.

The Indigenous Languages Act is a historic milestone for those working to protect and promote Indigenous languages. Of course, we must continue to strengthen and expand these efforts. The statutory review will take place and, as part of that process, input from partners and Indigenous communities will be vital to determining how well the bill is achieving its objectives and where improvements are needed.

Senator Gold: The story that the Liberal MP recounted is, unfortunately, a story that many Canadians could recount. It is not correct, however — whatever the perception is — to attribute it to the tax, any less so than it would be to attribute it to one factor, whether it is world oil prices or other circumstances that have affected this family in terms of their challenge in meeting the cost of living.

The real world that we are living in — and that the government is committed to working in for the benefit of Canadians — is one in which this government will continue to make the necessary investments for Canadians, their households and families, and in terms of our industry and economy, so that we can continue forward on a path toward a better future.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Frankly and respectfully, dear colleague, the minister has been consulting his counterparts in other countries and researching what’s happening in France, England and elsewhere because he wants to find out what other countries are doing in response to the rising cost of living, a problem they all face. That is what the government and the minister are doing as they search for appropriate solutions to implement here in Canada.

As I already explained, the government is waiting for the major chains to respond before it decides what to do. They’re waiting for them and for companies largely responsible for setting the price of eggs, milk and other foods to come back with an action plan. That’s when the government will decide what to do.

Senator Gold: One would wish that we had systems that were completely error-free; that, alas, is clearly not the case. The relevant minister and his officials are responsible and diligent, and I’ll bring this matter to their attention.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: No. The situation is much more nuanced — frankly, everybody knows that, senator. There’s no need to create a false dichotomy between both views. The bottom line is that Canada needs immigrants.

The Government of Canada’s policy is based on consultations with the provinces and territories, which also need immigrants and labour to ensure the survival of many of their communities and even their economies. The government is trying to find the right balance between immigration levels and Canada’s needs.

Furthermore, as you rightly pointed out, social and educational services are also needed in order to ensure that all Canadians, including immigrants, enjoy a decent quality of life in Canada.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The Government of Canada has never denied that it has a role to play with respect to housing issues facing Canadians. I’ve always stressed that the Government of Canada is working and must work in partnership with the provinces and territories, as well as with private companies, to build more housing.

Regarding immigration, senator, Canada needs immigrants not only to continue enriching our culture, our society and our economy, but also, specifically, to fill a labour shortage that’s affecting all sectors of the economy.

Regarding housing, as I stated yesterday, the government’s policies are starting to bear fruit. As Michael J. Cooper, the President and CRO of a Toronto company, Dream Unlimited Corp, said his company is planning to build 5,000 additional units across Canada as a result of the elimination of the tax on rental unit construction.

Similarly, Marc Lee, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, emphasized the importance of this measure and this policy, which is designed to help grow our housing supply.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. The short answer is no. The longer answer is that the Prime Minister — and, indeed, this government — has shown considerable understanding and, more importantly, taken action to address the difficult circumstances that Canadians have been facing and continue to face across this country.

In that regard, as I have said on many occasions in this chamber and which bears repeating, the tax on carbon, on pollution, is one of a suite of measures — and the most efficient market-driven measure — to ensure that we can make the transition from our current economy to a cleaner and more sustainable economy, for the benefit of our generation and future generations to come.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and your expressed interest in what are, in fact, the five clean investment tax credits in Budget 2023, all aiming to support green innovation in Canada. For the moment, the new clean technology tax credits are focused on clean energy, manufacturing, hydrogen and carbon capture.

In addition, Budget 2023 expanded the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit — originally launched in 2022 — which was the subject of the government’s wide-ranging public consultations from August to earlier this month. More generally, I’ve been advised that the government is committed to tripling the funding available for clean technology on farms — including for renewable energy, precision agriculture and energy efficiency. I will certainly bring the suggestion on biodigesters to the attention of the appropriate minister.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): While French and English are the two official languages recognized in our Constitution, as we all know, the reality is that there are over 70 Indigenous languages spoken across this country. Many of those languages, as we also know, tragically, are in vulnerable situations and need proactive protection.

However, a constitutional amendment is a complicated thing. That said, we can and must be lifting up, protecting and celebrating Indigenous languages. The government is committed to that and to supporting Indigenous languages as part of reconciliation efforts. Those have included the adoption of the Indigenous Languages Act and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP. Also, for example, the government recently recommitted itself to advancing access to federal services in Indigenous languages, as laid out in the UNDRIP Act Action Plan from this past July.

This is and will remain a government priority.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for underlining the harm that denialism causes to families, communities and to our prospects for moving forward with reconciliation.

This is one of the issues that was highlighted by Kim Murray, the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, who is working on this file, as you know. At her instigation, the Indigenous Peoples Committee has been dealing with this issue head-on by calling as witnesses groups she has identified as being less than forthcoming with records and information about residential schools.

Uncovering and sharing the full truth behind what happened is a critical piece of the work that needs to be done. This government will continue to support Indigenous peoples, communities, the search for the truth and the search for healing. Without truth, there can be no reconciliation, and a commitment of this government is to be standing side by side in this important work.

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

The government has taken action and is committed to taking action to foster health systems that are free from barriers, including racism and discrimination. This is a key commitment under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, to which I referred in response to the previous question.

The government is investing funds to support communities, organizations and other health system partners in the development of measures to address anti-Indigenous racism in the health system. This includes measures such as anti-racism and discrimination training, tools and resources for health professionals, and a generation of standards.

To your question about funding, Budget 2022 provided $4 billion over six years to ensure First Nations children receive the support they need through Jordan’s Principle, and Budget 2023 provided an additional $171 million. In February 2023, the government also reaffirmed its commitment to invest $2 billion over 10 years through a new Indigenous health equity fund to address the unique challenges Indigenous peoples face when it comes to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally appropriate health care.

Regarding the latter part of your question, senator, as for metrics for evaluating progress, Indigenous Services Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada are working with Indigenous organizations, including the First Nations Information Governance Centre and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, or ITK, to advance the development of an information strategy that will identify gaps in health outcomes and indicators that can be routinely reported upon.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Unsurprisingly, I don’t have a precise answer to that. It’s not up to the government to set prices, unless you’re suggesting that the government take full control of the economy, which is not on the government’s radar, nor on that of your political party.

For the first time, the minister successfully convened major business leaders in order to underscore how important it is that they step up and come back with a serious program to address the challenge of rising grocery costs for Canadians. Furthermore, as I said last week, other players in the supply chain, in the context of food prices, will no doubt be called upon by this government to give Canadians a little relief when it comes to the rising cost of groceries.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question, and that is a very disturbing story that you recount.

There are internal procedures for monitoring the performance of the processes that are in place. I hope that you are wrong and that not many people have been placed in that very uncomfortable situation.

Not having details of the file, I obviously can’t comment on that. I’ll certainly bring this matter to the attention of the relevant minister.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question; it underlines the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done on all sides. In that regard, I don’t know the answer to your question, but I will certainly bring that preoccupation — an important question — to the attention of the relevant minister.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. The government completely agrees with the importance of providing services in Inuktitut.

Many federal departments provide services in Inuktitut and the government is in the process of broadening and strengthening its efforts pursuant to the Indigenous Languages Act, with the support of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. This work is supported by the significant investments that the government is making in this area, namely, $840 million since 2019 to revitalize Indigenous languages across Canada.

There is a technical question about whether federal services are subject to the federal or territorial legislation, but that doesn’t change the government’s commitment to protect and promote Indigenous languages and Inuktitut in northern Canada and Indigenous languages across the country.