Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Honourable senators, imagine John, Jean or Jeanne, the personal aide who can do everything. Charged on our wireless systems once a week, this robot becomes our personal helper who can hold out a steadying arm as we rise from a chair, power up our driverless car, see us across the street on a green light, prepare and bring us our lunch and remind us of all those small things we might forget. Imagine a chat when we are feeling lonely. “Imagine” is the operative word.

Sunday, October 1, was National Seniors Day and coincided with the International Day of Older Persons. On Sunday, I reflected on the important opportunity we have to transform how seniors’ well-being is supported in the future.

Seniors want to age in their communities. A survey conducted by the Canadian Medical Association and the National Institute on Ageing in late 2020 found that 96% of Canadians want to age at home and live independently for as long as possible, and that they will do everything possible to avoid going into long-term care.

Senators, we can and must make this happen, but it demands policy thinking outside the box. We have to think in a transformative way. We must disrupt the stereotypes. We must focus on aging in place, aging in our communities and aging in our own homes with help from our friends, community services, travelling health teams, age-specific technology like robotics and other devices and aides. We have to be innovative and visionary. It is not just a hope but a necessity now.

Honourable senators, to mark National Seniors Day, I invite all of us to imagine a future in which seniors can age safely, happily and with agency, and to commit to the innovation — the transformation — that aging in place requires. Thank you.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of members of Athena Leadership from Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Osler.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. David Arnot: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the fundamental need for Indigenous youth to see themselves reflected in Canadian society. I also speak to the leadership of post-secondary institutions in this regard and notable actions being taken by the University of Saskatchewan.

Colleagues, this past June, Métis youth leader Katherine Merrell-Anderson told the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples that she looked for signs of her Métis heritage here in Ottawa, signs of her belonging: either the Métis flag or art or other elements of home. She found none, save those in the committee room in which she was a witness.

Post-secondary institutions are responding to the omission, exclusion and absence of Indigenous identity through advocacy, relationship building and, most importantly, through the Indigenization of their campuses. Indigenization is about the identification, recognition and systemic incorporation of Indigenous worldviews, knowledge and perspectives.

Peter Stoicheff, President of the University of Saskatchewan, identified reconciliation within his institution as a fundamental commitment to be “. . . participants and leaders, not bystanders, in the greatest cultural opportunity this country has ever faced.”

The University of Saskatchewan is leading the way through collaborative policymaking, establishing learning requirements and implementing safeguards for Indigenous identity. Its institution-wide Indigenous strategy was created solely by Indigenous people, including elders, knowledge keepers and staff. Incoming students to the university’s largest college, the College of Arts and Science, now take an Indigenous learning requirement as part of their degree program. Other University of Saskatchewan colleges are preparing their own courses and requirements.

The University of Saskatchewan implemented a policy and framework to “. . . safeguard Indigenous peoples, cultures, values, and languages . . .” through identity verification as a process that fully recognizes the inherent right to self‑determination. Today, the University of Saskatchewan enrolls more than 3,300 Indigenous students — nearly 13% of the student body — a demographic representative of the larger Saskatchewan population.

Colleagues, join me in recognizing the University of Saskatchewan and all those post-secondary institutions in our country that are actively Indigenizing their campuses, as we participate in the greatest cultural opportunity Canada has ever faced. Thank you.

Hon. Bernadette Clement: Honourable senators, it is a pleasure to rise in recognition of this incredible group of young people who have distinguished themselves already through their contributions to the community and their exemplary leadership.

The folks you see in the gallery are the 2023 cohort of the 1834 Fellowship Project, an initiative led by Velma Morgan and Operation Black Vote Canada.

Let me tell you about the 1834 Fellowship. Named in honour of the year that slavery was abolished in Canada, the 1834 Fellowship seeks out 20 high-potential Black youth every year who wish to enter or increase their capacity for civic leadership roles. The fellowship supports them in their skills and career development.

The selection criteria tells you about the calibre of these young people: maturity, self-awareness, respect for others, leadership, critical thinking and motivation.

This outstanding group of young people are the guests of the African Canadian Senate Group. Tomorrow, we’re going to connect over a meal, and talk about shared experiences and the very specific challenges we face as Black people — as people of African descent — in 2023 and beyond.

To the 2023 fellows, thank you for being here today — on this day when the other place elected the first Black Speaker of the House of Commons ever. Congratulations to Speaker Greg Fergus.

Hon. Jim Quinn: Honourable senators, I rise before you today to honour my friend Walter Ball — a well-respected family man, music teacher, city councillor, problem solver and community leader from my city of Saint John, New Brunswick — who passed away on September 23 at the age of 92. Years ago, I was introduced to Walter through my sister Eileen and her friend Tzigane, Walter’s daughter.

Walter was known to welcome many people into his home. He was a genuine and humble man who loved to help others. He was involved with the local YMCA and helped support families while they settled into the community. Walter was part of the homestay program with the university to help house students in his own home — students from as far away as China who attended the University of New Brunswick Saint John — so they would feel more comfortable while studying abroad. He felt that integrating people from other countries was important, and that everyone should be welcomed with open arms.

He was a talented concert pianist who studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music in the 1950s. He competed in piano concert competitions all over the world, visiting over 40 countries throughout the years. He embraced different cultures and languages all while enjoying his passion for music.

In the 1960s, Walter had his own TV show in Saint John called “Kaleidoscope.” He interviewed people in the arts and was able to incorporate and play music, which was themed to the subject of the interview.

Walter taught music in schools throughout the years. He connected with his students through music, and believed that everyone could perform musically.

He inspired many students, teaching tens of thousands, and formed multiple successful choirs throughout the decades that won many awards. One of his students recalled, “You just wanted to be good for him.”

He founded a steel band and personally built steel drums by hand for his students, as well as developing his own sheet music so everyone in his class could learn to play those drums.

Later, in the mid-1970s, the Lancaster Kiwanis Steel Band evolved as a performance band, once performing for former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau — on the tarmac of the Saint John Airport — when he visited our city. He continued to perform around the world, touring up until their last performance in France in 1984, and many of the band’s original members continue to play in newly formed bands today. In 1985, he became the executive director of Festival by the Sea, formed in conjunction with the Canada Games when they came to Saint John.

Walter was a builder of not just steel drums but all manner of things. When his granddaughter was 2 years old, he researched plans for and built her a rocking horse, which led him to build 200 more commissioned pieces over the next 15 years.

He later built his home on the Kennebecasis River with his sons, Conrad and Spenser, where he lived with his wife of 60 years, Suzanne, and continued to play piano until his recent passing.

Rest easy, my friend, and may you continue to shine with style with your many berets and capes from above. Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I would like to thank the Progressive Senate Group for giving me their spot today. I want to share with you a small part of the speech I gave at the Winnipeg Art Gallery on September 30 of this year. It was entitled “A Life in Retrospect: Examining the Seven Generations of My Lived Experience.” I’m sharing the second generation — age one to five — at home on the land before residential school.

My people knew where they belonged: on the land — aski. Aski is where our cultures, communities and etinewak rooted themselves and gave themselves definition. Instead of rooting themselves in one particular place, as we do in cities and towns, they travelled aski to follow the food, accommodating their lifestyle to the environment and seasons, as well as where they lived their everyday lives. Each geographical space we settled in became imbued with meaning. All environments were seen as a living place and the ideal location for living, and we left it virtually untouched. These places were not something that we — humans — made, and these places were influenced by non‑human actors. Our relatives — the birds, animals, insects, fish and ecosystem — occupied aski, and played a huge role in the continual shaping and evolution of our culture. In effect, the land was occupied, but the newcomers didn’t see it that way. They saw it as empty.

Aski is meaningful to me. She gives me life. We cannot bind her nor make borders to own her. As cultural groups, First Nations defined themselves, their governance and their code of ethics from the places they lived out on the land since time immemorial. We carry this notion of home in our collective blood memory — free to live out on the land, educating ourselves as we, the children, watched our parents live out the traditions and life skills so we could become independent, but also interdependent, to take our place and honour our purpose in this earth world. Growth not only involved the physical and mental, but also the intellectual and spiritual. This is how I came to know and understand myself. I was able to exercise the creativity, and the curiosity, I had. There’s no place like home out on the land. I was at home with my people’s history — stories of trapping, and my ancestors living out their lives in their own time, in their own way, in the vast askew.

Thank you. Kinanâskomitin.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the 1834 Fellowship, an initiative by Operation Black Vote Canada.

They are the guests of the African Canadian Senate Group.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of former colleagues of Senator Black, who have worked with him to deliver an agricultural program across Canada.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question, senator. I was not made aware of the time frame for the implementation or distribution of those benefits, and I will certainly make inquiries.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, the Financial Times reported that the government of India told the Trudeau government that 41 Canadian diplomats have been given a week to leave India. If true, this is a much greater deterioration in relations between our two countries. India has warned its citizens against travelling to Canada. It has stopped visa services with Canada, and trade negotiations have been suspended.

Leader, Canada is home to one of the world’s largest communities of people of Indian origin. Could you confirm that the Financial Times story is correct? Does your government have a plan to manage this worsening situation?

Hon. Lucie Moncion: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration entitled Annual Report on Parliamentary Associations’ Activities and Expenditures for 2022-23.

Hon. Claude Carignan: Leader, Radio-Canada published an article today revealing that several senior officers at RCMP headquarters occupy bilingual positions even though they don’t speak French and aren’t on language training.

Despite bilingualism requirements, about a half-dozen senior RCMP officers in Ottawa can neither speak nor understand French. What about RCMP recruits? Here’s what the RCMP spokesperson said, according to Radio-Canada:

Only francophone RCMP recruits currently take second language courses during their training in Saskatchewan. Anglophone recruits do not currently take French classes . . . .

Leader, how can your government claim to respect both official languages? How can it tolerate such appalling complacency within the RCMP?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Bilingualism is fundamental to our country’s identity. I understand that the RCMP is negotiating contracts to offer French classes and launch a pilot project for in-house language training. The Government of Canada expects the RCMP, like all federal agencies, to meet its obligations under the Official Languages Act.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I don’t have any knowledge that the story is not correct, senator. That’s probably the most accurate way to put it.

But, as the Prime Minister has said, Canada stands firm in asserting that no country has a right — if these allegations prove to be true — to come to our country and take the lives of Canadian citizens.

At the same time, Canada will continue to collaborate with India on matters of shared priorities, and maintain the strong people-to-people ties which exist in this country — between people from India and Canadian communities and institutions — as well as bilateral economic cooperation. Canada will remain engaged with India and hopes it will cooperate in the investigation of this very tragic incident.

Hon. Brent Cotter: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. It concerns Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act.

Senator Gold, you’ll recall that in June there was unanimous and enthusiastic adoption in the Senate and in the other place of Bill C-22. Part of that enthusiasm was associated with the message from Minister Qualtrough that the benefit would be in place for working-age Canadians with disabilities in approximately one year.

Recent communications from the government indicate that, relying on a Senate amendment to the bill that gives the government up to two years for implementation, the benefit will not become available until sometime in 2025 — perhaps as late as June 2025 — leaving thousands of our neediest citizens with disabilities without this benefit for up to two years after the bill received Royal Assent.

Can you advise whether this very unfortunate delay is indeed the case?

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: My question is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, at the Finance Committee this morning, we had witnesses from Finance Canada and the Office of the Auditor General. I didn’t get any answers from the Finance Canada people, but officials from the Auditor General’s office told us that the Auditor General signed off on the 2023 public accounts last month. So they’re signed and ready to go. We’re still working with the 2022 public accounts, so that data is more than 18 months old. Even the most recent copy of The Fiscal Monitor is only for July. We still don’t have August.

Since the Auditor General has signed off on the 2023 public accounts, will you once again raise this issue with the government and impress upon them to release the 2023 public accounts? When are they going to release the 2023 public accounts?

Hon. Brian Francis: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

The Île-à-la-Crosse residential school in Saskatchewan operated from 1860 to 1976 and was attended largely by Métis students. However, this institution was excluded from both the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the day school settlement agreement. As a result, survivors from the Île‑à-la-Crosse residential school have yet to receive acknowledgement or compensation for the harms and abuses they endured. After many years of failed attempts to negotiate a resolution, proposed class action has been brought forward against the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, which funded the institution at different points. In the aftermath of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I ask: What is the Government of Canada doing to ensure that the survivors of the Île-à-la-Crosse residential school finally receive recognition and compensation?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, my question concerns the aftermath of the serious and embarrassing incident that took place in the House of Commons during the visit of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who is leading his country through war. The Royal Canadian Legion said last week that it expects to see measures put into place to ensure that a shocking scenario like this does not occur again.

Leader, have any measures been taken? If so, what are they? Why haven’t Canadians been informed what those measures are? And if no measures have been put into place, isn’t that yet another great failure of leadership and responsibility on the part of the Prime Minister?