Senator Plett: One of the reasons why the Trudeau government refuses to admit it was wrong is the massive cost attached to changing the passport design. Leader, a project budget of $161 million was set in 2016. However, three years later, leader, a contract was awarded worth $284 million — over a quarter of a billion dollars. That’s a high price for Canadians to pay for having images of our history removed from passports.

Leader, the new passports are poor quality. They have covers that damage and curl easily. Does that mean your government is going to pour even more money into this? If so, how much?

Senator Gold: The cost of the passports was not exclusively a function of the design. Security measures necessary to protect Canadians were an important part. Once again, this government took the steps that it thought appropriate to reflect Canada as it has become and is becoming and to provide secure passports for Canadians’ protection abroad.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, I hoped that the Trudeau government would have come to its senses by now and abandoned their changes to our passports, but they never, ever admit a mistake.

The Trudeau government has claimed that removing images of Canadian history from our passports occurred after 10 years of consultations. In June, you said it reflects the feedback the government heard from an extensive process of consultation. A written answer tabled in the other place indicates that this consultation, leader, was with four federal entities and through annual telephone surveys of passport holders. That’s it; that’s all.

Why did the Trudeau government mostly just consult with itself and decide it was okay to erase our history from Canada’s passports?