Senator Gold: Thank you for your supplementary question. As I’ve just said, honourable colleague, the government is studying the guidance that the Supreme Court has provided for ways to make the legislation fit within the parameters of their ruling, and the minister and the Government of Canada are determined to move forward with this legislation and these changes that they have announced.

Senator Gold: Thank you. I will add this observation to the information I will be forwarding to the minister.

[English]

Senator Gold: I am really going to resist answering in kind, Senator Plett. The CBC is an independent news organization. No one has to tell me that Hamas is a terrorist organization or to remind me of how long Canada has stood in solidarity. Again, if you take the time to read their explanation, you will see that your assertions are unnuanced and incomplete.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: I’m sorry my answer does not satisfy you, Senator Housakos. As I have said on other occasions, it is an easy matter to make the argument, but it’s far more difficult and important to make sure that innocent people who are drawn into these matters do not suffer.

The government is taking its responsibility seriously and responsibly.

Senator Gold: As I said, I’m not aware that there are plans to update them, but I will certainly raise that with the appropriate ministers.

Senator Gold: The idea behind the bill is not to go backward and get rid of commonly used tools such as social media. It is instead to ensure that our traditional media and our local journalists, which Canadian democracy relies on, receive fair support compared to the media giants who benefit from it.

Senator Gold: Thank you. Regrettably, I don’t have any more details on this than in the answer I gave to our colleague, Senator Cordy, earlier this month. To remind my honourable colleagues, the Canadian Dental Care Plan is expected to begin rolling out by the end of this year, and by 2025, it will be fully implemented to cover all uninsured Canadians with an annual family income under $90,000. Again, the government remains committed to moving forward.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today, not as the Government Representative in the Senate but as a human being and as a Jew.

Let me begin by thanking all of you who have reached out to me over the last week and a half. Your support and understanding mean a great deal, more than you may realize.

Jews have been called the “People of the Book” because words matter. Words can comfort and words can heal, but sometimes words simply fail. This is such a time, at least for me.

What words can capture the horror that we witnessed a week ago on Saturday on the Jewish Sabbath? What words can heal the memory that is seared into the souls of Jews around the world of seeing children ripped from their parents’ arms and slaughtered before their eyes, of the systematic butchering and massacring of innocent people in the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust? Words fail me.

Along with millions of Jews around the world, I have family and friends in Israel. Some went to Israel straight from the concentration camps, others came to live in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. Some are serving on the front lines, others are living in the very communities that were invaded by Hamas. And, yes, colleagues, some are being held as hostages in Gaza as I stand here today.

Colleagues, dear friends, this is very personal for me. In the face of such brutality, such inhumanity, such horror, I wish I had the words to comfort all of those who are grieving and who are trembling and suffering in fear, but the words keep failing me, so I turn to my own tradition for guidance.

In Pirkei Avot, which is a rabbinic text written 18 centuries ago, it is stated that we should not offer comfort to someone while their dead still lies before them. So the best that I can do is to feel the pain and loss — and the fear and dread — that have been visited upon my people; to honour the memory of the dead; to mourn with their family, friends and communities; to hope for the speedy recovery of the injured; to work for the release of all those held hostage; to hope that the innocent victims trapped in Gaza, whatever their religion or nationality, are provided the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need; and to pray that all of them — their family, friends, and good neighbours, all the innocent people caught up in this brutal war — be spared any further sorrow.

Thank you.

Senator Gold: I acknowledge that it’s legitimate to ask questions about how such matters are treated by employers, whether governmental or otherwise. My comments stand for themselves.

I have no knowledge of this particular case and have no further comments to make in that regard.

Senator Gold: The government is hiding nothing. The government has enormous respect for the work of the Auditor General, who has consistently provided assistance to both parliamentarians and Canadians, as she shines a light on the ways in which our practices, operations and programs can be improved.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question.

No, what is the same thing is the drumbeat that you continue to play in the face of the actions that Canada is taking both to protect its citizens and to play its part on the world stage.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I appreciate your patience in waiting for a response to your written question. I will ask my office to follow-up on the response, and I’ll report back to the chamber as soon as I can.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: The Government of Canada understands very well the challenges that Canadians are facing with rising interest rates and the impacts they have, not only on their housing but on other choices they have to make. However, it is simply not the case that the responsibility for the problem lies with the federal government. The federal government is here to provide assistance, however.

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

The Auditor General operates independently of the government, as do investigations by the RCMP. My understanding is that the Auditor General — now apprised of that — has extended the time for her evaluation and analysis.

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

Canada’s stated condemnation of Hamas — and its continuing support for Israel’s right to defend itself — is consistent with international law. Canada’s continuing support for providing humanitarian assistance to those who need it stands as a testament to the moral position that Canada has taken and continues to take. With regard to actions on the ground, Canada is doing its part as well to assist those who are held hostage and those who seek safe refuge from the war, and shall continue to do so.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Canada is committed to welcoming 15,000 people from the western hemisphere. As you pointed out, the minister announced a new humanitarian pathway for permanent residence for 11,000 people from the Americas, including Haiti. I’m told the program will open this fall.

The government will also welcome an additional 4,000 temporary foreign workers from the region. The Government of Canada continues to offer regular humanitarian and economic immigration pathways as well as temporary work programs.

I’m also told that work is ongoing in collaboration with our partners.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Bill C-69 was and is legislation designed to affirm the importance of proper environmental overview of projects. The Government of Canada respects the Supreme Court’s decision and is considering the guidance that the Supreme Court has provided. The Supreme Court made it clear that important sections dealing with federal jurisdiction remain constitutional and has provided guidelines for moving forward.

The government and the minister have announced that they will be adjusting the legislation to bring it into conformity with the Supreme Court’s decision and will continue to provide the leadership on environmental issues that this country needs and deserves.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I’m advised that work is ongoing to introduce a Canada pharmacare bill to help Canadians have greater access to the health care that they deserve and need. I understand that conversations are ongoing with the New Democratic Party and indeed all parliamentarians to ensure that Canadians aren’t put into an impossible position when they must figure out how to pay for essential items, such as drugs.

At the same time, the government must ensure that it acts prudently and in a fiscally responsible manner. In that regard, the government remains focused on determining the most effective way to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals for Canadians.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The government is committed to supporting Canadians. Indeed, between 2015 and 2021, close to 2.3 million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty, including 653,000 fewer children and 11,000 fewer seniors, representing a 49% decrease in poverty.

While basic income could help to address poverty, there are significant design considerations that require further study, including funding implications for existing programs and the potential effects on the labour market. To this end, I note that a study is being conducted by our Standing Senate Committee on National Finance.

It is my understanding that the government will continue to monitor research and analysis on basic income, and the government is exploring potential short-term and long-term policy responses to address the needs of Canadians.

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

The goal of Bill C-18 is to force web giants to sit down with our small and large media companies to come to a fair and equitable agreement for the benefit of Canadians.

Obviously, web giants are afraid of the precedent this has created in Canada and Australia. They are flexing their economic muscles to try to bully us into not going forward with this bill. However, the Government of Canada is staying the course in supporting this bill, which is good for Canada.