Senator Housakos: What else is new? This former director general also testified that when he left the CBSA, the price tag he costed for ArriveCAN was $6.3 million. He said he was shocked at the news that it had ballooned to over $54 million — another Canadian realizing Justin Trudeau is just not worth the cost.

Was that a result of putting Deloitte in the penalty box in favour of GC Strategies? Shouldn’t the person who made the decision be held accountable, Senator Gold? Don’t we believe in accountability? Who took this decision, and why aren’t you interested in holding that person to account?

Senator Coyle: I would appreciate hearing more specifics on what that “more” would look like.

Senator Gold: Briefly, the central program is the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program, which provides access to capital and other support.

With regard to the criteria, I’m informed that for the purposes of the target, an “Indigenous business” is defined as “Elders, band and tribal councils; businesses registered in the Government of Canada’s Indigenous Business Directory . . .” and “. . . businesses on a beneficiary business list.”

[Translation]

Senator Gold: The reliance in the North, as you know better than I, senator, whether on diesel or home oil, is a fact that has to be taken into account in all adaptations of government programs. There are talented people in Canada and the North exploring alternatives, and I’m sure the government will work in partnership with them and the Government of Nunavut to the benefit of the residents in Nunavut.

Senator Gold: Yes, I undertake to do that. I see the minister on a weekly basis, and I’ll make a point to bring that to his attention.

Senator Gold: Thank you. I wish I had the solutions. One thing is clear: Canadians have to understand, as governments do at all levels — federal, provincial and municipal — that we are in the stage of having to mitigate the impact.

Climate change is upon us; the impact is clear. Whatever we do in the future to address climate change has to include mitigating the current and foreseeable impacts of it.

Senator Moodie: Thank you. With the recent history of the pandemic that we have lived through, Canadians are justifiably focused on the government’s stockpile of essential health care supplies, such as flu and COVID vaccines, masks and other protective equipment. Does the government have a sufficient stockpile of these essentials for the 2023-24 winter season?

Senator Gold: Thank you for raising the subject.

The report of the Auditor General is important. It shines light on a problem that, as I said, has been neglected by governments. This is not to blame previous governments; many governments going back far too long have neglected it.

The government is seized with the issue and will do everything it can to address this.

Senator Loffreda: Thank you for that, Senator Gold.

We clearly need to accelerate the pace to ensure we meet our targets. I know the Treasury Board has been mandated to develop policy guidance and ensure that departments have the tools they need to implement the directive. What are these tools that the government is using to encourage and connect with Indigenous businesses so they are aware of procurement opportunities? What criteria are used to determine what constitutes an Indigenous-led business?

Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Yes, I do agree with you. That is my understanding.

Senator Gold: I’m not in a position to answer that, senator, other than to say that both represent measures that the government is taking to enhance our park system for the benefit of all Canadians, both to provide the necessary land resources, which is done in consultation with stakeholders and communities, and to provide the funds necessary to achieve the overall purposes of the department.

Senator Plett: The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. He has no common sense. He thinks he can outsource leadership. One thing he’s good at, though, is taking care of his friends. In 2016, Liberal MPs voted to shut down a committee study into a tax-evasion scheme involving KPMG. At around the same time, a KPMG executive was named Treasurer for the Liberal Party. What a coincidence. Leader, why is it always Liberal insiders who get ahead under this government, while Canadians struggle to get by?

Senator Plett: How many people would be able to get away from the food banks if we hadn’t spent $670,000 on KPMG, $54 million on the “ArriveScam” app, $100 million on Liberal insiders at McKinsey, $256 million to Beijing’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and $35 billion for the failed Canada Infrastructure Bank, leader? It’s not worth the cost. How can the Trudeau government justify this waste with a record number of Canadians going hungry?

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Senator Gold: The government continues to act in a prudent and responsible way. Listing all of these matters does not change the fact that the government remains committed to helping Canadians, whether it’s through the rising costs of food with the various measures I have outlined on numerous occasions in this chamber.

Senator Cardozo: My supplementary question is regarding mitigation. The Transport and Communications Committee is looking at the effects of climate change on transportation infrastructure across the country. What are your thoughts on the most important mitigation needs that we should be dealing with as a country?

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Audette, seconded by the Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson, for the third reading of Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation, as amended.

Senator Marshall: — with the Phoenix system.

Can you assure us that the government has control over this program and that it will be successfully implemented?

Senator Gold: Thank you for that. Again, vaccines are our best defence, and to date, I’m advised that more than 11 million total doses of the new formulation — that’s mRNA XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccines — have already been delivered by the Government of Canada to the provinces and territories to support the immunization programs in those provinces and territories. I’m assured that doses will continue to arrive and be distributed throughout the fall.

Senator Martin: I would appreciate your responses to my specific questions regarding the rent supplement program.

The Veterans Emergency Fund provides financial help to veterans experiencing a crisis. A briefing note produced in March for the Veterans Affairs minister states:

Every year since the program started in April 2018, the demand for the Veterans Emergency Fund has been more than the $1 million dollars of annual funding.

As this program has been underfunded every single year since it began, are Canada’s veterans still asking for more than the government can give, as Prime Minister Trudeau said once before?