Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Therefore, honourable senators, in amendment, I move:

That Bill C-21 be not now read a third time, but that it be amended on page 51 by adding the following after line 28:

Thank you.

The Hon. the Speaker: In amendment, it was moved by the Honourable Senator Boisvenu, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman:

That Bill C-21 be not now read a third time, but that it be amended on page 51 by adding the following after line 28:

[English]

Hon. Hassan Yussuff: Honourable senators, let me first thank my colleague and friend Senator Boisvenu for his intervention and his work on the committee in regard to Bill C-21.

You wouldn’t be surprised, colleagues, that I would ask you not to accept the amendment.

I like Indigenous people enormously. I’m glad to see my friends have new-found respect for Indigenous people.

The reality is that this amendment was tabled at the committee and it rejected the amendment, but I want to speak specifically in regard to the amendment. I think I included this in my speech earlier, but I will restate it for colleagues before we have an opportunity to vote on the amendment:

While Bill C-21 will not abrogate or derogate from the rights of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed in the Constitution, the Government of Canada must meaningfully consult with Indigenous Peoples.

Should proposed regulations have the potential to adversely impact potential or established treaty rights, the Government of Canada must satisfy its duty to consult, and where appropriate, accommodate those rights.

Public Safety Canada will work collaboratively with Indigenous partners throughout the development, management and review of regulations.

This is the assurance we have from the minister.

Section 35 is enshrined in the bill to give it meaning and ensure that if the government doesn’t do its job, somebody can go before the courts and take the government to task. The government recognized the importance of consulting, but it has also recognized the fact that Indigenous people have certain rights in this country that we must oblige ourselves to respect in that regard.

Colleagues, I can go on at length, but I spoke, I think, very well. We did, of course, convey this, as a committee, in the observation in regard to the bill, and the minister wrote to us to address this exact issue in the context of consultation going forward in regard to any regulation that might adversely impact Aboriginal people with respect to the implementation of this bill.

As we know, regulations within the Crown are always something that they do. They have an obligation to publish those regulations, get comments and respond to them, but I think section 35 obligated them to go even further than that, and that’s enshrined in the bill.

Honourable colleagues, I would ask you to reject the amendment because it was dismissed at committee.

Thank you, and let’s recognize what has also been enshrined in the legislation under Bill C-21.

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Boisvenu, do you have a question?