Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): My question also concerns the Canada Infrastructure Bank. In fact, it is legislated for a five-year review. Minister LeBlanc is required to bring forward a report to Parliament by the end of June.

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According to documents obtained through Access to Information and Privacy and released last week by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, this review began in June 2022 but has had no public engagement and no public information on the process being followed. Yesterday, a senior official from Infrastructure Canada told our National Finance Committee that they have opened some public consultation.

Leader, could you tell us when this consultation began and if it’s still open? Were all Canadians invited to comment or just those groups and individuals chosen by the Trudeau government?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): My question is for the government leader in the Senate.

On this Agriculture Day in Canada, it concerns a matter of importance for many of our farmers. It’s been almost a year since the Trudeau government imposed a 35% tariff on fertilizer imports from Russia, including fertilizer that had been ordered long before Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine began. This tariff has punished Canadian farmers, as about $34 million has been collected by the Trudeau government.

Leader, in December, the Atlantic Grains Council, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, the Grain Farmers of Ontario, the Grain Growers of Quebec and the Ontario Bean Growers jointly asked that this money be refunded to the farmers who paid it. What is the Trudeau government’s response to this request?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): My question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has given McKinsey & Company consultants contracts worth $24.5 million for so-called management advice. A public servant with this department told Radio-Canada last month:

We had a few presentations on very generic, completely vapid stuff. They arrived with nice colours, nice presentations and said they would revolutionize everything . . . In the end, we don’t have any idea what they did . . .

Leader, the wait times and backlog in this department in recent years are arguably the worst ever. Why did the Trudeau government give McKinsey millions of taxpayer dollars when whatever advice it was providing to the immigration department was obviously not working?

Senator Martin: Leader, there are well over 2 million applications caught in the backlog at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Today, according to the government’s own website, the application processing time for a skilled tradesperson seeking entry to Canada is 70 months.

Despite the massive backlog and little evidence Canadians are getting good value for money spent on the McKinsey contracts, the Trudeau government revised an immigration department contract during the pandemic to give McKinsey even more money.

Leader, could you tell us why your government believed McKinsey deserved extra money from Canadian taxpayers for a job done so poorly?

Hon. Yonah Martin: Minister, this question also comes from a senior living on a fixed income with his partner in downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. It recently cost about $1,000 to fill his oil tank. As of July 1, the Trudeau government’s carbon tax will drive up home heating oil by over $0.17 a litre, and at $2.03 per litre, a standard tank of 900 litres will cost about $1,800 — $800 more. Your government’s programs for home renovation and energy switches make it hard to improve old houses, which the programs want to make impossibly perfect. This senior cannot apply for those programs as his home cannot be brought into line with your government’s energy standards.

Minister, there is a saying: “Let not perfection be the enemy of good.” What are you going to do to advocate for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians caught in this situation who will soon have to pay a lot more to heat their homes?

As I said before, 8 out of 10 households will get more money back than they do currently. If there are any increases as a result of a price on pollution, that money — and, in many cases, more money — will be refunded back to them. That is how it will work.

Let’s not forget that the reality of the situation right now is that there is already a tax applied, and it goes to the general revenue of the province.

Hon. Yonah Martin: Minister, last week the Canadian Union of Brewery and General Workers sent a letter to the Prime Minister and Minister Freeland regarding the 6.3% inflation-based increase in federal beer taxes scheduled to automatically go into effect on April 1. The letter reads, in part:

We are headed into a recession. The Federal Government must avoid making the situation worse. It cannot rigidly stick to policies that raise prices and fuels higher inflation, which is exactly what raising federal beer taxes by 6.3 per cent will do.

Minister, what do you have to say to the 350 unionized workers employed at the Molson-Coors brewery in Toronto who may be very nervous about the security of their jobs due to the Trudeau government’s high tax policies? How does a massive increase to this tax help Canadians working in the brewing and alcohol beverage sectors keep their jobs?

Senator Martin: Thank you for that.

Aside from the burden this will impose on taxpayers, it poses a much deeper issue, namely, Canada’s lack of military readiness, specifically in the Arctic. The Trudeau government’s total incompetence on military procurement leaves both us and our allies, who are looking to us to defend the North against rogue states like Russia and China, in a vulnerable position.

Senator Gold, Conservatives have asked this many times, but I will ask it again: When will the Trudeau government finally start taking our defence of the Arctic seriously?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Actually, another former Bank of Canada governor, Stephen Poloz, last month pointed to the fact that Canada was second to last for productivity performance among the OECD — the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development — countries. He said that government red tape and overregulation are impairing Canada’s economic productivity and have created too much uncertainty for businesses.

He said:

I do think that there is a stronger incentive to clean up some of the regulatory issues, the red tapey type of issues that are slowing us down.

Senator Gold, do you agree that we must reduce the government’s red tape? What is the Trudeau government’s plan to reduce red tape and regulatory burden?

Senator Martin: Last summer it was the C.D. Howe Institute that issued a report which found that Canada was lagging behind other OECD countries for attracting investment. Researchers wrote:

Business investment is so weak that capital per member of the labour force is falling, and the implications for incomes and competitiveness are ominous.

William B.P. Robson writes:

Investment per available worker lower in Canada than abroad tells us that businesses see less opportunity in Canada, and prefigures weaker growth in Canadian earnings and living standards than in other OECD countries.

Senator Gold, do you agree with all the experts who say that Canada, under Justin Trudeau, is no longer attractive to foreign investors? And what is your government’s plan to correct this?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Your Honour, this question is from Senator Plett:

With the Emergencies Act inquiry currently underway, Canadians are learning that CSIS, Canada’s intelligence agency, had informed senior government officials that no evidence was found of foreign actors or states financing the convoy protest in the week prior to the Emergencies Act being invoked. As was reported in The Globe and Mail, CSIS Director David Vigneault said:

There is not a lot of energy or support from the U.S.A. to Canada. CSIS has also not seen any foreign money coming from other states to support this.

Yet on February 11, Prime Minister Trudeau was asked by Marieke Walsh more details on the percentage of finances coming from the U.S. This is what the Prime Minister said:

Those aren’t details that I have right in front of me. I have heard that, on certain platforms, the number of U.S. donations are approaching 50%.

Senator Gold, those are two very different storylines. I cannot see how they can possibly differ or contradict one another any further. Leader, who are Canadians supposed to believe — CSIS or the Prime Minister? Again, it is a very simple question — CSIS or the Prime Minister?

Senator Martin: Mr. Ken Sim, the mayor-elect, did make history: he is the first Asian and Chinese-Canadian mayor of Vancouver. He brings renewed hope for the future to one of the greatest cities in Canada and the world.

Senator Gold, what exactly will the Trudeau government do to concretely help Mayor Sim reduce crime and build more affordable housing?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader.

Senator Gold, Canada is falling behind under this Trudeau government. According to a report released earlier this year from the Canada West Foundation, confidence in the reliability and competitiveness of Canada’s trade infrastructure has been declining, both here at home and abroad. In 2019, Canada was ranked thirty-second in the world, placing us below all of our major competitors. Trade and infrastructure experts have long been sounding the alarm on this and calling for Canada to urgently address its long-neglected trade infrastructure in order to remain competitive.

As our economy and population continue to grow, more strain will be put on our existing infrastructure.

Leader, why has your government not heeded these warnings? When are you going to address this?

Senator Martin: Yesterday American President Joe Biden announced his support for a three-month suspension of federal gas and diesel taxes and encouraged U.S. states to remove their own taxes on fuel. President Biden said he supports doing this to give working families some breathing room.

In contrast, our Minister of Finance seems to think she has done enough to fight inflation in Canada and has nothing new to offer families struggling to get by. In the other place on Tuesday, when Minister Freeland was asked to cut taxes at the pumps, she once again did not give a direct answer.

Leader, how much higher does inflation have to go before the Trudeau government will help Canadians having difficulty paying for gas just to drive to work?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my next question for the leader concerns the Trudeau government’s promise to plant 2 billion trees by 2030. In a delayed answer provided in February, Natural Resources Canada said it was working to establish cost-sharing agreements with each of the provinces and territories, which the department said would be vital to the success of this program.

Leader, the program update that Minister Wilkinson released yesterday says the government is still “moving toward” agreements with the provinces and territories.

Could you make inquiries and tell us which agreements remain outstanding and why? Could you also find out how many trees have been planted through this program to date, broken down by province and territory?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, during the 2019 federal election campaign, the Trudeau Liberals made several different commitments to our small businesses that have not been fulfilled. As I have raised previously, it appears the Trudeau government is breaking its promise to cut the cost of federal incorporation by 75%. As well, the promise to end credit card swipe fees on GST and HST is being buried in endless consultations.

Leader, in 2019, your government also promised to eliminate fees for business advisory services such as mentorship and training from the Business Development Bank, Export Development Canada and Farm Credit Canada.

Leader, could you tell us if these fees have been eliminated and, if not, why not?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is also for the government leader in the Senate.

On December 15, 2020, the Trudeau government announced $724.1 million to launch a comprehensive violence-prevention strategy. More than half of this funding was to support at least 38 new shelters and 50 transitional housing for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples across the country, including on-reserve, in the North and in urban areas.

On Tuesday, The Globe and Mail reported that, as of May 31, none of this funding had been allocated. As well, out of the more than $700 million promised through the strategy, just $12.6 million had been spent on violence prevention, or less than 2% of the total amount announced a year and a half ago.

Leader, could you tell us why this program to support Indigenous women and girls has been such a failure?

Senator Martin: The NDP-Liberal government says it expects to provide an update on how this funding will be allocated sometime over the summer.

Leader, does your government have a timeline to begin construction on these new shelters and transition housing? Does the Trudeau government commit to having any of these shelters up and running, and serving communities, this year?

Senator Martin: Leader, last June, when I asked why your government had failed to bring forward the “Just Transition” legislation as promised, you blamed “the environment we’re in, including a minority Parliament.”

In fact, according to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the Trudeau government had not developed the legislation. I don’t see how your government’s inaction can be blamed upon a minority Parliament. The commissioner was blunt when he said the NDP-Liberal government was “unprepared and slow off the mark.”

Leader, the just transition consultations — which were also criticized by the Commissioner of the Environment — end this Saturday, April 30. Can we expect even more delay after their conclusion — before we finally learn just what a “just” transition really means to this NDP-Liberal government?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Yes, it’s very important in every change that we make to help small businesses, even the smallest of fees will make a big difference for them.

On another matter of importance to many small businesses, is Conservative MP Larry Maguire’s Bill C-208, which reduces the taxes paid when transferring family farms or small businesses to family members. Although Bill C-208 passed last June, the Trudeau government never supported this bill and, in fact, even attempted not to implement it through a finance department press release.

In July, on the night before a committee of the other place intended to examine the government’s defiance of Parliament on this bill, Minister Freeland happened to release a statement acknowledging the law had come into force. The minister committed to bringing forward changes to Bill C-208 in November.

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Leader, here we are in April, nine months later, and we still don’t know what the NDP-Liberal government intends to do with this bill. What are your plans with respect to Bill C-208?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

As Senator Marshall noted recently, last year’s public accounts were not tabled by the Trudeau government until December 14, which is much later than usual. These public accounts showed the Department of Veterans Affairs lapsed over $634 million in spending last year. This is a tremendous amount of money to leave unspent at Veterans Affairs, especially in light of a backlog in processing disability claims that stood at over 40,000 applications at the end of June 2021.

Leader, given the long wait faced by our veterans for benefits they have earned by serving our country, why did the Trudeau government allow $634 million to go unspent at Veterans Affairs last year?