Hon. Jane Cordy: Senator Gold, Canada is in the midst of a housing crisis not seen since post-World War II. In my home province of Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality saw the highest year-over-year spike in residential rent in the country between 2021 and 2022. At the same time, the vacancy rate stayed around 1%, which is the second lowest in the country.

Yesterday, the Progressive Senate Group heard from a panel of experts on the housing crisis, and their urgency is echoed in the concerns of all Canadians. The Prime Minister’s announcement last week to remove the GST from construction of new rental units was a welcome one, to be sure. It is a great start, but this alone will not solve the problem.

What will the federal government do to ensure that all levels of government coordinate action on the critical housing issue? Senator Gold, the lack of housing is a human rights issue.

Hon. Jane Cordy: Minister Gould, welcome to the Senate of Canada. Thank you for being with us today. My question is a follow-up to the question that I raised in this chamber to Senator Gold on February 10. During the last election, this government had committed to provide 15 weeks of adoptive leave for parents. However, for families built through surrogacy in certain provinces there is no adoption process. The names of the parents who use surrogates go directly on the birth certificate.

Could you provide us with the details on how the government intends to support all families built through surrogacy, given that different provinces and territories treat the surrogacy process differently, particularly in provinces where parents are not adopting their children but, rather, have their names directly on the birth certificate?

Senator Cordy: Thank you for following up, Senator Gold, because things have certainly changed tremendously. I remember — and perhaps a few others on the line who may be my age will remember — getting eight weeks’ parental leave after one’s child was born. I have to tell you that it was really tough going back eight weeks after my older daughter was born, since I had been in the hospital a month beforehand.

Senator Gold, I met these young men who are expecting their first baby this month, in February. Congratulations to them. They are bringing this issue forward to help other people, because in some of these situations it’s too late for them to benefit.

In a recent conversation, one of the fathers said they were very fortunate because they are both professionals with good-paying jobs — as was the couple from Dartmouth. However, there is a gap in the law, and parents shouldn’t have to be well off to afford surrogacy. I’m not sure how many of us in our twenties would be able to afford $100,000 for the procedure. The surrogacy laws must be updated.

Senator Gold, would you please request that the government fulfill what were campaign promises relating to in vitro fertilization under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act?