Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I note that this item is at day 15. Therefore, with leave of the Senate, I ask that the consideration of this item be postponed until the next sitting of the Senate.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I rise today to request leave of the Senate:

That the sixth interim report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights entitled Combatting Hate: Islamophobia and its impact on Muslims in Canada, tabled with the Clerk of the Senate on November 2, 2023, be replaced with a corrected version.

The earlier version had inadvertently misattributed one quote, and the corrected version addresses that error.

We apologize to the witness for this regrettable error.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan, pursuant to notice of September 28, 2023, moved:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate its reports on issues relating to human rights generally, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the reports be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

(On motion of Senator Clement, debate adjourned.)

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: My question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Senator Gold, my office has yet again received disturbing reports regarding online citizenship application procedures.

A permanent resident cardholder applied for their citizenship online and was sent a citizenship test link. However, the instructions clearly stated that they could only complete this online test between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. that night. Fortunately, the applicant was aware of standard procedure and was ultimately given 21 days to complete the test.

Many applicants have undoubtedly found themselves in this situation, which is unacceptable and applies unnecessary additional stress on applicants who are not aware of their rights. My question, Senator Gold, is: What is being done to rectify these mistakes?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate its reports on issues relating to human rights generally, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the reports be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

[Translation]

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Senate call on the Government of Canada to recognize the erasure of Afghan women and girls from public life as gender apartheid.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan, pursuant to notice of June 6, 2023, moved:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate, no later than September 30, 2023, interim reports on issues relating to human rights generally, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the reports be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate, no later than September 30, 2023, interim reports on issues relating to human rights generally, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the reports be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan, pursuant to notice of April 26, 2023, moved:

That, pursuant to rule 12-24(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the Government to the fourth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, entitled Human Rights of Federally-Sentenced Persons, tabled in the Senate on June 16, 2021 and adopted on June 23, 2021, during the Second Session of the Forty‑third Parliament, with the Minister of Public Safety being identified as minister responsible for responding to the report, in consultation with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, as well as the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan introduced Bill S-263, An Act respecting the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking.

(Bill read first time.)

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, last Thursday I asked about the unacceptable wait time for visitor visas for Pakistan, which was 638 days. Yesterday, I heard from community members that it has gone up this week to 802 days — this is inhumane.

Leader, that means that family members have to wait for almost two years to be able to visit their loved ones. What is being done to reduce the wait time for visas?

Senator Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, you talk about the process being faster, and it has been digitized; yet, between last Thursday and this Wednesday, the wait time has gone up to 802 days.

Senator Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, you talk about the process being faster, and it has been digitized; yet, between last Thursday and this Wednesday, the wait time has gone up to 802 days.

Senator Gold, I want to read to you one of the messages I received:

Why are we suffering the most? We are contributing to the workforce, paying taxes and yet no one is helping us. The Canadian United Arab Emirates visa office is the most painful visa office.

What do I say to this gentleman and others who feel abandoned by this Liberal government?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak on maternal and newborn health, an issue near and dear to my heart for many years.

In the past, I took the lead as the rapporteur for the IPU’s Committee on Democracy and Human Rights in drafting a report on the role of parliaments in assisting women and children’s health services. I also played a critical role in the landmark resolution on the matter, and I’m proud to say that it was the first time a resolution of its kind was adopted by the IPU.

For those of you who are not familiar with the IPU, it’s the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which consists of 179 countries. It predates the League of Nations, which means it’s older than the United Nations too.

I am particularly proud of my work on the accountability mechanism meant to monitor the progress of member parliaments in implementing the resolution. We cannot simply make commitments but forget about them as new issues arise. As a result, I was named IPU’s Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal and Newborn Child Health.

Although my work on maternal and newborn health has fallen to the sidelines in the last few years, I am honoured to be hosting an event tonight, along with our former colleague the Honourable Asha Seth, who has done incredible work on nutrition. The reception will highlight Canada’s leadership in global newborn and child health, and we will have the pleasure of hearing from Nutrition International’s Director of Global Advocacy.

It will be a good occasion to remind ourselves of the importance of advocating for this often-forgotten basic human right. In Canada, about 50 to 85 women die each year in childbirth or during postpartum, and over half of those mothers’ babies die as well. Our country still has a lot of work to do to ensure that Canadian mothers and their babies get a healthy start to life.

I am grateful to the former senator Seth for her continued advocacy for maternal, newborn and child health. Thank you.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan, pursuant to notice of April 26, 2023, moved:

That, notwithstanding rule 12-15(2), the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights be empowered to hold in camera meetings for the purpose of hearing witnesses and gathering specialized or sensitive information in relation to its study of human rights generally, specifically on the topic of anti-racism, sexism and systemic discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That, notwithstanding rule 12-15(2), the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights be empowered to hold in camera meetings for the purpose of hearing witnesses and gathering specialized or sensitive information in relation to its study of human rights generally, specifically on the topic of anti-racism, sexism and systemic discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, two days hence, I will move:

That, pursuant to rule 12-24(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the Government to the fourth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, entitled Human Rights of Federally-Sentenced Persons, tabled in the Senate on June 16, 2021 and adopted on June 23, 2021, during the Second Session of the Forty‑third Parliament, with the Minister of Public Safety being identified as minister responsible for responding to the report, in consultation with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, as well as the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union concerning the Parliamentary Forum at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, held in New York, New York, United States of America, from July 12 to 13, 2022.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan moved:

That the fifth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, entitled Canada’s Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan, tabled in the Senate on December 14, 2022, be adopted and that, pursuant to rule 12-24(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the government, with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada being identified as minister responsible for responding to the report, in consultation with the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: My question is for the government leader.

The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights has been working extensively to understand the extent of Islamophobia in Canada. Recently, testimony by officials from the Canada Revenue Agency as well as from the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson shed light on systemic biases in the Canadian government. We learned that the CRA has been obstructing the ombudsperson’s investigation on the grounds of national security and his lack of jurisdiction. The CRA Charities Directorate’s director general shared that the framework used for audits was not established or created at the CRA.

Leaders in the Muslim charity sector have been speaking out against systemic biases for years now, and their fears have since been confirmed by reports by the University of Toronto Institute of Islamic Studies and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.

Leader, why did it take a Senate study on Islamophobia to finally get the ball rolling on this issue?

Senator Ataullahjan: The Prime Minister acknowledged the existence of systemic Islamophobia in the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, and referred the review to the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson. The ombudsperson has testified before the Human Rights Committee and admitted that he’s working with one arm tied behind his back. The much-publicized National Summit on Islamophobia in 2021 didn’t achieve anything. Once again, this government is all talk and no action. Leader, what are this government’s real plans to finally tackling systemic Islamophobia?