Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, I would like to ask a question, if I may, to the Chair of the Ethics Committee, Senator Seidman. Would you accept a question?

Senator McPhedran: Thank you very much.

First, Senator Seidman, allow me to begin with an apology for standing to ask this question, not realizing that you had been delayed in another meeting. I want to assure you that I meant no disrespect with that. It was a mistake that I made.

I also wish to note that the Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators is one of only five Senate committees that are empowered to act on their own initiative, without a prior order of reference from the Senate.

Recognizing that the committee is responsible to conduct, on its own initiative, any review and study of all matters relating to the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators, some time ago I submitted for your consideration a letter requesting attention to the current ethics code, following up on communications I have sent to the committee over the years that I have been in this place.

That letter was dated February 24, 2022. It was sent to you as chair, the deputy chair, all members of the committee, the committee clerk and the Senate Ethics Officer.

In so doing, I requested that our Ethics Committee undertake a study of the ethics code and I proposed eight areas of potential study — ranging from current financial disclosure requirements; examination of income from external board memberships and/or consultancies; Senate Ethics Officer transparency and reporting protocols, including protections and procedural rights for non‑parliamentarians impacted by such inquiries; and a recommendation to create an annotated commentary to the code to increase clarity and comprehension, particularly given how many appointments have been made to the Senate in more recent times.

These same issues were also raised as a part of my Inquiry No. 6, which is now concluded.

Senator Seidman, I wish to ascertain whether the committee will undertake to consider this study proposal. Thank you very much.

Senator McPhedran: Senator Marwah, can you give us a sense, please, of the timing of the work of this special committee, and when we can expect to receive a report back to senators?

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, my question is directed to Senator Marwah as Chair of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and is related to the climate crisis the world over, but also as it relates to the Senate.

The Sierra Club and six other non-profit organizations recently reported that fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest banks reached US$4.6 trillion since the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The latest report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released April 4, warned it’s now or never and underscored the imperative to the financial sector to rapidly reduce its support for fossil fuels.

Senator Marwah, my question to you as chair of Internal Economy is informed by all of the big five banks in Canada — Scotiabank, RBC, CIBC, BMO and TD — being among the world’s top 20 financiers of fossil fuel producers, and the Sierra Club report named three Canadian big banks among the “dirty dozen” of top international fossil fuel financiers. RBC is number 5, Scotiabank is number 9, and TD is number 11. Senator Marwah, could you please inform us as to the bank or banks that the Senate of Canada uses for administration of the Senate, including payment of salaries to senators and their staff?