Senator Mégie: I am pleased to know that certain points were covered. Would it be possible for you to table in the Senate the responses to the various recommendations that were made or inform us of the measures that have been taken and what remains to be done? Would it be possible for you to take care of that?

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. According to an article by investigative journalist Brigitte Bureau published on CBC this morning, one in four migrants, including children, ends up in prison.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International put out a report in June 2021 that looks into the detention of migrants in Canada and documents serious human rights violations. The report also makes the following six recommendations to the government:

Gradually abolish immigration detention.

End the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention.

Establish an independent body responsible for overseeing and investigating CBSA . . . .

Sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment . . . .

Conduct a national independent review of the immigration detention system . . . .

Withdraw Canada’s declaration and reservation to Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Does the government plan to implement the six recommendations made last year, and what timeline has it set to follow through on its commitments? If not, why not? Thank you.

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Two weeks ago, on May 25, to mark the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death, the U.S. President signed an executive order on the use of deadly force in policing. On December 16, 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau clearly set out the following priority in the Minister of Public Safety’s mandate letter:

Prohibiting the use of neck restraints in any circumstance and the use of tear gas or rubber bullets for crowd control alongside developing national standards for the use-of-force;

If the Minister of Public Safety hasn’t yet prohibited the use of neck restraints in any circumstance, would he consider announcing plans to deliver on that commitment at the Coalition for Canadian Police Reform conference being held next week?

Senator Mégie: Thank you for your answer, Senator Gold. I’m pleased to know that at least some work is being done in that regard. Do you know whether there’s a simpler, more effective legislative approach for putting an end to the use of neck restraints in Canada, either through regulations or a bill?

Senator Mégie: Thank you for your answer, Senator Gold. Here’s my supplementary question. To put an end to the pandemic, we need to ensure swift, efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. What impact will the decision to close Canadian borders have on the global distribution of vaccines?

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Experts agree that all viruses mutate over time. Most mutations have little to no impact on the properties of the virus.

Concerning the Omicron variant, the WHO noted in its November 30 statement that global travel bans do not prevent the international spread of the virus and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.

Closing the borders can have an adverse effect on global health efforts during a pandemic, by dissuading countries from reporting and sharing epidemiological and sequencing data.

To date, the Omicron variant is the fifth variant “of concern” on the WHO list. It has been detected in several Canadian provinces.

Senator Gold, can you tell us what scientific evidence and which recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada led the government to impose entry restrictions on citizens from 10 African countries?