Hon. Jim Quinn: Honourable senators, one of the valuable experiences to date for me as a member of this chamber is learning from our debates. Honourable colleagues consistently bring forward thoughtful arguments that I know, as an independent senator, have influenced my own thinking on many topics we have debated. And I believe that is the value of debate — to be open to listening to the positions of others and being able to adjust one’s own view so that the subject at hand ends up in a better place for all those affected by the eventual decision.

In the case of Bill C-12, there is no question that the objective of getting benefits into the hands of eligible senior citizens is beyond reproach. I want to reassure honourable colleagues that I am fully supportive of this objective.

At committee we heard from the minister and from senior government officials about the importance of approving this bill by March 4. We also heard of the processing of applications for OAS benefits for seniors having been on hold these past weeks pending the passage of Bill C-12 by March 4. That passage would allow the information flow to resume, enabling the system to process benefits by the beginning of July.

The people we heard from were very focused on the process, the mechanics, if you will, of ensuring OAS income is delivered and not affected by the payments noted in the bill’s only clause. After hearing the minister and officials, I have no doubt this objective will be realized in terms of getting the benefits out. They know how to do it.

At the same time, and as honourable colleagues know, we’ve encountered a problem emanating from the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, affecting the OAS Act. That error, which was caused by Parliament and not necessarily the public service, resulted in certain COVID payments being counted as income for OAS/GIS recipients — a situation that legislators including, I believe, all of us, want to correct. This is the general scope of Bill C-12; to exempt certain payments from income in calculating OAS/GIS benefits.

This error has been known since at least last fall. As Bill C-12 was developed and made its way through the process from the department to where it is now, this error was known.

The other place considered Bill C-12 and recognized its importance to seniors. Its importance was underscored by the fact that, after receiving second reading, it was not subject to the lower chamber’s committee process and was deemed to have been read the third time. All members of the lower chamber agreed to this process, and the bill arrived at our chamber.

I, and I believe all of us, want the Senate to pass Bill C-12 in a timely manner. The amendment that has been proposed is not complicated. It is an amendment that establishes the legal foundation for the civil service to be whole and beyond reproach in delivering the COVID benefits. But some parliamentarians consider small errors that can be corrected later may also become points of discussion for other parts of government when reporting to the public, especially when those errors call into question the program’s legal foundation.

Can we agree to amend this bill? Some of my honourable colleagues have raised a doubt, and the risk, associated with returning this bill to a House that has a minority government.

If we do agree to the proposed amendment, I understand it could be sent back to the other place before Friday. I have also heard some honourable colleagues express their concern that it may not be dealt with in a timely manner or, indeed, passed.

In a minority Parliament, political parties are more sensitive to the concerns of Canadians. An election can occur at any time. My point is that no political party in the other place wants to prevent benefits for seniors. Therefore, given its rapid, unanimous passage a few days ago, it is difficult to accept that it would not be considered and accepted by the other place before the end of the day on Friday.

I am sure the leadership in the other place does not want to jeopardize the agreement by most, if not all, parliamentarians as Bill C-12 must pass for the benefit of our senior citizens.

In closing, I want to reiterate my support for Bill C-12. I also want to feel that I have, and we have, done our jobs in improving a bill after sober second thought — more importantly, affixing an anomaly that otherwise would place public service administrators in a position of expertly administering a process, but without the appropriate legal authority in place.

Senator Cordy noted a few minutes ago that the original error was previously embraced by this chamber. How can we continue as senators knowing we place this institution in a position of accepting a bill that has a fundamental error in law? While some would argue that there are other future methods to correct this error, my 32 years of public service tells me that, in that regard, nothing can be guaranteed until it is in fact done.

We should fix the problem now and demonstrate to Canadians that the Senate is indeed an institution that plays an important role in Canada’s legislative process. Thank you.