THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Tuesday, December 13, 2022
The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs met with videoconference this day at 3:03 p.m. [ET], to study Bill S-11, A fourth Act to harmonize federal law with the civil law of Quebec and to amend certain Acts in order to ensure that each language version takes into account the common law and the civil law.
Senator Mobina S. B. Jaffer (Chair) in the chair.
[Translation]
The Chair: Welcome to this meeting. I am Senator Jaffer from British Columbia. This meeting is open to the public. I would ask the honourable senators to introduce themselves, beginning on my right.
Senator Dalphond: Pierre Dalphond, from Quebec
[English]
Senator Boniface: Senator Gwen Boniface from Ontario.
Senator Harder: Peter Harder from Ottawa.
Senator Pate: Kim Pate from here, the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe.
[Translation]
Senator Clement: Bernadette Clement, from Ontario.
Senator Dupuis: Senator Dupuis, the Laurentides senatorial division, Quebec.
[English]
Senator Batters: Denise Batters from Saskatchewan.
The Chair: Senators, this morning we heard from the minister and officials on Bill S-11, A fourth Act to harmonize federal law with the civil law of Quebec and to amend certain Acts in order to ensure that each language version takes into account the common law and the civil law.
Senators, we will now proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill S-11. Are there any questions before we begin? I see none.
I want to remind senators that if there are any issues or you are unsure where we are, please let me know and we will try to clarify.
Senator Batters: I haven’t had a chance yet because we’ve been in meetings and just now in the sitting, but has the minister yet provided a list of his consultations? No?
The Chair: No. We got an answer to the letter from us. The minister answered that, but we did not get the list of consultations. Sorry, Senator Batters.
May I proceed? Is it agreed that the committee proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill S-11, A fourth Act to harmonize federal law with the civil law of Quebec and to amend certain Acts in order to ensure that each language version takes into account the common law and the civil law?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Senators, there are 642 clauses. It is my suggestion, if you agree, that we group the clauses in groups of 50. Is that agreed, senators?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the title stand postponed?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall clause 1, which carries the short title, stand postponed?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall clauses 2 to 50 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 51 to 100 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 101 to 150 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 151 to 200 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 201 to 250 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 251 to 300 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 301 to 350 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 351 to 400 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 401 to 450 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 501 to 550 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 551 to 600 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clauses 600 to 642 carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Shall clause 1, which contains the short title, carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the title carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the bill carry?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
An Hon. Senator: On division.
The Chair: Does the committee wish to append observations to this report? I see none.
Senators, is it agreed that I report this bill to the Senate?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you, senators.
Senators, there are a few other things we have to look after, so please don’t rush out. I won’t keep you long; I promise.
Honourable senators, today is my last meeting of 2022. Honourable senators, this will be our last meeting of 2022.
[Translation]
I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you, especially to the deputy chair, Senator Boisvenu, to Senator Dalphond, and to Senator Tannas. You have helped me tremendously and I am most grateful.
[English]
Members of the steering committee, your support has really aided my work. Thank you.
To the Clerk of the Committee, Mark Palmer, you truly are my anchor and a crucial support to committee members. Thank you.
To the analysts, Julian Roberts and Michaela Keenan-Pelletier, you both have aided the committee and I greatly appreciate your work. Your foresight has been invaluable.
[Translation]
I would also like to thank the interpreters; you were invaluable in helping us communicate with our witnesses. I know it was not always easy, but you did an excellent job. Thank you for your patience.
[English]
To the pages and all staff who have worked hard to make our committee meetings run efficiently, thank you.
To all members of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, thank you for supporting me through thick and thin. Please now give the same support to Senator Cotter.
Senator Cotter, at my invitation, has been attending steering meetings, so I can assure you that the transition from me to Senator Cotter will be flawless.
Before I call on Senator Dalphond to present a motion to appoint Senator Cotter as the next chair, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very successful New Year. Most importantly, please get some rest. This is probably a very hard committee.
[Translation]
Senator Dalphond: I move that Senator Cotter chair the committee as of January 1, 2023.
[English]
But before I ask colleagues to vote, I would like to, on behalf of all my colleagues, to offer you, Madam Chair, our great admiration and respect and a lot of thanks for all the hard work you’ve done. I had with Senator Batters and some other members of this committee over the years, the pleasure to sit with you on steering. I remember some of these meetings were rather long, including some that we held in January of — I forget the year, 2020 or 2021. Senator Batters will remember.
Senator Batters: Ten hours of Zoom.
Senator Dalphond: Ten hours of meetings sometimes per day and not once in the month but many days in the month. We always had some fun doing it, even sometimes it was long.
The Chair: Don’t share that.
Senator Dalphond: Certainly, thanks to you, the conversation was always easy. Everybody got the chance to speak, to address his or her concerns. You were always very firmly but politely guiding us in the right direction and making sure everybody was heard, listened to and taken into consideration.
I know sometimes you had some health issues which prevented you from attending, but you were back the week after and always asking us to do as much as you are doing. Your example is always a pleasure to follow.
[Translation]
Madam Chair, it has been a pleasure to follow you in both official languages, as French is also a language you speak very well. On behalf of all the members of the committee, thank you so much. We have enjoyed your tenure as chair and we look forward to having you as a member of the committee in the years to come.
The Chair: Thank you. We have a motion before us.
[English]
All in favour?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Carried. And I see no other business.
[Translation]
Senator Dupuis: Madam Chair, thank you for not compelling me to raise a point of order. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the work you have done.
The Chair: Thank you.
Senator Dupuis: Since we are predominantly lawyers, we know that leading a committee made up of lawyers is a challenge in itself. I greatly appreciate all the work you have done. You conducted our discussions in an elegant and respectful manner, and you were able to lead us to conclusions that we might have wished were more remote. However, you kept us going at a certain pace that ultimately got the job done.
Thank you very much, Senator Jaffer.
The Chair: Thank you very much, that will do. Senator Clement?
Senator Clement: I completely agree with Senators Dalphond and Dupuis.
[English]
I would like to add this. I am still relatively new in this role. We welcomed two new senators today, but here I still feel young.
The Chair: You have to stop. You’re going to embarrass me. Stop, stop, stop.
Senator Clement: No, No. The Legal Committee was one of the first committee meetings I attended as a new senator. This is a very intimidating space, but there was Senator Jaffer, sitting at the head of the table, always gracious, always elegant, with a heart and a mind that really shone brightly. I thank you for all the inspiration. I’m so grateful that my tenure is overlapping with yours, so that I can continue to learn from you.
[Translation]
Thank you very much.
Senator Boisvenu: I will not add to what my colleagues have already said. As deputy chair and member of the subcommittee, it has been very pleasant to negotiate with you. I do not wish to gloss over the challenges you face in terms of health, which is more important than work.
I would like to wish you a very happy holiday season with your family. I know that family is very important to you, but I especially wanted to wish you the best of health in 2023, to get through these difficult times and continue to have a very good life. You very much deserve it.
The Chair: Thank you very much. One last comment from Senator Pate. You only have 50 seconds.
[English]
Senator Pate: I want to join the chorus of thanks and appreciations to you, Senator Jaffer. You and I first met before we were both in this place, a long time ago, when you were doing work on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association and bringing forth the issues of misogyny, racism and class bias within the criminal legal system as part of the Bertha Wilson task force. Then you came here and I started appearing before the Legal Committee, and it was intimidating in a whole new kind of way to come before a committee for 25-plus years and then to come and join and to have been able to see and be inspired, be mentored by and to be schooled by you, all through that process, has been an incredible privilege and a humbling honour, so I want to thank you.
I have no doubt that although you’re leaving the committee chair, you’re not leaving the committee. It will be a while before you leave the Senate, and I know you won’t be stopping even then. Thank you for continuing to inspire, not just those of us who were young at one time but those coming behind, who are still young. Thank you.
The Chair: Senators, thank you very much for your comments. It is very heartwarming, and, yes, I am going to be member of the Legal Committee. Please give the same support you all gave to me to Senator Cotter.
[Translation]
Senator Boisvenu, thank you so much for your help, especially when I was ill. Thank you very much.
[English]
Please give the same support you gave me to Senator Cotter, and I’m sure it will be an even richer year. To all of you, as I said earlier, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and please get some rest.
(The committee adjourned.)