THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

OTTAWA, Wednesday, November 22, 2023
(81)

[English]

The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs met this day at 4:16 p.m., in room B30, Senate of Canada Building, the chair, the Honourable Brent Cotter, presiding.

Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Batters, Boisvenu, Clement, Cotter, Dalphond, Dupuis, Klyne, Pate, Prosper and Simons (10).

Participating in the meeting: Aoife Mc Donald, Administrative Assistant, Committees Directorate; Michaela Keenan-Pelletier and Iryna Zazulya, analysts, Library of Parliament.

Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Thursday, November 9, 2023, the committee began its examination of the report on the Statutes Repeal Act for the year 2023.

WITNESSES:

Department of Justice Canada:

Riri Shen, Deputy Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Legislative Counsel, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector;

Pascale Parker, Legal Counsel, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Specialized Legislative Services Section;

Marie-Claude Gervais, Senior Counsel and Deputy Director, Policy Sector, Programs Branch, Legal Services;

Lisa Hitch, Senior Counsel, Policy Sector, Family Law and Youth Justice Policy Section, Office of the Senior General Counsel.

Public Services and Procurement Canada:

Levent Özmutlu, Director General, Strategic Policy Sector, Procurement Branch.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat:

Domenico Mancini, Director, Pension Policy and Programs;

Matthew Millar, Senior Director, Pay Equity.

Department of Finance Canada:

Nicolas Marion, Senior Director, Payments Policy, Financial Services Division, Financial Sector Policy Branch;

Barbara Russell, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Financial Institutions Division, Financial Sector Policy Branch.

Department of National Defence:

Stephen Irwin, Director, Pension and Social Programs, Military Personnel Command.

Global Affairs Canada:

Daniel Barbarie, Deputy Director, Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Policy.

Employment and Social Development Canada:

Muhammad Ali, Executive Director, Workplace and Labour Relations Policy Division;

Kevin Wagdin, Director, Old Age Security Policy and Legislation, Seniors and Pensions Policy Secretariat.

Privy Council Office:

Rachel Pereira, Director, Democratic Institutions.

Transport Canada:

Stephen Scott, Director General, Rail Safety;

Sean Rogers, Executive Director, Legislative, Regulatory and International Affairs.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:

Samir Chhabra, Director General, Marketplace Framework Policy Branch.

Employment and Social Development Canada:

Mona Nandy, Director General, Employment Insurance Policy, Skills and Employment Branch.

Riri Shen made a statement and together with Marie-Claude Gervais, Lisa Hitch, Levent Özmutlu, Domenico Mancini, Matthew Millar, Nicolas Marion, Barbara Russell, Stephen Irwin, Daniel Barbarie, Muhammad Ali, Kevin Wagdin, Rachel Pereira, Stephen Scott, Sean Rogers, Samir Chhabra, Mona Nandy, and Pascale Parker, answered questions.

The committee considered a draft report.

It was agreed that the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be empowered to adopt the final version of the report, taking into consideration this meeting’s discussions, and with any necessary editorial, grammatical or translation changes as required.

It was agreed that the chair be authorized to table the report in the Senate, by December 5, 2023.

At 6:17 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.

ATTEST:

Vincent Labrosse

Clerk of the Committee