Journals of the Senate
2nd Session, 41st Parliament
Issue 143
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
2:00 p.m.
The Honourable Leo Housakos, Speaker
The Members convened were:
The Honourable Senators
Andreychuk, Ataullahjan, Baker, Batters, Bellemare, Beyak, Black, Boisvenu, Campbell, Carignan, Chaput, Cools, Cordy, Cowan, Dagenais, Dawson, Day, Downe, Doyle, Eaton, Eggleton, Fortin-Duplessis, Fraser, Frum, Furey, Gerstein, Greene, Hervieux-Payette, Housakos, Hubley, Jaffer, Johnson, Joyal, Kenny, Lang, LeBreton, Lovelace Nicholas, MacDonald, Maltais, Marshall, Martin, Massicotte, McInnis, McIntyre, Meredith, Mitchell, Mockler, Moore, Munson, Nancy Ruth, Neufeld, Ngo, Ogilvie, Oh, Patterson, Plett, Poirier, Raine, Ringuette, Rivard, Runciman, Seidman, Smith (Cobourg), Smith (Saurel), Stewart Olsen, Tannas, Tardif, Unger, Wallace, Watt, Wells, White
The Members in attendance to business were:
The Honourable Senators
Andreychuk, Ataullahjan, Baker, Batters, Bellemare, Beyak, Black, Boisvenu, Campbell, Carignan, Chaput, Cools, Cordy, Cowan, Dagenais, Dawson, Day, Downe, Doyle, Eaton, Eggleton, Fortin-Duplessis, Fraser, Frum, Furey, Gerstein, Greene, Hervieux-Payette, Housakos, Hubley, Jaffer, Johnson, Joyal, Kenny, Lang, LeBreton, Lovelace Nicholas, MacDonald, Maltais, Marshall, Martin, Massicotte, McInnis, McIntyre, Meredith, Mitchell, Mockler, Moore, Munson, Nancy Ruth, Neufeld, Ngo, Ogilvie, Oh, Patterson, Plett, Poirier, Raine, Ringuette, Rivard, Runciman, Seidman, Smith (Cobourg), Smith (Saurel), Stewart Olsen, Tannas, Tardif, Unger, Wallace, Watt, Wells, White
The first list records senators present in the Senate Chamber during the course of the sitting.
An asterisk in the second list indicates a senator who, while not present during the sitting, was in attendance to business, as defined in subsections 8(2) and (3) of the Senators Attendance Policy.
PRAYERS
SENATORS' STATEMENTS
Some Honourable Senators made statements.
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
Presenting or Tabling Reports from Committees
The Honourable Senator Tardif, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, presented its fifth report (budget—study on second-language learning).
(The report is printed as an appendix at pages 1870-1875 (available in print format PDF).)
The Honourable Senator Tardif moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Fraser, that the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
The Honourable Senator Dawson, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, tabled its eleventh report (Industry Canada's User Fee Proposal for Fixed-Satellite Services and Broadcasting-Satellite Services Spectrum in Canada, without amendment).—Sessional Paper No. 2/41-1211S.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS
Bills — Second Reading
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Reports of Committees — Other
Orders No. 1 and 2 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Motions
Pursuant to rule 5-10(2), Order No. 107 was withdrawn.
Inquiries
Order No. 2 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Other
Order No. 2 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
OTHER BUSINESS
Commons Public Bills — Third Reading
Orders No. 1 and 2 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Senate Public Bills — Reports of Committees
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Frum, seconded by the Honourable Senator Demers, for the adoption of the eleventh report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights (Bill S-201, An Act to prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination, with amendments), presented in the Senate on February 19, 2015.
The Honourable Senator Poirier moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Marshall, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
Order No.3 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Commons Public Bills — Reports of Committees
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Senate Public Bills — Second Reading
Orders No. 1 to 5 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Segal, seconded by the Honourable Senator Greene, for the second reading of Bill S-220, An Act to establish the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Marshall, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Mercer, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mitchell, for the second reading of Bill S-223, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Parliament of Canada Act (Speakership of the Senate)
The Honourable Senator Hubley moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Munson, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Commons Public Bills — Second Reading
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Frum, seconded by the Honourable Senator Demers, for the second reading of Bill C-518, An Act to amend the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act (withdrawal allowance).
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The bill was then read the second time.
The Honourable Senator White moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Maltais, that the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
Order No. 3 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Reports of Committees — Other
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Consideration of the tenth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce (budget—study on digital currency), presented in the Senate on May 14, 2015.
The Honourable Senator Martin, for the Honourable Senator Gerstein, moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Marshall, that the report be adopted.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Motions
Orders No. 62, 60, 113, 47, 79, 73, 8, 55 and 9 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Cowan, seconded by the Honourable Senator Munson:
That a Special Committee on Equalization and Fiscal Federalism be appointed to consider whether the current formulae for equalization and other related federal transfers affect the ability of Canadians living in all regions of the country to access a basic standard of public services without facing significantly different levels of taxation.
That the committee be composed of nine members, to be nominated by the Committee of Selection and that four members constitute a quorum;
That, the committee have power to send for persons, papers and records; to examine witnesses; and to publish such papers and evidence from day to day as may be ordered by the committee;
That, notwithstanding rule 12-18(2)(b)(i), the committee have power to sit from Monday to Friday, even though the Senate may then be adjourned for a period exceeding one week; and
That the committee be empowered to report from time to time and to submit its final report no later than March 31, 2015.
The Honourable Senator Munson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Fraser, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
Order No. 66 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Inquiries
Orders No. 42, 43, 45, 34 and 17 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Plett, calling the attention of the Senate to the decisions made by certain provinces' law societies to deny accreditation to Trinity Western University's proposed new law school.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Jaffer moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tardif, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
Orders No. 13, 19 and 21 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Cools, calling the attention of the Senate to November 11, known to all as Remembrance Day, of this, the centennial year of the July 28 start of hostilities in the 1914-1918 Great War, which day is given to the national and collective mourning of Canadians, on which we remember and honour the many who served and who fell in the service of God, King and Country, and, whose incalculable sacrifice of their lives, we honour in our simultaneous yet individual, personal acts of prayer and remembrance, wherein we pause and bow our heads together in sacred unity, at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, for the many who gave themselves, and:
To those who served in World War I, with its stupendous sacrifices, its massive mobilisation and fielding of millions of men, on all sides, and to its enormous casualties and losses of life, and, to our young country's noble contribution to this far away overseas War, of 620,000 men, being ten percent of Canada's then population, and, to our 60,661 fallen, being ten percent of those serving, and, to Canada's Prime Minister, the Conservative, Robert Borden's success in earning Canada's representation at the 1919 Allies' Paris Peace Conference, and, to his and his Ministers' presence there, and, to the respect he earned for Canadian contribution to the war, and for Canada's control of its foreign affairs, wars and peace, and, to the changing relations between the Allied leaders, and, to their changing politics at home, and, to Canadians at home and abroad, particularly the Canadian-born British Prime Minister, Andrew Bonar Law and the Canadian Max Aitken, known as Lord Beaverbrook, both of whom were active in British politics in these events, and who endeavoured, in 1922, to avoid a new war at Chanak, in the Turkish Dardanelles.
The Honourable Senator Martin, for the Honourable Senator Cools, moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dagenais, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Cools, calling the attention of the Senate to November 11, known to all as Remembrance Day, of this, the centennial year of the July 28 start of hostilities in the 1914-1918 Great War, which day is given to the national and collective mourning of Canadians, on which we remember and honour the many who served and who fell in the service of God, King and Country, and, whose incalculable sacrifice of their lives, we honour in our simultaneous yet individual, personal acts of prayer and remembrance, wherein we pause and bow our heads together in sacred unity, at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, for the many who gave themselves, and:
To Canadian and British peace of mind, freed from the fear and sorrow of the possible sacrifice of their beloved sons to war, so soon again, and, to their "blessed relief,'' and, to Canadian unanimity in support of their Prime Minister Mackenzie King's stand against war at Chanak, and, to Canadian events, and, to Canadians such as John Wesley Dafoe, the great journalist-editor of the Manitoba Free Press, later the Winnipeg Free Press, who had attended the 1919 Allies' Paris Peace Conference with Prime Minister Robert Borden's Canadian delegation, and, who had supported Canada's position on Chanak, and, who had strenuously opposed Prime Minister Lloyd George's demands to the Dominions and Canada to send troops there, and, to John Dafoe's brilliant account of Canadians and the Canadian Government's desire to live without war against people who had done them no harm, and, to his historic Manitoba Free Press article, titled, The Rise of the Commonwealth Dominion Responsibility For External Affairs, and, to Canada's influence on British politics and the other Dominions, and, to Canada's firm, principled, and vindicated position not to send Canadian troops to the Dardanelles, at Chanak, and, to Canadian-born British Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law's negotiated and lasting peace with Turkey, in the Treaty of Lausanne, that is still in force, and, to the profound truth that the greatest act of peace is simply to make no unnecessary war, and, to make absolutely no war, for the purpose, that is the pursuit of ambition.
The Honourable Senator Meredith moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tannas, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
MOTIONS
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Munson:
That the Senate take notice of the month of June as the birth month of Helen Keller, who is renowned around the world for her perseverance and achievements and who, as a person who was deaf-blind, is an inspiration to us all and, in particular, to members of the deaf-blind community; and
That the Senate recognize the month of June as "Deaf-Blind Awareness Month'', to promote public awareness of deaf-blind issues and to recognize the contributions of Canadians who are deaf-blind.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tardif, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
° ° °
The Honourable Senator Tardif moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Munson:
That, notwithstanding the order of the Senate adopted on Thursday, November 21, 2013, the date for the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages in relation to its study on best practices for language policies and second-language learning in a context of linguistic duality or plurality be extended from June 30, 2015 to December 15, 2015; and
That the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate a report if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the report be deemed to have been tabled in the Chamber.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
REPORTS DEPOSITED WITH THE CLERK OF THE SENATE PURSUANT TO RULE 14-1(7):
Report of the Centennial Flame Research Award for the year 2014, pursuant to the Centennial Flame Research Award Act, S.C. 1991, c. 17, sbs. 7(1).—Sessional Paper No. 2/41-1207.
Agreement for RCMP policing services (First Nations Community Policing Service) for the province of British Columbia, pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-10, sbs. 20(5).—Sessional Paper No. 2/41-1208.
Summaries of the Corporate Plan and Borrowing Plan for 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 and of the Operating Budget for 2015-2016 and Capital Budget for 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 125(4).—Sessional Paper No. 2/41-1209.
Summaries of the Corporate Plan for the period 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 and of the Operating and Capital Budgets and Borrowing Plan for 2015-2016 of Farm Credit Canada, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 125(4).—Sessional Paper No. 2/41-1210.
ADJOURNMENT
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Marshall:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
(Accordingly, at 3:46 p.m. the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.)
Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5
Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples
The Honourable Senator Enverga replaced the Honourable Senator Lang (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Beyak replaced the Honourable Senator Ataullahjan (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Lang replaced the Honourable Senator Enverga (May 25, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Ataullahjan replaced the Honourable Senator Beyak (May 25, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry
The Honourable Senator Ngo replaced the Honourable Senator Enverga (May 25, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce
The Honourable Senator Doyle replaced the Honourable Senator Tkachuk (May 25, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights
The Honourable Senator Tannas replaced the Honourable Senator Rivard (May 14, 2015).
Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration
The Honourable Senator White replaced the Honourable Senator Rivard (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Wells replaced the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C. (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Tkachuk replaced the Honourable Senator Poirier (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., replaced the Honourable Senator Wells (May 25, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Poirier replaced the Honourable Senator Tkachuk (May 25, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Rivard replaced the Honourable Senator White (May 25, 2015).
The Honourable Senator LeBreton, P.C., replaced the Honourable Senator Poirier (May 14, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Lang replaced the Honourable Senator Raine (May 14, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
The Honourable Senator Boisvenu replaced the Honourable Senator Eaton (May 14, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on National Finance
The Honourable Senator Unger replaced the Honourable Senator Smith (Saurel) (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Ataullahjan replaced the Honourable Senator Eaton (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Nancy Ruth replaced the Honourable Senator Bellemare (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Smith (Saurel) replaced the Honourable Senator Maltais (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Maltais replaced the Honourable Senator Smith (Saurel) (May 25, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence
The Honourable Senator Jaffer replaced the Honourable Senator Day (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Runciman replaced the Honourable Senator White (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Beyak replaced the Honourable Senator Wells (May 25, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Wells replaced the Honourable Senator Beyak (May 22, 2015).
Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament
The Honourable Senator Tkachuk replaced the Honourable Senator Neufeld (May 26, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Neufeld replaced the Honourable Senator Tkachuk (May 25, 2015).
Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
The Honourable Senator Stewart Olsen replaced the Honourable Senator Lang (May 14, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Lang replaced the Honourable Senator Beyak (May 14, 2015).
The Honourable Senator Frum replaced the Honourable Senator Patterson (May 14, 2015).