The Members convened were:

The Honourable Senators

AndersonArnotAtaullahjanAudetteBattersBernardBlackBoehmBoisvenuBoveyBoyerBrazeauBureyCardozoCarignanClementCordyCotterCoyleDagenaisDaskoDeacon (Nova Scotia)Deacon (Ontario)DeanDowneDuncanDupuisForestFrancisFureyGagnéGalvezGerbaGignacGoldHarderHartlingHousakosJafferKlyneKutcherLaBoucane-BensonLoffredaMacDonaldManningMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCallumMcPhedranMégieMiville-DechêneMoncionMoodieOhOmidvarOslerPatterson (Nunavut)Patterson (Ontario)PetitclercPettenPlettQuinnRavaliaRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSimonsSmithTannasWallinWellsWooYussuff

The Members in attendance to business were:

The Honourable Senators

AndersonArnotAtaullahjanAudetteBattersBernardBlackBoehmBoisvenuBoveyBoyerBrazeauBureyCardozoCarignanClementCordyCotterCoyleDagenaisDaskoDeacon (Nova Scotia)Deacon (Ontario)DeanDowneDuncanDupuisForestFrancisFureyGagnéGalvezGerbaGignacGoldHarderHartlingHousakosJafferKlyneKutcherLaBoucane-BensonLoffredaMacDonaldManningMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCallumMcPhedranMégieMiville-DechêneMoncionMoodieOhOmidvarOslerPatterson (Nunavut)Patterson (Ontario)PetitclercPettenPlettQuinnRavaliaRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSimonsSmithTannasWallinWellsWooYussuff

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

At 2:03 p.m., the Honourable the Speaker informed the Senate that the following communication had been received:

RIDEAU HALL

May 10, 2023

Mr. Speaker,

I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada, signified royal assent by written declaration to the bills listed in the Schedule to this letter on the 10^th day of May, 2023, at 4:59 p.m.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable

The Speaker of the Senate

Ottawa

Schedule

Bills Assented To

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff (Bill S-211, Chapter 9, 2023)

An Act to establish Food Day in Canada (Bill S-227, Chapter 10, 2023)

An Act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and the Income Tax Act (Bill C-46, Chapter 11, 2023)

Senators’ Statements

Some Honourable Senators made statements.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

Presenting or Tabling Reports from Committees

The Honourable Senator Manning, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, presented the fifth report of the committee (Budget—study of issues relating to the management of Canada’s fisheries and oceans—power to travel).

(The report is printed as Appendix A at pages 1655-1662 (available in print format PDF).)

(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)

The Honourable Senator Manning moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Batters, 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.

o o o

The Honourable Senator Manning, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, presented the sixth report of the committee (Budget—examine and report on Canada’s seal populations and their effect on Canada’s fisheries—power to hire staff and to travel).

(The report is printed as Appendix B at pages 1663-1670 (available in print format PDF).)

(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)

The Honourable Senator Manning moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Oh, 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.

o o o

The Honourable Senator Omidvar presented the following:

Thursday, May 11, 2023

The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology has the honour to present its

TWELFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-22, An Act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act, has, in obedience to the order of reference of March 9, 2023, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.Preamble, page 1: Add the following after line 8:

“Whereas persons with disabilities may face additional barriers because of their gender, racialized or Indigenous status or other intersecting statuses;”.

2.Clause 9, page 3: Replace line 29 with the following:

“this Act;

(c.1) cannot be recovered or retained, in whole or in part, under the terms of any contract, insurance plan or similar instrument; and”.

3.New clause 10.1, page 4: Add the following after line 5:

“10.1 A person, or any other person on their behalf, may appeal, to a body identified in regulations made under paragraph 11(1)(i), a Minister’s determination

(a) that the person is ineligible for a Canada disability benefit; or

(b) of the amount a Canada disability benefit that the person has received or will receive.”.

4.Clause 11, page 6: Replace lines 11 and 12 with the following:

“must take into consideration

(a) the Official Poverty Line as defined in section 2 of the Poverty Reduction Act;

(b) the additional costs associated with living with a disability;

(c) the challenges faced by those living with a disability in earning an income from work;

(d) the intersectional needs of disadvantaged individuals and groups; and

(e) Canada’s international human rights obligations.

(1.2) Within 12 months of this Act coming into force, the Governor in Council must make regulations under paragraphs 11(1)(a) to (f), (h), (i), (k) and (n) that are necessary to enable a Canada disability benefit to be paid in accordance with this Act.”.

5.Clause 14, page 7: Replace line 21 with the following:

“14 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, but no later than the”.

6.Make any necessary consequential changes to the numbering of provisions and cross-references resulting from the amendments to the bill.

Your committee has also made certain observations, which are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

Observations to the twelfth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (Bill C-22)

Given that a major goal of the proposed Canada Disability Benefit is to reduce poverty among persons with disabilities, your committee recommends that, once implemented, the Government of Canada conduct research to determine the extent to which the benefit achieves this goal and make adjustments should it prove inadequate.

Your committee heard a strong consensus that the disability community expects to play a role that goes beyond mere consultation in the development and design of the regulations. Your committee therefore recommends that, in addition to a dynamic involvement based on the “Nothing Without Us” model, the disability community should be represented in all its diversity, with space made for the most marginalized voices to be equally involved in all stages of the decision-making process.

Your committee heard that the official poverty line, currently defined using the Market Basket Measure, is not a representative indicator of disability-related living costs and would not achieve the objective of reducing poverty among Canadians with disabilities. Your committee therefore encourages the Governor in Council to consider these additional costs, which vary depending on a number of factors, in any regulation made regarding the amount of the Canada Disability Benefit and the method of determining said amount.

Your committee is concerned that an unanticipated consequence to limiting disability benefits to “working-age” persons might be to perpetuate poverty amongst persons with disabilities over the age of 65, particularly women. Your committee therefore suggests that within five years of the Act coming into force, the Government of Canada specifically evaluate its impact on elderly persons with disabilities.

Your committee further notes that disability poverty does not end at age 65 and believes that no person with disabilities should live in poverty. Your committee is concerned that when Old Age Security benefits become available at 65, it is essential that seniors with disabilities do not experience a reduction in income. Your committee therefore recommends that the Government of Canada ensure that persons with disabilities over the age of 65 will have an income that lifts them out of poverty, whether through the Canada Disability Benefit or through a disability supplement to Old Age Security.

Your committee recommends that organizations representing persons living with a mental illness be explicitly involved in the drafting of regulations, ensuring that the issues of episodic disability due to mental illness are considered.

Your committee heard that it is important to respect the necessary autonomy of persons with disabilities to live their life with dignity. Your committee also heard that persons with disabilities, mainly women, experience higher rates of domestic violence and financial dependence, and that ensuring financial security is one way to help prevent certain types of violence against a person with a disability. Your committee therefore urges the Government of Canada to base eligibility for the benefit on an individual’s income, not that of their family or household unit.

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dean, 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.

o o o

The Honourable Senator Black, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, presented the ninth report of the committee (Budget—examine and report on the status of soil health in Canada—power to travel).

(The report is printed as Appendix C at pages 1671-1678 (available in print format PDF).)

(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)

The Honourable Senator Black moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Downe, 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.

Question Period

The Senate proceeded to Question Period.

---

Points of order were raised concerning Question Period.

After debate,

The Speaker pro tempore reserved her decision.

Orders of the Day

Government Business

Motions

The Honourable Senator Gagné moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C.:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 2 p.m.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

ADJOURNMENT

With leave of the Senate,

The Honourable Senator Gagné moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C.:

That the Senate do now adjourn.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

(Accordingly, at 3:29 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 2 p.m.)

DOCUMENTS DEPOSITED WITH THE CLERK OF THE SENATE PURSUANT TO RULE 14-1(7)

Interim Order No. 6 Respecting Flooded Areas, pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, S.C. 2001, c. 26, sbs. 10.1(7).—Sessional Paper No. 1/44-1737.

Report on the administration of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, pursuant to the Act, S.C. 1999, c. 33, sbs. 342(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/44-1738.

Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5

Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy

The Honourable Senator Cardozo replaced the Honourable Senator Bellemare (May 11, 2023).

Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

The Honourable Senator Duncan replaced the Honourable Senator Boniface (May 10, 2023).

Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

The Honourable Senator Tannas was added to the membership (May 10, 2023).

Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament

The Honourable Senator Kutcher replaced the Honourable Senator Omidvar (May 10, 2023).