Journals of the Senate
2 Charles III , A.D. 2024, Canada
1st Session, 44th Parliament
Issue 187 (Unrevised)
Thursday, March 21, 2024
2 p.m.
The Honourable RAYMONDE GAGNÉ, Speaker
The Members convened were:
The Honourable Senators
Al ZaibakAucoinAudetteBattersBellemareBernardBlackBoehmBoyerBrazeauBureyBussonCardozoCarignanClementCordyCormierCotterCoyleCuznerDagenaisDalphondDaskoDeacon (Nova Scotia)Deacon (Ontario)DeanDuncanForestGagnéGalvezGerbaGignacGoldGreeneGreenwoodHarderHousakosJafferKingstonKlyneKutcherLaBoucane-BensonLoffredaMacAdamMacDonaldManningMarshallMartinMcBeanMcCallumMcNairMcPhedranMégieMoncionMoodieOhOmidvarOslerOudarPatePattersonPetitclercPettenPlettProsperQuinnRavaliaRichardsRinguetteRobinsonRossSaint-GermainSeidmanSimonsSmithSorensenTannasVaroneVernerWallinWellsWhiteWooYussuff
The Members in attendance to business were:
The Honourable Senators
Al Zaibak*AtaullahjanAucoinAudetteBattersBellemareBernardBlackBoehmBoyerBrazeauBureyBussonCardozoCarignanClementCordyCormierCotterCoyleCuznerDagenaisDalphondDaskoDeacon (Nova Scotia)Deacon (Ontario)DeanDuncanForestGagnéGalvezGerbaGignacGoldGreeneGreenwoodHarderHousakosJafferKingstonKlyneKutcherLaBoucane-BensonLoffredaMacAdamMacDonaldManningMarshallMartinMcBeanMcCallumMcNairMcPhedranMégieMoncionMoodieOhOmidvarOslerOudarPatePattersonPetitclercPettenPlettProsperQuinnRavaliaRichardsRinguetteRobinsonRossSaint-GermainSeidmanSimonsSmithSorensenTannasVaroneVernerWallinWellsWhiteWooYussuff
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
Tabling of Documents
The Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson tabled the following:
Government response to the 26th report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, entitled Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy, deposited with the Clerk of the Senate on June 11, 2019, during the First Session of the Forty-second Parliament.—Sessional Paper No. 1/44-2677S.
(Pursuant to rule 12-23(4), the report and the response were deemed referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.)
Presenting or Tabling Reports from Committees
The Honourable Senator Wallin presented the following:
Thursday, March 21, 2024
The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy has the honour to present its
TWELFTH REPORT
Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-34, An Act to amend the Investment Canada Act, has, in obedience to the order of reference of Thursday, December 14, 2023, examined the said bill and now reports the same without amendment but with certain observations, which are appended to this report.
Respectfully submitted,
PAMELA WALLIN
Chair
Observations to the Twelfth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy (Bill C-34)
The committee supports Bill C-34 with reservations. We heard serious concerns from several witnesses that the scope of the legislation is too limited and does not adequately balance our economic and national security needs. Several national security experts stated the bill did not sufficiently account for the threat of foreign actors.
Your committee believes it is important to ensure that government-funded intellectual property and treatment of personal data be considered as economic net benefit factors and that forthcoming regulations reflect that. Due to the limited levels of domestic investment in the intangibles sector, the strategic value of these assets may not be fully captured in commercial valuations of acquired corporations. Thus, prioritizing expert technical diligence is essential in the Net Benefit Review, with threshold metrics adapting to evolving intangible asset valuation methodologies.
The committee acknowledges the close work with our Five Eyes partners, but considering the evolving threat of foreign interference, the Government should move quickly to increase greater collaboration with our allies.
Finally, because of the rapidly evolving nature of foreign investment in Canada and the growing concerns over national security in an era of great geopolitical changes, the committee recommends that in 3 years’ time the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry report to parliamentarians on whether the Investment Canada Act is meeting its objectives.
The Honourable Senator Gignac moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gerba, that the bill be placed on the Orders of the Day for third reading at the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders of the Day
Government Business
Bills – Second Reading
Second reading of Bill S-17, An Act to correct certain anomalies, inconsistencies, out-dated terminology and errors and to deal with other matters of a non-controversial and uncomplicated nature in the Statutes and Regulations of Canada and to repeal certain provisions that have expired, lapsed or otherwise ceased to have effect.
The Honourable Senator Cotter moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Petitclerc, that the bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Reports of Committees – Other
Orders No. 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Motions
Orders No. 1 and 132 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Inquiries
Orders No. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Other Business
Bills – Messages from the House of Commons
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Senate Public Bills – Third Reading
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Bellemare, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dalphond, for the third reading of Bill S-244, An Act to amend the Department of Employment and Social Development Act and the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Council), as amended.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Patterson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Osler, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 2 and 3 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Commons Public Bills – Third Reading
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Senate Public Bills – Reports of Committees
Orders No. 1 and 2 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Senate Public Bills – Second Reading
Orders No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator Housakos, for the second reading of Bill S-229, An Act to amend the Language Skills Act (Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick).
Ordered: That further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Dalphond.
Orders No. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Order No. 26 (Bill S-270) was called and, pursuant to rule 4-15(2), dropped from the Order Paper and Notice Paper.
Orders No. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Commons Public Bills – Second Reading
Orders No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Reports of Committees – Other
Orders No. 31, 33, 40, 56, 62 and 63 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Ordered : That Order No. 38, under OTHER BUSINESS, Senate Public Bills – Second Reading, be again called.
Second reading of Bill S-282, An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada.
The Honourable Senator Moodie moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Boehm, that the bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Motions
Orders No. 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 19, 30, 68, 77, 82, 96, 107, 113 and 139 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Housakos, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman:
That the Senate take note of:
(a)the deteriorating humanitarian crisis occurring in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor and increased military aggression against indigenous Armenian civilians in the region; and
(b)the actions of the Aliyev regime as being dictatorial, and in violation of international law; and
That the Senate call on the Government of Canada:
(a)to support the liberty of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their right to self-determination;
(b)to immediately impose sanctions against the Azeri regime;
(c)to demand the immediate reopening of the Lachin corridor and the release of Armenian Prisoners of War;
(d)to provide a significant aid package through NGOs to those Armenian people forcefully displaced from their indigenous land; and
(e)to protect the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh through the presence of international peacekeeping forces.
The Honourable Senator Petitclerc moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Ringuette, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 157, 168 and 172 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Inquiries
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Boyer, calling the attention of the Senate to the positive contributions and impacts that Métis, Inuit, and First Nations have made to Canada, and the world.
Ordered: That further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Clement.
Orders No. 4, 5, 8 and 10 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Woo, calling the attention of the Senate to the one hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the contributions that Chinese Canadians have made to our country, and the need to combat contemporary forms of exclusion and discrimination faced by Canadians of Asian descent.
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 12, 13 and 14 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Black, calling the attention of the Senate to the ongoing concerns with respect to Canadian agricultural, wetland, and forest land reallotments, as well as potential food, economic, and social insecurities as a result of reduced capacity for farming, pasture, forestry, and food production both domestically and internationally.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Clement moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Ringuette, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 17, 19 and 20 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
MOTIONS
The Honourable Senator Cormier moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moodie:
That, notwithstanding the order of the Senate adopted on Thursday, March 9, 2023, the date for the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages in relation to its study on minority-language health services be extended from October 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Question Period
Pursuant to the order adopted on December 7, 2021, the Senate proceeded to Question Period.
The Honourable Ya'ara Saks, P.C., M.P., Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, entered the Senate and took part in Question Period.
ADJOURNMENT
The Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cormier:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
(Accordingly, at 5:09 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 9 a.m.)
DOCUMENTS DEPOSITED WITH THE CLERK OF THE SENATE PURSUANT TO RULE 14-1(7)
Report of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled Work Plan for 2024-25, pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/44-2676.
Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5
Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy
The Honourable Senator Martin replaced the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C. (March 21, 2024).
Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs
The Honourable Senator Yussuff replaced the Honourable Senator McNair (March 21, 2024).
Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
The Honourable Senator Bernard replaced the Honourable Senator Audette (March 21, 2024).
The Honourable Senator Audette replaced the Honourable Senator Bernard (March 20, 2024).
The Honourable Senator Jaffer replaced the Honourable Senator Cormier (March 20, 2024).
Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications
The Honourable Senator Miville-Dechêne replaced the Honourable Senator Oudar (March 21, 2024).