QUESTION PERIOD — Prime Minister’s Office
Office of the Government Representative
April 26, 2023
Senator Gold, in Speaker Furey’s ruling last night on the time allocation point of order, he quoted and relied upon the first sentence of the definition of the government leader from the Senate Rules. Senator Gold, speaking about you as Leader of the Government or government leader, Speaker Furey said, “The Senator who acts as the head of the Senators belonging to the Government party.”
So, Senator Gold, after seven and a half years of you, your predecessor Senator Peter Harder, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and senior minister Dominic LeBlanc stating frequently and unequivocally that the Trudeau Government Representative doesn’t belong to the government party, according to Speaker Furey’s ruling, you do. Because this is required under the Senate Rules so you can use your cherished newfound time allocation power, can you confirm, Senator Gold, that you, Senator Gagné and Senator LaBoucane-Benson all belong “to the Government party” — that is, the Liberal Party of Canada?
I will answer your question, Senator Batters. I will answer your question. But I’m also first going to say what has kept me very preoccupied since yesterday. Our Speaker made a ruling. You had the right to challenge the ruling. I’m looking at you collectively.
So did you.
You failed in your effort to overturn. The fact that you continued to return to it both yesterday and now in the question, in my opinion, shows disrespect to the office of the Speaker, to the individual — I’m talking about you; I’m talking about this continual return to an issue — I’m sorry that you lost your vote. My heart is breaking. The fact is, the interpretation was correct. I will answer your question if you’ll allow me to continue.
I consider that this line of questioning, the insinuations that you have made and that continue to percolate beneath the surface are disrespectful to the office of the Speaker and, indeed, to the person of the Speaker and to this institution, and I think it is an example of public discourse that breeds delegitimization of our important institutions. Apart from the fact of having spent an entire career and life interpreting legal text, studying writing and teaching the subject, I can tell you that the interpretation the Speaker gave was correct.
Having said that, I will answer your question. I am not a member of the Liberal Party. I represent the government in this place. That has been my role and my predecessor’s role, which he and I were and are privileged to do, and that’s the end of it. It’s a simple matter of fact. You can say whatever you want. You can impugn the independence of our colleagues in this chamber because of who appointed them or how they vote. I’m not impugning your integrity, colleagues. You’ve asked a question, and I’ve answered it. I’m not a member of the Liberal Party, neither is Senator Gagné or Senator LaBoucane-Benson. We represent the government in the Senate. It’s a big job, and we are proud to do it.
Senator Gold, I’m quoting the definition that the Speaker quoted in his ruling, the definition that is in the Senate Rules.
We know that in the Liberal Party of Canada membership has its privileges, so does the Trudeau Foundation. Senator Gold, in 2017, you proclaimed that you were “not affiliated with any political party,” not a member of a political caucus, and you defined yourself as “non-partisan.” You, Senator Gagné and Senator LaBoucane-Benson were all appointed to the Government Representative Office from the Independent Senators Group, or ISG, and I know that it is ISG policy that you must declare your party memberships.
Senator Gold, because of this ruling put out last night and the definition that is contained in the Senate Rules that you must belong to a government party, I guess you’ve become a member of the governing Liberal Party some time since 2017. When was that? Did all three of you declare your party memberships in the Liberal Party of Canada when you were in the ISG, or have you just become members of the governing Liberal Party since Justin Trudeau named you to his Senate leadership team?
I am going to really try to show you the respect that I think we all deserve in this place, Senator Batters. I did not declare a membership in the Liberal Party because I was not a member of the Liberal Party. I am not a member of the Liberal Party.
I’m going to be very careful here. Your insistence on reading the Rules of the Senate independent of any principle of interpretation and independent of any sensibility that it is not simply the black-letter rules but what lies behind them, including the Parliament of Canada Act and our conventions and practices here, is surprising for someone with a legal background. You know better. The Rules of the Senate have to be, have been and will continue to be interpreted in light of the basic principles that define how we interpret normative texts, not only laws and not only rules of Parliament, but even literary texts. This is Law School 101.
Now, we’re in a political institution and we’re in a partisan environment, as you have celebrated, but it doesn’t change the facts. You asked me a question, and I’ve answered it. If you ask me again tomorrow, you’re going to get the same answer.
