QUESTION PERIOD — The Senate
Answers to Written Questions
March 10, 2020
Senator Gold, your predecessor worked very hard to have written questions that are tabled in the Senate answered within the 45-day time frame that the government uses in the House of Commons. Is it your intention to follow that precedent and meet the 45-day deadline?
Thank you for the question. As I’ve mentioned in the chamber before, it is my fervent desire to provide answers in as timely a fashion as I can, whether viva voce, as we say, or as written answers. Regrettably, though, it is not entirely within my control to get the answers back. I can assure this chamber that I’m doing my best to get answers back in as timely a fashion as I can.
Thank you for that. I suspect Senator Harder had to work very hard on that as well. You might want to consult him on how many times he had to call the ministers personally. We never held him responsible for the quality of answers, but we very much appreciated his efforts in getting the answers to us within a set time frame, as they do in the House of Commons. I hope you will work as hard as Senator Harder did to achieve that end.
Thank you again for your question. This chamber should have confidence that I turn to my predecessor regularly for good counsel. I will include this subject in that as well.
