QUESTION PERIOD — Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration
Business of the Committee
May 27, 2026
Honourable senators, my question is for the Chair of the Internal Economy Committee, Senator Loffreda.
A group called 4 My Canada, comprised of concerned Canadians, sent thousands of postcards about Bill C-9 to senators in a mass mailing campaign. We have just learned that 143,000 postcards are being held in a Senate mail room in Gatineau. The Senate Property and Services Directorate had emailed senators that a “very large number of postcards had been received,” and that only “a box of postcards” would be delivered to senators’ offices today. My office received just 30 postcards, and only one of those was from a constituent in Saskatchewan. Each of these postcards bears a Canadian’s full name and address.
Why is the Senate Administration curtailing the right of Canadians to express their opposition to this highly controversial amended government bill to senators before we vote on it in this chamber?
Thank you, Senator Batters, for the question.
Correspondence from Canadians is extremely important and is taken seriously by the Senate of Canada and the administration. As you know, the Senate Administration advised all senators on May 19 that we received more than 10,000 identical postcards related to Bill C-9. It speaks volumes about the bill. A sample of those postcards was sent to each senator.
To be efficient, the steering committee for the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, or CIBA, agreed that we would not distribute all of the postcards in order to prevent disruptions and delays to regular mail services. Each senator received sample cards addressed to them. The rest of the postcards, which have now reached more than 200,000, are being kept in our warehouse in Gatineau. Senators are welcome to visit the warehouse by contacting the administration if they so choose.
Further, it was decided that the postcards would be kept at the warehouse for 90 days, which is the same procedure CIBA has adopted for mass electronic mail campaigns. I could go further, but I think my time is up.
That is not acceptable. As I said, I received 30, only one of which was from Saskatchewan. Mail to parliamentarians has been postage-free for decades because we have a responsibility to listen to the views of Canadians on issues that we vote on here.
Why is the magnitude of this campaign being downplayed to senators? We received no details about the 10,000 identical ones. Also, why are these postcards being held where they are not accessible? We received no information previously about their being inaccessible to senators or our office staff.
This decision was not made to silence anyone or diminish the importance of public participation in the democratic process. Senators continue to receive correspondence from Canadians every day. All perspectives and concerns remain important and valued, and Canadians should know that their engagement with public policy matters and that nothing in this process prevents individuals from continuing to contact senators directly to share their views.
We understand that many Canadians feel strongly about Bill C-9, and these postcards are accessible to all —
Thank you, Senator Loffreda.
I have a follow-up question, Senator Loffreda. It is my understanding that though it may appear to be a mass-mailing campaign and the postcards may have the same front, they are individually paid for by individuals across Canada, so the return addresses are all different.
In essence, it is being organized through an organization, but individuals are paying for the printing of the postcards. It appears to be a mass-mailing campaign, but it is an organized effort to show the voices of Canadians who are very concerned about Bill C-9.
Thank you for that question.
It is important. Nobody is downplaying this. We received on May 15 — I have the date because I prepared for a few questions. Because there was no Question Period, I said, “Maybe on a few issues that are important.” This is an important issue, and I have come prepared for it.
We received from our mail-screening provider that the Senate received more than 10,000 identical postcards. I could read the email, but I don’t have the time to now. The only exception was that they were from different citizens to different senators.
I cannot vouch for who paid for them. I haven’t seen the postcards. I’ve seen the same, identical boxes that were distributed to the senators.
This comes out to close to 2,500 postcards per senator. It is huge. It is a large amount. There are efficiency issues involved in the mailing system — there are a lot of issues — but they are there. They are available —
Thank you, Senator Loffreda.
They have the same front, but the printing cost is paid for by individuals, though it is organized through 4 My Canada. That is my point.
Canadians are writing to senators. They may appear the same, but they are from individuals. That’s the point I wanted to raise, and I wanted to know if you were aware of that.
Thank you for the question, and thank you for making me aware of that. I was not previously.
I will speak to my steering committee, and we can raise the issue with the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. The chair is just a facilitator. The power is not with the chair. It is with the steering committee and the board. The power is with you. If we want to distribute them to senators, that will be the decision, and that will be that.
Let us understand that there are 10,000 postcards here. Mostly, they are very similar. They were paid for by Canadians. It speaks volumes for Bill C-9 —
Thank you, Senator Loffreda.
Senator Loffreda, if a concerned citizen writes to me, I think it should be for me to decide whether I look at that mail and what action I take.
Don’t you think this is overstepping?
We have received many mass-mailing campaigns, and the decision taken was similar with those mass‑mailing campaigns. As I said, those postcards are available. The decision was taken by steering at the time. All senators can access their postcards.
Our mail-screening provider specified that they were all similar — identical except for being from different citizens to different senators. It was a mass-mailing campaign, and that’s the decision that was taken.
The decision is yours. If we want to come back to it and distribute the 10,000 postcards, we will do so.
Thank you. Senator Loffreda, you said 200,000 Canadians. Are they individual names?
Yes.
I think we owe it to Canadians to look at the mail that they send us.
Well, that’s a statement. I mean, it is 200,000 —
Would you agree?
I always agree with the voice of Canadians. It is important to listen to Canadians. It is important to consider what they are saying. We’re here for the people, we represent the people and we must do what is best for all Canadians.
Again, it is 200,000 postcards that are similar in content. I have not seen all 200,000, obviously, but this is what we were told by our mail-screening provider, and it is a mass campaign. It speaks volumes for Bill C-9 —
Thank you, Senator Loffreda.
Senator, are you aware that there is a policy for that, that it was adopted a number of years ago by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, and that Senate Administration staff have been following that policy?
Thank you for the question, Senator Moncion. As I said a little earlier, the same policy applies to emails that we receive.
It’s a mass-mailing email campaign, and they are stored. It is a policy, but if we want to revisit those policies — it’s a very dynamic process we are in. It’s not a static process, but there are mass-mailing campaigns that go on continuously. In this case, it was postcards. Policy was followed, and steering made the decision in consequence.
Senator Loffreda, would you take a question from me?
Yes.
Thank you very much.
As I have mentioned many times in this chamber over the almost 10 years I have been here, the anti-harassment policy for the Senate changed very substantially a number of years ago and went into a private, closed circuit controlled by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration.
Could you update us on my previous questions and let us know — if not today, then fairly soon — how many non-disclosure agreements have been used since the policy changed and the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration took complete control of dealing with these cases?
Senator McPhedran, thank you for that question.
I have prepared for many questions, but with that one, you got me. I will have to take it under advisement. As a former banker, we want to be accurate with some of the numbers. The consequences would be huge if we were not.
I will get back to you on that. Thank you for the question.
