QUESTION PERIOD — Crown-Indigenous Relations
Amendments to Legislation
November 28, 2023
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, a representative from the Government Representative Office, or GRO, recently told me that the GRO had received a directive from cabinet that stipulates the government will not be accepting any additional amendments to Bill C-29. Moreover, if an amendment occurred at third reading, the government would be prepared to reject it.
I have sent a message to the minister requesting information on this, but I have yet to receive a response. As such, Senator Gold, can you please respond as to why cabinet would interfere in the work that I and other senators do in the Senate?
With the greatest of respect, senator, your information or assumptions are not correct. To the best of my knowledge — I am the Government Representative in the Senate, and I sit on a cabinet committee — we have received no such directive, and we do not receive directives from cabinet vis-à-vis matters of that kind.
Moreover, the Government of Canada respects the work of the Senate. It does not necessarily agree with every amendment that may be proposed — and certainly not every amendment that may be passed by the Senate — but the record of this government stands in very significant contradistinction to the record of any previous government in the history of the Senate in terms of showing respect for the Senate’s work and accepting a significant number of amendments.
I will certainly look into this matter, senator, but, respectfully, I do believe that the information to which you refer is not correct.
