Journals of the Senate
65 Elizabeth II , A.D. 2016, Canada
1st Session, 42nd Parliament
Issue 24 (Revised)
Thursday, March 24, 2016
1:30 p.m.
The Honourable GEORGE J. FUREY, Speaker
The Members convened were:
The Honourable Senators
AndreychukBakerBattersBellemareBeyakBlackBoisvenuCampbellCarignanCoolsCordyCowanDagenaisDayDowneDyckEggletonEnvergaFraserFureyGreeneHousakosJafferJohnsonJoyalKennyLangMacDonaldMaltaisMarshallMartinMassicotteMcCoyMcIntyreMercerMerchantMitchellMooreMunsonNancy RuthNeufeldNgoOgilviePattersonPlettRaineRinguetteRivardRuncimanSeidmanSibbestonSmith (Cobourg)Smith (Saurel)Stewart OlsenTannasTkachukWallaceWellsWhite
The Members in attendance to business were:
The Honourable Senators
Andreychuk*AtaullahjanBakerBattersBellemareBeyakBlackBoisvenuCampbellCarignanCoolsCordyCowanDagenais*DawsonDayDowneDyckEggletonEnvergaFraserFureyGreeneHousakosJafferJohnsonJoyalKennyLangMacDonaldMaltaisMarshallMartinMassicotteMcCoyMcIntyreMercerMerchantMitchellMooreMunsonNancy RuthNeufeldNgoOgilviePattersonPlettRaineRinguetteRivardRuncimanSeidmanSibbestonSmith (Cobourg)Smith (Saurel)Stewart OlsenTannasTkachukWallaceWellsWhite
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
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser tabled the following:
Annual Report 2014-2015 of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-213.
Budget 2016 entitled: Growing the Middle Class and an accompanying document entitled: Tax Measures: Supplementary Information.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-214.
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Dyck tabled the following:
Second Annual Statutory Report (2016) pursuant to the Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Act, S.C. 2014, c. 38, s. 2.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-215.
Presenting or Tabling Reports from Committees
The Honourable Senator Tkachuk, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, tabled the third report (interim) of the committee, entitled: The Fluctuating Canadian Dollar: What it means for Canadians.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-216S.
The Honourable Senator Andreychuk, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, tabled the second report (interim) of the committee, entitled: Taking Action Against Human Rights Violators in Russia.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-217S.
The Honourable Senator Andreychuk moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tkachuk, that the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator Maltais, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, presented the third report of the committee (Budget—international market access priorities for the Canadian agricultural and agri-food sector—power to hire staff and to travel).
(The report is printed as Appendix A at pages 293-302 (available in print format PDF).)
(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)
The Honourable Senator Maltais moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Lang, that the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator Runciman, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, presented the second report of the committee (Budget—study on matters pertaining to delays in Canada’s criminal justice system—power to hire staff and to travel).
(The report is printed as Appendix B at pages 303-316 (available in print format PDF).)
(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)
Ordered, That the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration later this day.
The Honourable Senator Lang, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, presented the second report of the committee (Budget—study on security threats facing Canada—power to hire staff and to travel).
(The report is printed as Appendix C at pages 317-326 (available in print format PDF).)
(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)
Ordered, That the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration later this day.
The Honourable Senator MacDonald, Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, presented the second report of the committee (Budget—study on the regulatory and technical issues related to the deployment of connected and automated vehicles—power to travel).
(The report is printed as Appendix D at pages 327-334 (available in print format PDF).)
(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)
Ordered, That the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration later this day.
The Honourable Senator Dyck, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, presented the second report of the committee (Budget—study on best practices and on-going challenges relating to housing in the North—power to hire staff and to travel).
(The report is printed as Appendix E at pages 335-342 (available in print format PDF).)
(The HTML version of the report is available on the committee website.)
Ordered, That the report be placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration later this day.
Tabling of Reports from Interparliamentary Delegations
The Honourable Senator Maltais tabled the following:
Report of the Canadian Delegation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) respecting its participation at the 14th Winter Meeting of the OSCE PA, held in Vienna, Austria, from February 17 to 20, 2015.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-218.
Report of the Canadian Delegation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly respecting its participation at the 24th Annual Session, held in Helsinki, Finland, from July 5 to 9, 2015.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-219.
Orders of the Day
Ordered, That Order No. 1 under OTHER BUSINESS, Reports of Committees – Other, be brought forward.
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Smith (Saurel), seconded by the Honourable Senator MacDonald for the adoption of the fourth report (interim) of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (First Interim Report on the Main Estimates 2016-17), tabled in the Senate on March 22, 2016.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Government Business
Bills – Second Reading
Second reading of Bill C-8, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016.
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Campbell, that the bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The bill was then read the second time.
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Campbell, that the bill be read for a third time.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The bill was then read the third time and passed.
Ordered, That a message be sent to the House of Commons to acquaint that House that the Senate has passed this bill, without amendment.
Second reading of Bill C-9, An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Campbell, that the bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The bill was then read the second time.
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Campbell, that the bill be read for a third time.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The bill was then read the third time and passed.
Ordered, That a message be sent to the House of Commons to acquaint that House that the Senate has passed this bill, without amendment.
Motions
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Other Business
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 to 7 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Moore, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day, for the second reading of Bill S-205, An Act to amend the Canada Border Services Agency Act (Inspector General of the Canada Border Services Agency) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator White moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Patterson, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 9 and 10 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Second reading of Bill S-219, An Act to deter Iran-sponsored terrorism, incitement to hatred, and human rights violations.
The Honourable Senator Tkachuk moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Baker, P.C., that the bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cowan, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 12 to 15 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Moore, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day, for the second reading of Bill S-204, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (borrowing of money).
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Marshall 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.
Orders No. 17 and 18 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Second reading of Bill S-221, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Property qualifications of Senators).
The Honourable Senator Patterson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Enverga, that the bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Kenny, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Order No. 20 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Reports of Committees – Other
Order No. 2 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Consideration of the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce (Budget—study on the issues pertaining to internal barriers to trade—power to hire staff and to travel), presented in the Senate on March 10, 2016.
The Honourable Senator Tkachuk moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Johnson, that the report be adopted.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Order No. 4 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Consideration of the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (Budget—study on matters pertaining to delays in Canada’s criminal justice system—power to hire staff and to travel), presented in the Senate on March 24, 2016.
The Honourable Senator Runciman moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Johnson, that the report be adopted.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Consideration of the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence (Budget—study on security threats facing Canada—power to hire staff and to travel), presented in the Senate on March 24, 2016.
The Honourable Senator Lang moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator MacDonald, that the report be adopted.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Consideration of the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications (Budget—study on the regulatory and technical issues related to the deployment of connected and automated vehicles—power to travel), presented in the Senate on March 24, 2016.
The Honourable Senator MacDonald moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Martin, that the report be adopted.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Consideration of the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples (Budget—study on best practices and on-going challenges relating to housing in the North—power to hire staff and to travel), presented in the Senate on March 24, 2016.
The Honourable Senator Dyck moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day, that the report be adopted.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Motions
Orders No. 9, 69, 51, 60, 43, 7 and 31 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Inquiries
Orders No. 2, 1, 3 and 6 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
MOTIONS
The Honourable Senator Patterson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Runciman:
Whereas the Senate provides representation for groups that are often underrepresented in Parliament, such as Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and women;
Whereas paragraph (3) of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1867 requires that, in order to be qualified for appointment to and to maintain a place in the Senate, a person must own land with a net worth of at least four thousand dollars in the province for which he or she is appointed;
Whereas a person’s personal circumstances or the availability of real property in a particular location may prevent him or her from owning the required property;
Whereas appointment to the Senate should not be restricted to those who own real property of a minimum net worth;
Whereas the existing real property qualification is inconsistent with the democratic values of modern Canadian society and is no longer an appropriate or relevant measure of the fitness of a person to serve in the Senate;
Whereas, in the case of Quebec, each of the twenty-four Senators representing the province must be appointed for and must have either their real property qualification in or be resident of a specified Electoral Division;
Whereas an amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to any provision that applies to one or more, but not all, provinces may be made by proclamation issued by the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada only where so authorized by resolutions of the Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province to which the amendment applies;
Whereas the Supreme Court of Canada has determined that a full repeal of paragraph (3) of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1867, respecting the real property qualification of Senators, would require a resolution of the Quebec National Assembly pursuant to section 43 of the Constitution Act, 1982;
Now, therefore, the Senate resolves that an amendment to the Constitution of Canada be authorized to be made by proclamation issued by His Excellency the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada in accordance with the Schedule hereto.
SCHEDULE
AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF CANADA
1.(1) Paragraph (3) of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is repealed.
(2) Section 23 of the Act is amended by replacing the semi-colon at the end of paragraph (5) with a period and by repealing paragraph (6).
2.The Declaration of Qualification set out in The Fifth Schedule to the Act is replaced by the following:
I, A.B., do declare and testify that I am by law duly qualified to be appointed a member of the Senate of Canada.
3.This Amendment may be cited as the Constitution Amendment, [year of proclamation] (Real property qualification of Senators).
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Campbell, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator McCoy moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moore:
That the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization have the power to sit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that rule 12-18(1) be suspended in relation thereto.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator Wallace moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bellemare:
That the Rules of the Senate be amended:
1.by adding the following at the end of rule 12-1:
“The membership of the committee shall, as nearly as practicable, proportionally reflect the number of all Senators who are members of each of the recognized parties, as well as those who are not members of recognized parties.”;
2.by adding the following new rule 12-2(2):
“Expressions of interest
12-2. (2) Before nominating Senators to serve on committees, the Committee of Selection shall invite expressions of interest from all Senators.”;
3.by renumbering current rules 12-2(2) and (3) as rules 12-2(3) and (4);
4.by adding the following new rule 12-2(5):
“Content of Committee of Selection reports
12-2. (5) Any report of the Committee of Selection nominating Senators to serve on a committee shall:
(a) identify the criteria used in developing its nominations;
(b) contain nominations such that, if the report is adopted, the membership of the committee would, as nearly as practicable, proportionally reflect the number of all Senators who are members of each of the recognized parties, as well as those who are not members of recognized parties; and
(c) nominate, as far as possible, every Senator who is eligible to attend the Senate, and who expressed an interest in being a member of a committee, to a minimum of at least one committee.”;
5.by renumbering current rules 12-2(4), (5) and (6) as rules 12-2(6), (7) and (8); and
6.by updating all cross references in the Rules, including the lists of exceptions, accordingly; and
That the Senate discharge the current membership of the Committee of Selection so that a new membership can be appointed, by substantive motion, in conformity with the changes made by the adoption of this motion.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Martin, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
WRITTEN DECLARATION OF ROYAL ASSENT
At 4:35 p.m., the Honourable the Speaker informed the Senate that the following communication had been received:
RIDEAU HALL
March 24th, 2016
Mr. Speaker:
I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, signified royal assent by written declaration to the bills listed in the Schedule to this letter on the 24th day of March, 2016, at 3:53 p.m.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Wallace
Secretary to the Governor General
The Honourable
The Speaker of the Senate
Ottawa
Schedule
Bills Assented To
Thursday, March 24, 2016
An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016 (Bill C-8, Chapter 1, 2016)
An Act for granting to Her Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017 (Bill C-9, Chapter 2, 2016)
With leave,
The Senate reverted to Notices of Motions.
The Honourable Senator Fraser moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Martin:
That when the Senate adjourns today, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 2 p.m.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
ADJOURNMENT
The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C.:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
(Accordingly, at 4:40 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at 2 p.m.)
Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5
Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry
The Honourable Senator Unger replaced the Honourable Senator Patterson (March 23, 2016).
The Honourable Senator Oh replaced the Honourable Senator Raine (March 23, 2016).
Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans
The Honourable Senator Enverga replaced the Honourable Senator Tkachuk (March 23, 2016).
Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
The Honourable Senator Marshall replaced the Honourable Senator Oh (March 24, 2016).
The Honourable Senator Wells replaced the Honourable Senator Poirier (March 24, 2016).
Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights
The Honourable Senator Ataullahjan replaced the Honourable Senator Black (March 23, 2016).
Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization
The Honourable Senator Wells replaced the Honourable Senator Beyak (March 23, 2016).
Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
The Honourable Senator Frum replaced the Honourable Senator Patterson (March 24, 2016).
The Honourable Senator Patterson replaced the Honourable Senator Frum (March 23, 2016).
Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications
The Honourable Senator Ringuette was removed from the membership of the committee, substitution pending (March 24, 2016).