The Members convened were:

The Honourable Senators

AndreychukAtaullahjanBattersBellemareBernardBeyakBlack (Alberta)BoisvenuBoveyBrazeauCampbellCarignanChristmasCoolsCordyCormierCoyleDagenaisDawsonDayDowneDoyleDuffyDupuisDyckEatonEggletonForestFrumFureyGagnéGoldGreeneGriffinHarderHartlingHousakosJoyalLankinMacDonaldMaltaisManningMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCallumMcCoyMcIntyreMcPhedranMégieMercerMitchellMocklerMoncionMunsonNeufeldNgoOhOmidvarPatePetitclercPlettPoirierPratteRaineRichardsRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSinclairSmithStewart OlsenTannasTkachukUngerVernerWallinWellsWetstonWhiteWoo

The Members in attendance to business were:

The Honourable Senators

AndreychukAtaullahjanBattersBellemareBernardBeyakBlack (Alberta)BoisvenuBoveyBrazeauCampbellCarignanChristmasCoolsCordyCormierCoyleDagenaisDawsonDayDowneDoyleDuffyDupuisDyckEatonEggletonForestFrumFureyGagnéGoldGreeneGriffinHarderHartlingHousakosJoyalLankinMacDonaldMaltaisManningMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCallumMcCoyMcIntyreMcPhedranMégieMercerMitchellMocklerMoncionMunsonNeufeldNgoOhOmidvarPatePetitclercPlettPoirierPratteRaineRichardsRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSinclairSmithStewart OlsenTannasTkachukUngerVernerWallinWellsWetstonWhiteWoo

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

Pursuant to rule 13-3(4), the Honourable Senator McPhedran gave notice that she would raise a question of privilege concerning communication to the media relating to a letter from the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration marked “confidential”.

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Some Honourable Senators made statements.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

Tabling of Documents

The Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., tabled the following:

Agreement on Cree Nation Governance between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Government of Canada.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1850.

Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Act 2018 Annual Report.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1851.

Supplementary Estimates (C), 2017-18.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1852.

Interim Estimates, 2018-19.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1853.

Presenting or Tabling Reports from Committees

The Honourable Senator Manning presented the following:

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has the honour to present its

NINTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-238, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (importation of shark fins), has, in obedience to the order of reference of November 23, 2017, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.Long title, page 1: Replace the long title with the following:

“An Act to amend the Fisheries Act and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (importation and exportation of shark fins)”.

2.Clause 1, page 1: Replace line 21 with the following:

“tation and Exportation Act.”.

3.Clause 3, page 2: Replace lines 12 and 13 with the following:

“port or export, or attempt to import or export, into or from Canada shark fins or parts of shark fins that are not attached to a shark carcass, or any derivatives of shark fins.”.

4.Clause 4, page 2:

(a)Replace lines 18 and 19 with the following:

“permit authorizing the importation or exportation of shark fins or parts of shark fins that are not attached to a shark carcass, or any derivatives of  shark fins, if the Minister is of the”; and

(b)replace line 21 with the following:

“(a) the importation or exportation is for the purpose of scientific re-”.

Respectfully submitted,

The Honourable Senator Manning moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Unger, 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.

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The Honourable Senator Black presented the following:

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce has the honour to present its

TWENTIETH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-237, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal interest rate), has, in obedience to the order of reference of November 23, 2017, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1. Clause 1, page 1: Replace line 15 with the following:

“plus forty-five per cent on the credit advanced under an”.

2.New Clause 1.1, page 2: Add the following after line 14:

“1.1 (1) Every three years beginning on the day on which this Act comes into force, a committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons, or of both Houses of Parliament that may be designated or established for that purpose, shall review the criminal rate.

(2) The committee shall submit a report on the review to Parliament that includes a statement of any changes to the criminal rate that the committee recommends.”.

Respectfully submitted,

The Honourable Senator Black moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator McCallum, 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.

Introduction and First Reading of Senate Public Bills

The Honourable Senator Munson introduced Bill S-244, An Act respecting Kindness Week.

The bill was read the first time.

The Honourable Senator Munson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mercer, that the bill be placed on the Orders of the Day for a second reading two days hence.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Orders of the Day

Government Business

Bills – Second Reading

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Dean, seconded by the Honourable Senator Forest, for the second reading of Bill C-45, An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts.

Debate.

Points of order were raised respecting proceedings at second reading on Bill C-45.

SPEAKER'S RULING

The substance of the motion of which notice was given earlier today is not being discussed now. There is also no time allocation motion before us. If the Government Representative wants to talk about Bill C-45 in terms of what he thinks is an appropriate time frame, that is quite in order. If there were notice of a motion for time allocation, it would not be in order to speak to it until it has been moved. I continue to say that should Senator Harder stray into a debate on the motion for which notice was given earlier today, it will be out of order, but at the moment he can continue.

The Senate resumed debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Dean, seconded by the Honourable Senator Forest, for the second reading of Bill C-45, An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts.

Question Period

Pursuant to the order adopted on February 8, 2018, the Senate proceeded to Question Period.

Pursuant to the order adopted on December 10, 2015, the Honourable  Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., M.P., Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard, entered the Senate and took part in Question Period.

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Ordered, That motion No. 296 standing in the name of the Honourable Senator Manning on the Notice Paper be brought forward.

The Honourable Senator Manning moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Unger:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans have the power to meet on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, at 5 p.m., 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.

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With leave,

The Senate reverted to Notices of Motions.

With leave of the Senate,

The Honourable Senator Griffin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bernard:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry have the power to meet on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, at 5 p.m., 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.

Debate.

Orders of the Day

Government Business

Bills – Second Reading

The Senate resumed debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Dean, seconded by the Honourable Senator Forest, for the second reading of Bill C-45, An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Stewart Olsen, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Bills – Messages from the House of Commons

The order was called for resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator Ringuette:

That the Senate concur in the amendments made by the House of Commons to Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act; and

That a message be sent to the House of Commons to acquaint that house accordingly.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Bills – Third Reading

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Wetston, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cormier, for the third reading of Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and the Competition Act, as amended.

And on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Massicotte, seconded by the Honourable Senator Christmas:

That Bill C-25, as amended, be not now read a third time, but that it be further amended in clause 24,

(a)on page 9, by adding the following after line 31:

“172.01 A prescribed corporation shall establish numerical goals, such as percentages, for the representation of persons in each designated group, as defined by regulation, among its directors and among members of senior management, as defined by regulation, and shall establish a timetable for attaining those goals, within one year after the day on which this section comes into force.”; and

(b)on page 10,

(i)by adding the following after line 2:

“(1.1) The directors shall also place before the shareholders, at every annual meeting beginning one year after the day on which the numerical goals referred to in section 172.01 are established and until the corporation has attained those goals, a report on the progress made by the corporation in the previous year in terms of attaining those goals.”,

(ii)by replacing lines 3 to 5 (as replaced by the decision of the Senate on February 7, 2018) with the following:

“(2) The corporation shall provide the information referred to in subsections (1) and (1.1) to each shareholder, except to a share-”, and

(iii) by replacing lines 7 to 9 (as replaced by the decision of the Senate on February 7, 2018) with the following:

“they do not want to receive that information, by sending the information along with the notice referred to in subsection 135(1) or by making the information available along with a proxy circular referred to in subsection 150(1).

(3) The corporation shall concurrently send the information referred to in subsections (1) and (1.1) to the Director in the form that the Director fixes and the Director shall file it.

(4) The Director shall, within three months after receiving it, provide the Minister with the information filed under subsection (3).

(5) The Minister shall prepare and cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after October 31, an annual report for the previous year containing an aggregate of the data from the information received under subsection (4). The Minister shall also, after it is tabled, make the report available to the public.”.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Joyal, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Eggleton, P.C., that further debate on the motion in amendment be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1, and 3 and 4 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

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Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Cormier, seconded by the Honourable Senator Petitclerc, for the second reading of Bill C-66, An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, for the Honourable Senator Griffin, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mitchell, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Motions

Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Inquiries

Order No. 2 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Other Business

Senate Public Bills – Third Reading

Orders No. 1 and 2 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Commons Public Bills – Third Reading

Third reading of Bill C-311, An Act to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance Day).

The Honourable Senator Day moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Joyal, P.C., that the bill be read for a third time.

After debate,

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.

Senate Public Bills – Reports of Committees

Orders No. 1 to 3 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Senate Public Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1 to 5 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

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Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Downe, seconded by the Honourable Senator Eggleton, P.C., for the second reading of Bill S-243, An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (reporting on unpaid income tax).

The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Smith, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Commons Public Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1 to 4 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Reports of Committees – Other

Resuming debate on the consideration of the first report (interim) of the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization, entitled Senate Modernization: Moving Forward, deposited with the Clerk of the Senate on October 4, 2016.

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day, that further debate on the consideration of the report be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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Orders No. 5 to 8, 10, 15, 29, 33, 50 to 52 and 64 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

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The Honourable Senator Mockler moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tkachuk:

That the twenty-fourth report of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, entitled Fair, Simple and Competitive Taxation: The way forward for Canada, deposited with the Clerk of the Senate on December 13, 2017, be adopted and that, pursuant to rule 12-24(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the government, with the Minister of Finance being identified as minister responsible for responding to the report.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Pratte moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Coyle, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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Orders No. 71 and 72 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

Orders No. 31, 73, 89, 92, 139, 146, 158, 189, 215, 245, 286 and 292 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Inquiries

Orders No. 8, and 12 and 13 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

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Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Pate, calling the attention of the Senate to the circumstances of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized in Canada, particularly the increasing over-representation of Indigenous women in Canadian prisons.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, for the Honourable Senator Sinclair, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Tardif, calling the attention of the Senate to regional universities and the important role they play in Canada.

The Honourable Senator Cordy moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Eggleton, P.C., that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Wallin, calling the attention of the Senate to the proposal put forward by Senator Harder, titled “Sober Second Thinking”, which reviews the Senate’s performance since the appointment of independent senators, and recommends the creation of a Senate business committee.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Cools moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Ringuette, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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Order No. 25 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

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Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator McPhedran, calling the attention of the Senate to the important opportunity we have to review our principles and procedures with a view to ensuring that the Senate has the strongest most effective policies and mechanisms possible to respond to complaints against senators of sexual or other kinds of harassment.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, for the Honourable Senator Galvez, seconded by the Honourable Senator Lankin, P.C., that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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Orders No. 28, and 31 and 32 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE

Pursuant to rule 13-5(1), the Senate proceeded to the consideration of the question of privilege of the Honourable Senator McPhedran concerning communication to the media relating to a letter from the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration marked “confidential”.

After debate,

The Speaker reserved his decision.

MOTIONS

The Honourable Senator Dyck moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bovey:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples be authorized to examine and report on the implications of the potential legalization of cannabis on First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, including, but not limited to:

(a)Adequacy of consultations with Indigenous communities and organizations;

(b)Authority to sell or prohibit the sale of cannabis in Indigenous communities;

(c)Justice, public safety, policing and enforcement capacity;

(d)Potential effects of cannabis use on Indigenous peoples, with a particular focus on youth, and child and family services;

(e)Access to and availability of services and supports for mental health and substance use; and

(f)Economic opportunities in the production of cannabis.

That the committee submit its final report no later than April 30, 2018 and that the committee retain all powers necessary to publicize its findings for 180 days after the tabling of the final report.

After debate,

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

INQUIRIES

The Honourable Senator Day called the attention of the Senate to the career of the Honourable Senator Fraser.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Cools moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

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The Honourable Senator Day called the attention of the Senate to the career of the Honourable Senator Tardif.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Gagné moved, for the Honourable Senator Cormier, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

ADJOURNMENT

The Honourable Senator Bellemare moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Petitclerc:

That the Senate do now adjourn.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

(Accordingly, at 8:55 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

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Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5

Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources

The Honourable Senator Eaton replaced the Honourable Senator Patterson (February 9, 2018).

Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration

The Honourable Senator Wells replaced the Honourable Senator Marshall (February 9, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Frum replaced the Honourable Senator Tkachuk (February 9, 2018).

Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament

The Honourable Senator Martin replaced the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C. (February 9, 2018).

Special Committee on the Arctic

The Honourable Senator Coyle replaced the Honourable Senator McPhedran (February 13, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Galvez replaced the Honourable Senator Gold (February 13, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Gold replaced the Honourable Senator Galvez (February 12, 2018).

The Honourable Senator McPhedran replaced the Honourable Senator Coyle (February 12, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Coyle was added to the membership (February 9, 2018).

The Honourable Senator McPhedran was removed from the membership of the committee, substitution pending (February 9, 2018).

Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization

The Honourable Senator Marwah replaced the Honourable Senator Dean (February 13, 2018).

Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

The Honourable Senator Frum replaced the Honourable Senator Poirier (February 9, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Poirier replaced the Honourable Senator Neufeld (February 9, 2018).