The Members convened were:

The Honourable Senators

AndreychukAtaullahjanBattersBellemareBernardBeyakBlack (Alberta)Black (Ontario)BoisvenuBonifaceBoveyBoyerBrazeauCampbellCarignanChristmasCoolsCormierCoyleDagenaisDawsonDayDeacon (Ontario)DoyleDuffyDupuisDyckEatonEggletonFrumFureyGagnéGalvezGoldGreeneGriffinHarderHousakosJoyalLovelace NicholasMacDonaldMaltaisManningMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCallumMcInnisMcIntyreMcPhedranMégieMercerMitchellMocklerMoncionMunsonNeufeldOhOmidvarPatePattersonPlettPoirierPratteRaineRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSinclairSmithStewart OlsenTannasTkachukUngerVernerWallinWellsWetstonWhiteWoo

The Members in attendance to business were:

The Honourable Senators

AndreychukAtaullahjanBattersBellemareBernardBeyakBlack (Alberta)Black (Ontario)BoisvenuBonifaceBoveyBoyerBrazeauCampbellCarignanChristmasCoolsCormierCoyleDagenaisDawsonDayDeacon (Ontario)DoyleDuffyDupuisDyckEatonEggletonFrumFureyGagnéGalvezGoldGreeneGriffinHarderHousakosJoyalLovelace NicholasMacDonaldMaltaisManningMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCallumMcInnisMcIntyreMcPhedranMégieMercerMitchellMocklerMoncionMunsonNeufeldOhOmidvarPatePattersonPlettPoirierPratteRaineRinguetteSaint-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

Some Honourable Senators made statements.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

Tabling of Documents

The Honourable the Speaker tabled the following:

Report of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, entitled Patent restoration and the cost of pharmaceuticals, pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1997.

o o o

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

Copy of the Commission appointing Marie-Geneviève Mounier Deputy of the Governor General, to do in Her Excellency’s name all acts on her part necessary to be done during Her Excellency’s pleasure, dated March 1, 2018.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1998S.

The said Commission is as follows:

JULIE PAYETTE

(L.S.)

By Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

To MARIE-GENEVIÈVE MOUNIER, of Gatineau, in the Province of Quebec,

GREETING:

WHEREAS by letters patent under the Great Seal of Canada bearing date the eighth day of September in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-seven, it is constituted, ordered and declared that there shall be a Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada;

WHEREAS Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, by Commission under the Great Seal of Canada bearing date the twentieth day of September in the year of Our Lord two thousand and seventeen, was graciously pleased to appoint me, during the Royal Pleasure, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada, and has further in and by the said Commission authorized, empowered and commanded me to exercise and perform all and singular the powers and directions contained in the said letters patent constituting the office of the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief, or in any other letters patent adding to, amending or substituted for the same;

WHEREAS under and pursuant to the provisions in that behalf in the Constitution Act, 1867, in and by the said letters patent Her Excellency the Governor General for the time being is authorized and empowered subject to any limitations and directions from time to time expressed or given by Her Majesty to appoint any person or persons, jointly and severally, to be her Deputy or Deputies within any part or parts of Canada, and in that capacity to exercise, during the Royal Pleasure, such of her powers, functions and authorities as she might deem it necessary or expedient to assign to such person or persons, provided that the appointment of such Deputy or Deputies should not affect the exercise of any such power, authority or function by the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in person;

AND WHEREAS, I deem it necessary and expedient with a view to preventing delay in the performance of the public business and affairs of Canada to appoint some fit and proper person to be my Deputy within Canada for the purposes hereinafter mentioned;

KNOW YOU that being well assured of your loyalty, fidelity and capacity, I, the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, under and by virtue of and in pursuance of the power and authority vested in me by the Commission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, under the Great Seal of Canada, dated the twentieth day of September in the year of Our Lord two thousand and seventeen, constituting and appointing me to be the Governor General of Canada do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint you, Marie-Geneviève Mounier, to be my Deputy within Canada, to be styled Deputy to the Governor General, whether I be absent from Canada or not and in that capacity to exercise, subject to any limitations and directions from time to time expressed or given by Her Majesty, all the powers, authorities and functions vested in and of right exercisable by me as Governor General, saving and excepting the powers of dissolving, recalling or proroguing the Parliament of Canada, of appointing members of the Ministry and of signifying Royal Assent in Parliament assembled.

PROVIDED ALWAYS that the appointment of my Deputy shall not affect the exercise of any such power, authority or function by me, the Right Honourable Julie Payette, in person.

AND PROVIDED ALWAYS that you, Marie-Geneviève Mounier, shall during your continuance as my Deputy obey all such orders and instructions as you shall from time to time receive from me or the person administering the Government of Canada.

GIVEN under my hand and seal at Ottawa, this first day of March in the year of Our Lord two thousand and eighteen and in the sixty-seventh year of Her Majesty’s Reign.

BY COMMAND,

Deputy Registrar General of Canada

Government response to the eighteenth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, entitled Challenge Ahead: Integrating robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing technologies into Canada’s healthcare systems, deposited with the Clerk of the Senate, on October 31, 2017.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1999S.

(Pursuant to rule 12-24(4), the report and the response were deemed referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.)

Introduction and First Reading of Government Bills

A message was brought from the House of Commons with Bill C-55, An Act to amend the Oceans Act and the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, to which it desires the concurrence of the Senate.

The bill was read the first time.

The Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bellemare, 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.

Tabling of Reports from Interparliamentary Delegations

The Honourable Senator MacDonald tabled the following:

Report of the Canadian Delegation of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation at the 9th Annual Conference of the Southeastern United States–Canadian Provinces Alliance, held in Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America, from May 26 to 28, 2016.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-2000.

Report of the Canadian Delegation of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation at the Democratic National Convention, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, from July 25 to July 28, 2016.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-2001.

Report of the Canadian Delegation of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation at United States Congressional Meetings, held in Washington, D.C., United States of America, from March 20 to 22, 2017.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-2002.

Report of the Canadian Delegation of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Council of State Governments—WEST, held in Tacoma, Washington, United States of America, from August 15 to 19, 2017.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-2003.

Question Period

The Senate proceeded to Question Period.

Orders of the Day

Government Business

Bills – Third Reading

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

Bills – Second Reading

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

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Sinclair, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mitchell, for the second reading of Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Mercer moved, for the Honourable Senator Jaffer, seconded by the Honourable Senator Eggleton, P.C., that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

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

o o o

Order No. 3 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

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

o o o

The Honourable Senator Bellemare moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Harder, P.C.:

That, in order to allow the Senate to receive a Minister of the Crown during Question Period as authorized by the Senate on December 10, 2015, and notwithstanding rule 4-7, when the Senate sits on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Question Period shall begin at 3:30 p.m., with any proceedings then before the Senate being interrupted until the end of Question Period, which shall last a maximum of 40 minutes;

That, if a standing vote would conflict with the holding of Question Period at 3:30 p.m. on that day, the vote be postponed until immediately after the conclusion of Question Period;

That, if the bells are ringing for a vote at 3:30 p.m. on that day, they be interrupted for Question Period at that time, and resume thereafter for the balance of any time remaining; and

That, if the Senate concludes its business before 3:30 p.m. on that day, the sitting be suspended until that time for the purpose of holding Question Period.

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

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The Honourable Senator Bellemare moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Harder, P.C.:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at 2 p.m.

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

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The Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mitchell:

That, notwithstanding the order of the Senate adopted on February 15, 2018, the date for the submission of the report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade relating to its study of the subject matter of Bill C-45, An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts, insofar as it relates to the Canada’s international obligations, be extended from May 1, 2018 to May 9, 2018.

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

Inquiries

Order No. 3 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Other Business

Senate Public Bills – Third Reading

Orders No. 1 to 6 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

SPEAKER'S STATEMENT

Honourable senators will know that, on April 18, 2018, Senator Patterson moved the adjournment of debate on the seventh report of the Standing Senate Committee Fisheries and Oceans, and that motion was defeated. In a ruling from then Speaker Kinsella in 2009, citing Bourinot, it was decided that, should a member move an adjournment that the house subsequently negatives, that member no longer has a right to speak. Senator Patterson is asking that, notwithstanding this ruling, he be allowed to speak.

Senate Public Bills – Reports of Committees

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Manning, seconded by the Honourable Senator Housakos, for the adoption of the seventh report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (Bill S-203, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts (ending the captivity of whales and dolphins), with amendments), presented in the Senate on October 31, 2017.

After debate,

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

The Honourable Senator Sinclair moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Pratte, that the bill, as amended, be placed on the Orders of the Day for third reading at the next sitting.

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

Senate Public Bills – Second Reading

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

o o o

Ordered, That consideration of Order No. 4 be postponed until the next sitting of the Senate.

o o o

Orders No. 5 to 10 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Commons Public Bills – Second Reading

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

Reports of Committees – Other

Orders No. 1, 5 to 8, 10, 15, 50, 66, 75 and 81 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

Order No. 31 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

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Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Patterson, 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 Gold moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Joyal, P.C., that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

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

---

With leave,

The Senate reverted to Notices of Motions.

With leave of the Senate,

The Honourable Senator Joyal, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs be authorized to meet on Tuesday, May 1st, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that the application of rule 12-18(1) be suspended in relation thereto; and

That the committee be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate its report on the subject matter of Bill C-45, An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the report be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

After debate,

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

Orders of the Day

Other Business

Motions

Orders No. 89, 146, 158, 189, 215 and 245 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Saint-Germain, seconded by the Honourable Senator Lankin, P.C.:

That, pursuant to chapter 4:01, section 2, of the Senate Administrative Rules, for the remainder of the current session, any senator who occupies more than one position of chair or deputy chair of a committee for which an additional allowance is payable be authorized to waive the portion of his or her allowance payable in respect of those additional positions of chair or deputy chair.

After debate,

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

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

o o o

Orders No. 292, 302, and 309 and 310 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Inquiries

Orders No. 8, 12 and 13, 19 and 20 and, 24 and 25 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

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 Galvez moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Ataullahjan, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

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

o o o

Orders No. 28, 32 and 33, 36 and 40 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

MOTIONS

The Honourable Senator Galvez moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Andreychuk:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate, no later than May 4, 2018, an interim report relating to its study on the transition to a low carbon economy, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the report be deemed to have been tabled in the Chamber.

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

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

That, notwithstanding the order of the Senate adopted on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, the date for the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in relation to its study on Maritime Search and Rescue activities, including current challenges and opportunities, be extended from June 30, 2018 to December 31, 2018.

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

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The Honourable Senator McCallum moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Coyle:

That the Senate call on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to:

(a)invite Pope Francis to Canada to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church to Indigenous people for the church’s role in the residential school system, as outlined in Call to Action 58 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report;

(b)to respect its moral obligation and the spirit of the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and resume the best efforts to raise the full amount of the agreed upon funds; and

(c)to make a consistent and sustained effort to turn over the relevant documents when called upon by survivors of residential schools, their families, and scholars working to understand the full scope of the horrors of the residential school system in the interest of truth and reconciliation.

After debate,

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

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

o o o

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

That the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans have the power to meet on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at 5 p.m., even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that rule 12-18(1) be suspended in relation thereto.

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

o o o

The Honourable Senator Andreychuk moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Day:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade be authorized to meet on Tuesday, May 1st, 2018, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that the application of rule 12-18(1) be suspended in relation thereto.

After debate,

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

INQUIRIES

The Honourable Senator Cools called the attention of the Senate to the great nation-building authors of Canada and their constituting statute, the British North America Act, 1867, and to this Act’s single conceptual and comprehensive framework expressed in its section 91, in the words “It shall be lawful for the Queen to make Laws for the Peace, Order and good Government of Canada;” and to British Whig Prime Minister William Wyndham Grenville, the architect of the British statute, the Canada Act 1791, known as the Constitutional Act 1791, that divided Quebec into two provinces, Upper Canada and Lower Canada; and to Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant Governor, the great soldier-general, the slavery abolitionist John Graves Simcoe, who, in 1793, with Upper Canada’s first Attorney General John White, achieved the adoption of their Bill, An Act to prevent the further introduction of Slaves, and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Province, which Act was the world’s first slavery abolition statute.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Ringuette moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cools, 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 Ringuette:

That the Senate do now adjourn.

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

(Accordingly, at 3:50 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at 2 p.m.)

Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5

Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

The Honourable Senator Deacon replaced the Honourable Senator Hartling (April 25, 2018).

Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

The Honourable Senator Cormier replaced the Honourable Senator Saint-Germain (April 26, 2018).

Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights

The Honourable Senator Ngo replaced the Honourable Senator Patterson (April 26, 2018).

Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization

The Honourable Senator Dean replaced the Honourable Senator Deacon (April 25, 2018).

Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

The Honourable Senator Dagenais replaced the Honourable Senator Martin (April 26, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Campbell replaced the Honourable Senator Deacon (April 26, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Deacon replaced the Honourable Senator Lankin, P.C. (April 25, 2018).

Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples

The Honourable Senator Ngo replaced the Honourable Senator Martin (April 26, 2018).

Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

The Honourable Senator Eaton replaced the Honourable Senator Wells (April 26, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Wells replaced the Honourable Senator Eaton (April 26, 2018).

The Honourable Senator Sinclair replaced the Honourable Senator McCallum (April 26, 2018).