The Members convened were:

The Honourable Senators

Al ZaibakArnotAtaullahjanAucoinAudetteBattersBellemareBlackBoehmBonifaceBoyerBrazeauBureyBussonCardozoCarignanClementCordyCormierCotterCoyleCuznerDagenaisDalphondDaskoDeacon (Nova Scotia)Deacon (Ontario)DeanDowneDuncanForestFrancisGagnéGalvezGerbaGignacGoldGreeneGreenwoodHarderHousakosJafferKingstonKlyneKutcherLaBoucane-BensonLankinLoffredaMacAdamMacDonaldManningMarshallMartinMassicotteMcBeanMcNairMcPhedranMégieMiville-DechêneMocklerMoncionMoodieOhOmidvarOslerPatePattersonPettenPlettPoirierProsperQuinnRavaliaRichardsRinguetteRossSaint-GermainSeidmanSeniorSimonsSmithSorensenTannasVaroneVernerWallinWellsWhiteYussuff

The Members in attendance to business were:

The Honourable Senators

Al ZaibakArnotAtaullahjanAucoinAudetteBattersBellemareBlackBoehmBonifaceBoyerBrazeauBureyBussonCardozoCarignanClementCordyCormierCotterCoyleCuznerDagenaisDalphondDaskoDeacon (Nova Scotia)Deacon (Ontario)DeanDowneDuncanForestFrancisGagnéGalvezGerbaGignacGoldGreeneGreenwoodHarderHousakosJafferKingstonKlyneKutcherLaBoucane-BensonLankinLoffredaMacAdamMacDonaldManningMarshallMartinMassicotteMcBeanMcNairMcPhedranMégieMiville-DechêneMocklerMoncionMoodieOhOmidvarOslerPatePattersonPettenPlettPoirierProsperQuinnRavaliaRichardsRinguetteRossSaint-GermainSeidmanSeniorSimonsSmithSorensenTannasVaroneVernerWallinWellsWhiteYussuff

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.

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At 2:14 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 2:21 p.m., the sitting resumed.

Senators’ Statements

An Honourable Senator made a statement.

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At 2:27 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 2:48 p.m., the sitting resumed.

Senators’ Statements

Some Honourable Senators made statements.

Question Period

The Senate proceeded to Question Period.

Orders of the Day

Pursuant to the order adopted December 7, 2021, the Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson informed the Senate that Question Period with the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P., Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, will take place on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 4 p.m.

Government Business

Bills – Second Reading

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

SPEAKER'S STATEMENT

Honourable senators, yesterday the Senate discharged Bill S-241 and its subject matter from the committees that were dealing with those topics, and the bill was withdrawn. This decision resolved the questions that had given rise to the point of order raised by Senator Plett last Thursday, and a ruling is no longer required. Debate on Bill S-15 can therefore proceed. I do, however, wish to thank colleagues for their analyses of the topic.

Government Business

Bills – Second Reading

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

o o o

Second reading of Bill C-57, An Act to implement the 2023 Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine.

The Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bellemare, that the bill be read the second time.

After debate,

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

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

Reports of Committees – Other

Orders No. 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

Orders No. 1 and 132 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Inquiries

Orders No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Other Business

Senate Public Bills – Third Reading

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

Commons Public Bills – Third Reading

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

Senate Public Bills – Reports of Committees

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

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Omidvar, seconded by the Honourable Senator Clement, for the adoption of the eighteenth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (Bill S-244, An Act to amend the Department of Employment and Social Development Act and the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Council), with an amendment), presented in the Senate on December 11, 2023.

After debate,

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

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

Senate Public Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Kutcher, seconded by the Honourable Senator Boehm, for the second reading of Bill S-276, An Act respecting Ukrainian Heritage Month.

After debate,

With leave of the Senate,

Further debate on the motion was adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Plett.

o o o

Orders No. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Commons Public Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Reports of Committees – Other

Orders No. 31, 33, 40, 51, 53 and 56 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Boehm, seconded by the Honourable Senator Forest:

That the twelfth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, entitled More than a Vocation: Canada’s Need for a 21st Century Foreign Service, deposited with the Clerk of the Senate on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, be adopted and that, pursuant to rule 12-23(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the government, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs being identified as the minister responsible for responding to the report.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Martin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Batters, 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. 62 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

Orders No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Galvez, seconded by the Honourable Senator Forest:

That the Senate of Canada recognize that:

(a)climate change is an urgent crisis that requires an immediate and ambitious response;

(b)human activity is unequivocally warming the atmosphere, ocean and land at an unprecedented pace, and is provoking weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe, including in the Arctic, which is warming at more than twice the global rate;

(c)failure to address climate change is resulting in catastrophic consequences especially for Canadian youth, Indigenous Peoples and future generations; and

(d)climate change is negatively impacting the health and safety of Canadians, and the financial stability of Canada;

That the Senate declare that Canada is in a national climate emergency which requires that Canada uphold its international commitments with respect to climate change and increase its climate action in line with the Paris Agreement’s objective of holding global warming well below two degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius; and

That the Senate commit to action on mitigation and adaptation in response to the climate emergency and that it consider this urgency for action while undertaking its parliamentary business.

Ordered: That further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Housakos.

o o o

Orders No. 11 and 12 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Patterson (Nunavut), seconded by the Honourable Senator Greene:

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 Her 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).

Ordered: That further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Housakos.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Tannas, seconded by the Honourable Senator Black:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order or usual practice:

1.except as provided in this order, the question not be put on the motion for third reading of a government bill unless the orders for resuming debate at second and third reading have, together, been called at least three times, in addition to the sittings at which the motions for second and third readings were moved;

2.when a government bill has been read a first time, and before a motion is moved to set the date for second reading, the Leader of the Government in the Senate or the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate may, without notice, move that the bill be deemed an urgent matter, and that the provisions of paragraph 1 of this order not apply to proceedings on the bill; and

3.when a motion has been moved pursuant to paragraph 2 of this order, the following provisions apply:

(a)the debate shall only deal with whether the bill should be deemed an urgent matter or not;

(b)the debate shall not be adjourned;

(c)the debate shall last a maximum of 20 minutes;

(d)no senator shall speak for more than 5 minutes;

(e)no senators shall speak more than once;

(f)the debate shall not be interrupted for any purpose, except for the reading of a message from the Crown or an event announced in such a message;

(g)the debate may continue beyond the ordinary time of adjournment, if necessary, until the conclusion of the debate and consequential business;

(h)the time taken in debate and for any vote shall not count as part of Routine Proceedings;

(i)no amendment or other motion shall be received, except a motion that a certain senator be now heard or do now speak;

(j)when debate concludes or the time for debate expires, the Speaker shall put the question; and

(k)any standing vote requested shall not be deferred, and the bells shall ring for only 15 minutes.

Ordered: That further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Housakos.

o o o

Orders No. 68, 77, 82, 96, 107, 113, 139, 147, 157 and 168 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Inquiries

Orders No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Woo, calling the attention of the Senate to the one hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the contributions that Chinese Canadians have made to our country, and the need to combat contemporary forms of exclusion and discrimination faced by Canadians of Asian descent.

Ordered: That further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting, in the name of the Honourable Senator Petitclerc.

o o o

Order No. 12 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Klyne, calling the attention of the Senate to the ongoing business and economic contributions made by Indigenous businesses to Canada’s economy.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Clement moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Omidvar, 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. 14, 16, 17 and 19 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

ADJOURNMENT

The Honourable Senator LaBoucane-Benson moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Gold, P.C.:

That the Senate do now adjourn.

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

(Accordingly, at 5:35 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

DOCUMENTS DEPOSITED WITH THE CLERK OF THE SENATE PURSUANT TO RULE 14-1(7)

Summary of the Corporate Plan and Budgets for 2023-27 of Export Development Canada, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 125(4).—Sessional Paper No. 1/44-2562.

Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5

Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency

The Honourable Senator Smith was added to the membership (February 13, 2024).

Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights

The Honourable Senator Hartling replaced the Honourable Senator Clement (February 13, 2024).

Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs

The Honourable Senator McNair replaced the Honourable Senator Yussuff (February 13, 2024).

Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament

The Honourable Senator Woo replaced the Honourable Senator Petten (February 13, 2024).