Debates of the Senate

DEBATES OF THE SENATE 1st SESSION • 42nd PARLIAMENT • VOLUME 150 • NUMBER 242 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Wednesday, October 31, 2018 The Honourable GEORGE J. FUREY, Speaker CONTENTS (Daily index of proceedings appears at back of this issue). Debates Services: D’Arcy McPherson, National Press Building, Room 906, Tel. 613-995-5756 Publications Centre: Kim Laughren, National Press Building, Room 926, Tel. 613-947-0609 Published by the Senate Available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 6667 THE SENATE Wednesday, October 31, 2018 The Senate met at 2 p.m., the Speaker in the chair. VISITOR IN THE GALLERY Prayers. The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Dr. Richard Stanwick. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Bovey. SENATORS’ STATEMENTS On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH Senate of Canada. Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, as we are Hon. Senators: Hear, hear! nearing the end of October and this being the Women’s History Month in Canada, I thought it would be an appropriate occasion to share with you a story from the field of medical research of a CANADIAN CONSERVATION INSTITUTE prominent woman from New Brunswick. Hon. Patricia Bovey: Honourable senators, we have a Born in Jackson, New Brunswick in 1909, Gladys Enid collective responsibility for a significant part of Canada’s public Johnson MacLeod was educated at Dalhousie University and trust, art, furniture, and sculptures owned by, loaned to and on graduated as a medical doctor in 1937. She was encouraged to view in the Senate. Obviously of interest to me, this trust pursue her studies and went on to become a anesthetist. Together includes Speakers’ portraits primarily by Canadian artists, though with her mentor Harold Griffith, they pioneered the use of a few by women, portraits of French and English royalty, some substance called curare, a poison extract from the South African Canadian landscapes and a growing number of Indigenous and vine as a muscle relaxant which was first used in the support of Inuit two- and three-dimensional works. an appendectomy operation in 1942. After her marriage to lawyer Innis Gordon MacLeod in 1942, When Centre Block closes for earthquake upgrades, asbestos she practised in Sydney, Nova Scotia, for six years and went on removal and other renovations, the collection will be moved, to join the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine in 1960. some to the new Senate building, some into storage and some She retired in 1978 an emeritus professor and retained her will undergo conservation. honorary ranks at the university until her death in 2001. Senators Joyal, Eaton, the curators and myself recently visited Her legacy also includes the yearly Enid Johnson MacLeod the Canadian Conservation Institute, and before Thanksgiving I Award given by the Federation of Medical Women in Canada, visited the new storage building. I wanted assurance it meets the whereas it recognizes any category of FMWC members involved museological standards for the preservation of these works. I am in the promotion of women’s health, research and/or women’s pleased to report the new facility does meet the primary health education. standards. Like the theme for this year’s Women’s History Month in The temperature is set at 20 degrees Celsius, with a maximum Canada, Make an Impact, Dr. Enid Johnson MacLeod’s impact is short-term fluctuation of plus/minus 2 degrees. Relative humidity still felt today. For all of us who ever had to undergo an will remain between 45 and 55 per cent, with a short-term operation, I’m sure we are grateful for her research, discovery, fluctuation of plus/minus 5 per cent, settings critically important and pioneer work in the medical profession. for the inherent safety of the works. The maximum light level is 20 lux and the UV content is within standard. A motion sensor Honourable senators, as we near the end of the Women’s will turn the lights off when the space is vacant, an excellent History Month in Canada, where we recognize different women provision. A wet sprinkler fire suppressant system is in the bulk. pioneers in various fields, where through their dedication, I want to know what the water pressure will be on activation; if tenacity and determination they not only changed their respective too strong, the canvas structure of the works could be damaged. I fields but changed our society for future generations. I salute not am pleased staff agreed to install flood monitors to warn of water only the women who changed our society like Dr. Enid Johnson from the pipes above or natural disasters like the recent MacLeod, but to all women who might not get the bigger tornadoes. recognition — those who make and made a difference in their province and their community. Dust particulates in the air are another important factor. I await those readings and would like to receive them regularly, as this Thank you, senators. storage area is in a building which receives deliveries of all sorts. 6668 SENATE DEBATES October 31, 2018 Access doors are large enough to accommodate the works, [Translation] they’re secure with card entry only. I have been assured the lift mechanisms of the forklift are smooth, no jarring on stopping, important when handling heritage furniture and large works of ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE art. The new paintings screens are sufficient for the works in question. Hon. Rosa Galvez: Colleagues, it is my pleasure to talk to you With a clear collections policy and an updated collections about the latest IPCC special report entitled Global Warming database, now noting the artist, sitter, location and all details of of 1.5°C. the works, the key aspects in managing public collections have been addressed. I hope we will develop creative ways to make this important Canadian public trust increasingly accessible. It is [English] one we all should be proud of. Thank you. Hon. Senators: Hear, hear. The data is clear: As a direct result of climate change, we can say with confidence that the earth is already facing significant disruptions to ecosystems, infrastructure, food supply, water CHILDREN’S VISION HEALTH MONTH security, public safety and health, and creating economic havoc. Hon. Percy E. Downe: Honourable senators, as Children’s Vision Health Month draws to a close, this is a timely Canada is at risk. The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the opportunity to consider the gift of vision and the importance of globe due to polar amplification. This puts people in Northern working towards improving blindness prevention and eye care communities at risk. For example, degrading permafrost impacts for all Canadians, especially our young people. infrastructure, and the coastline is exposed to erosion. To say that vision health is important is to state the obvious. In fact, it is to understate it. A public opinion survey has indicated The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates the cost of that vision loss is the disability most feared by Canadians, a fear insurance claims related to natural disasters — floods, forest fires surely increased when it comes to our children. However, its and other extreme weather events — at approximately $1 billion impact goes beyond the personal. Vision problems in children, annually, an amount that has more than doubled from previous particularly if untreated, can quickly lead to learning difficulties. decades. • (1410) [Translation] Classroom learning is mostly visual. Just think back to your own time in school. How much time did you spend studying a book or looking at the blackboard? A child who cannot see well On Tuesday, October 9, The Hague Court of Appeal upheld a cannot learn well, and that can have repercussions throughout ruling ordering the Dutch government to accelerate the country’s their lives, both for them and for society as a whole. greenhouse gas emissions cuts. The court has ordered the Netherlands to step up its fight against climate change. Moreover, in March 2017, a UN report documented 894 ongoing This problem first came to my attention during the debate in litigations around the world. The number of climate change cases the Senate over the unregulated sales of cosmetic contact lenses. is rising worldwide. Such sales, as well as the online sales of prescription eyewear and contacts, seemed to arise from the attitude that such devices were merely harmless consumer products to be purchased in the [English] cheapest and most convenient manner possible, rather than medical devices that should be treated accordingly. Although regulatory improvements have been made, such an attitude Last week, New York’s Attorney General filed a suit against persists among some members of the public, unaware of the risks ExxonMobil for fraudulently using an internal carbon price and that such a purchase may entail. I only mention this because downplaying the expected risks of climate change to its business. Halloween is tonight, and with it the potentially dangerous use of Exxon may have deliberately lowballed the cost of carbon for unregulated cosmetic contact lenses by young people as part of 14 Canadian oil operations — run by its subsidiary, Imperial their costumes. Oil — by $30 billion. Children’s Vision Health Month is a time to reflect both upon the personal and the policy aspects of this important topic. Proper Dear senators, policy debate and decisions must recognize that vision care for children pays dividends later on, both for those there is a cost to doing little or nothing to curb emissions. We children and for the society to which they will contribute. We must aim to achieve net-zero emissions by investing in or must bear this in mind and carry the lessons of Children’s Vision providing incentives for energy efficiency and low-carbon Health Month throughout the year.

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