Debates of the Senate
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Slow Senate Start Amid Pandemic a Lesson to Limit Delay Tactics, Says
Fourni par InfoMédia http://www.infomedia.gc.ca/parl Provided by NewsDesk Publié | Published: 2020-11-04 Hill Times Reçu | Received: 2020-11-04 00:01 (HNE) Slow Senate start amid pandemic a lesson to limit delay tactics, says CSG leader 'Our job is not to play procedural inside baseball around organization of the Senate, and we've done a lot of that, and I'm tired of it,' says Sen. Scott Tannas. Samantha Wright Allen With Senators finally nailing down hybrid sittings and striking committees after months of disagreement that led to limited work during the pandemic, one Senate leader says his colleagues have learned their lesson about capitulating to procedural delays and will likely have "little patience" for such tactics going forward. "Our job is not to play procedural inside baseball around organization of the Senate, and we've done a lot of that, and I'm tired of it. A lot of people are tired of it," said Canadian Senators Group Leader Scott Tannas. One example of that inside baseball played out on Oct. 29, said the Alberta Senator, with the long path to setting up committees coming to an end. The agreement guarantees allocated committee seats stay with various groups rather than individual Senators, which some said leaves powers in leaders' hands and violates the rules granting rights to Senators. The Progressive Senate Group (PSG), the smallest of the four recognized groups, said the vote in the Chamber-held before hybrid sittings were instituted-was done at the expense of giving all Senators a voice, while the other three groups said a clear majority supported the move. -
Debates of the Senate
DEBATES OF THE SENATE 1st SESSION • 42nd PARLIAMENT • VOLUME 150 • NUMBER 282 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Wednesday, May 1, 2019 The Honourable GEORGE J. FUREY, Speaker This issue contains the latest listing of Senators, Officers of the Senate and the Ministry. 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 7913 THE SENATE Wednesday, May 1, 2019 The Senate met at 2 p.m., the Speaker in the chair. His Excellency, the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the acting Minister of Immigration and Prayers. Colonization, is pleased to order that the Order-in-Council of June 9, 1919, prohibited the landing in Canada of any immigrant of Doukhobor, Hutterite and Mennonite classes shall be and the SENATORS’ STATEMENTS same is hereby rescinded as respects Hutterites and Mennonites. Therefore, of course, the thousands of what became known as IMMIGRATION, REFUGEES AND CITIZENSHIP the Mennonite exodus from Russia took place in the 1920s and 1930s. Hon. Peter Harder (Government Representative in the Senate): Governments make mistakes. I speak today so that we may redouble our efforts to make Canada an ongoing beacon of protection for refugees, a Some Hon. Senators: No, but not this one. welcoming of immigrants, of pluralism and as a guard against falsehoods and other claims of racial discrimination. Senator Harder: I thought I would get this reaction. -
Bill S222 Letter
May 7, 2021 The Honourable Senator Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada/Le Sénat du Canada Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0A4 La traduction française suit Dear Senator Omidvar, I am writing to express strong support for Bill S-222, the Effective and Accountable Charities Act. Thank you for your leadership on this important initiative. The Bill provides a pragmatic, responsible, accountable and just solution to an issue that has been of concern to Canadian international development charities like Farm Radio International for many years. On March 18, 2019, I was invited to speak as a witness before a Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector that you co-chaired. In my address to the Committee, I noted that the direction and control provision of the Income Tax Act means that a charity like Farm Radio International can only work with a partner organization in another country – such as a community radio station or women’s group, or a national health organization – if it contracts it as an “intermediary” to implement its own activities under its direction and control. Charities cannot offer contributions to local organizations to enable them, for example, to advance their own compatible charitable activities. This is problematic for Canadian charities involved in international development. Our ultimate success depends on supporting local development partners as they work to become more effective and sustainable organizations in their own countries. If these organizations are simply contracted as “intermediary” service providers that work under Canadian direction and control, their critical leadership in effective development is diminished, undermining the long-term goal of self-reliance. -
Complementarity: the Constitutional Role of the Senate of Canada
SENATE SENAT The Honourable V. Peter Harder P.C. L’honorable V. Peter Harder C.P. Government Representative in the Senate Représentant du gouvernement au Sénat CANADA Complementarity: The Constitutional Role of the Senate of Canada April 12, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 A. Complement to the House: A Constitutional Role Rooted in the 7 Appointive Principle B. In the Senate, Self-Restraint is the Constitutional Watchword 11 C. The Senate’s Power to Amend, Legislate and Influence Public Policy 17 D. We “Ping”, But We Generally Ought not “Pong” 28 E. A Prudent Yet Vigilant Approach to Fiscal and Budgetary Initiatives 30 i. Restricted Access to the Purse Strings 30 ii. A Tradition of Vigilance and Self-Restraint on Confidence and 31 Budgetary Matters iii. The Omnibus Caveats 33 F. The Senate Extraordinary and Rarely Used Power to Defeat 37 Government Legislation G. Democratic Deference to the Government’s Election Platform 41 H. Private Members’ Bills and the Senate’s “Pocket” Veto 47 Epilogue: Better Serving Canadians 49 Complementarity: The Constitutional Role of the Senate of Canada April 2018 - Page 1 of 51 INTRODUCTION “If we enact legislation speedily, we are called rubber stamps. If we exercise the constitutional authority which the Senate possesses under the British North America Act, we are told that we are doing something that we have no right to do. I do not know how to satisfy our critics.” The late former Senator Carl Goldenberg, Senate Debates of January 11, 1974 Many senators are working hard to close a credibility gap that was created by many difficult years and prove the Senate’s public value as an appointed upper chamber. -
Senators Support Calls to Ensure Access to Reproductive Rights
Senators Support Calls to Ensure Access to Reproductive Rights FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OTTAWA, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020— Over 30 years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada granted women the right to choose, without fear of prosecution. Yet, access to the reproductive rights conferred to women years ago by the highest court in the Land are still being restricted by provincial regulations and policies. The story of Clinic 554 in Fredericton is one spanning over several decades. It is fraught with court challenges over repeated measures undertaken by a succession of governments in the Province to restrict women’s access to services. Clinic 554 has provided access to the reproductive rights for women for many years in order to counter the continued restrictions to access imposed by the Province. More recently, the Clinic further extended its services to the 2SLGBTQ community of the Province. The closing of Clinic 554 would impair access to hard won Charter-protected rights. In recent past and in response to repeated concerns by affected New Brunswickers, the Federal government temporarily reduced Health and Transfer payments to New Brunswick. We live in a Constitutional Democracy where all citizens are subject to the Rule of Law. Premiers are trustees of the Constitution and must ensure that the rights conferred by it and endorsed by the highest court in the Land can be accessed fully. Personal opinions on a court decision matter not. Rights without the means to enforce them are meaningless. The adoption of restrictive measures with the sole aim of limiting access to service should not be tolerated. -
Joint Statement
Alphabetical list of signatories Argentina Álvaro Héctor de Lamadrid, MP Rubén Horacio Manzi, MP José Luis Patiño, MP Francisco Sánchez, MP Pablo Daniel Blanco, Senator Australia George Christensen, MP Craig Kelly, MP Ken O'Dowd, MP Eric Abetz, Senator Alex Antic, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Senator Larissa Waters, Senator David Batt, State MP, QLD Caroline Le Couteur, State MP, ACT Tanya Davies, State MP, NSW Cate Faehrmann, State MP, NSW Bernie Finn, State MP, Victorian Shadow Assistant Minister for Small Business 1 Julia Finn, State MP, NSW The Hon. Tammy Franks, State MP, SA David Limbrick, State MP, VIC Fred Nile, State MP, NSW The Hon. Edward O'Donohue, State MP, Victorian Shadow Attorney-General Jamie Parker, State MP, NSW Tim Quilty, State MP, VIC Mark Robinson, State MP, QLD Robin Scott, State MP, WA David Shoebridge, State MP, NSW Charles Smith, State MP, WA Rev Peter Abetz, former State MP, WA Austria Petra Bayr, MP Faika El-Nagashi, MP Dr. Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic, MP Petra Wimmer, MP Lukas Mandl, MEP Dr. Bettina Vollath, MEP Christoph Wiederkehr, State MP 2 Belgium Michael Freilich, MP Bert Anciaux, MP Mark Demesmaeker, MP Tom Van Grieken, MP Nahima Lanjri, MP Freya Perdaens, MP Petra De Sutter, MEP Canada Scott Aitchison, MP Dean Allison, MP Mel Arnold, MP Yvan Baker, MP James Benzan, MP Stéphane Bergeron, MP John Brassard, MP Colin Carrie, MP Michael Cooper, MP Marc Dalton, MP Kerry Diotte, MP Todd Doherty, MP Wayne Easter, MP Ted Falk, MP 3 Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay, MP, former Minister of National Revenue Jasraj Singh Hallan, MP Rachael Harder, MP Pat Kelly, MP Hon. -
May 10, 2021 the Honourable Mary Ng, P.C., M.P. Confederation Building, Room: 461, Ottawa, on K1A 0A6 Dear Minister Ng, We Ar
May 10, 2021 The Honourable Mary Ng, P.C., M.P. Confederation Building, Room: 461, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Minister Ng, We are writing to urge the Government of Canada to support the WTO proposal, initiated by South Africa and India, for a “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19.” By supporting this initiative, Canada will provide moral leadership at a time when the world needs it the most. Over 100 countries have already supported the waiver, including our closest ally the United States. Also, citizens across the globe, including over one thousand Canadian medical students and supporters, have written and signed petitions supporting this action. The Government of Canada needs to hear these voices and provide leadership to make this initiative successful. This will go a long way towards ensuring that there is equal access to all medicines and vaccines to fight the pandemic. Specifically, we request the following from the Government of Canada: • Sign on to the proposal to waive obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) • Endorse the COVID-19 technology access pool (CTAP), to hasten and scale-up manufacturing of medical supplies and remove access barriers to technology • Use our diplomatic efforts to create global partnerships in supporting the TRIPS waiver and work to lift any global bans on the export of supplies and materials for vaccine production The global pandemic is truly horrific and continues to have a devastating impact on people and countries across the globe. -
Orange Chinook: Politics in the New Alberta
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository University of Calgary Press University of Calgary Press Open Access Books 2019-01 Orange Chinook: Politics in the New Alberta University of Calgary Press Bratt, D., Brownsey, K., Sutherland, R., & Taras, D. (2019). Orange Chinook: Politics in the New Alberta. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary Press. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109864 book https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca ORANGE CHINOOK: Politics in the New Alberta Edited by Duane Bratt, Keith Brownsey, Richard Sutherland, and David Taras ISBN 978-1-77385-026-9 THIS BOOK IS AN OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK. It is an electronic version of a book that can be purchased in physical form through any bookseller or on-line retailer, or from our distributors. Please support this open access publication by requesting that your university purchase a print copy of this book, or by purchasing a copy yourself. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] Cover Art: The artwork on the cover of this book is not open access and falls under traditional copyright provisions; it cannot be reproduced in any way without written permission of the artists and their agents. The cover can be displayed as a complete cover image for the purposes of publicizing this work, but the artwork cannot be extracted from the context of the cover of this specific work without breaching the artist’s copyright. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This open-access work is published under a Creative Commons licence. -
Senate Unlikely to Vote on Sweeping
Provided by NewsDesk http://www.infomedia.gc.ca/parl Fourni par InfoMédia Published | Publié: 2019-02-11 Hill Times Received | Reçu: 2019-02-11 00:13 (EST) Senate unlikely to vote on sweeping, controversial environmental assessment bill until May or June The Senate Environment Committee will be grappling with Bill C-69 until at least mid-April and likely later, and Senators hope to tour cities big and small as part of their work. Peter Mazereeuw Senators on the Environment Committee are roughly six weeks apart in talks to set an end date for their study on the government's environmental assessment reform bill, C-69, which will likely bring it up for a final vote in the Upper Chamber in late May or June. The three groups represented on the committee are looking at finishing off the study in either mid-April, mid-May, or late May, said Independent Senator Rosa Galvez (Bedford, Que.), the committee chair. "Now the steering [committee] is trying to find a compromise, but that's the range," she said. Conservative Senator Michael MacDonald (Cape Breton, N.S.), a deputy chair on the committee, said he believed the committee would progress to a clause-by-clause examination of the bill-the last stage of a committee study-"certainly before the end of May." Sen. MacDonald said Bill C-69 was, so far, on a timetable similar to the government's marijuana legalization bill, C-45, which was passed near the end of June last year. The Conservatives oppose C-69, and want the bill killed or comprehensively amended, Conservative Senator Don Plett (Landmark, Man.), who oversees committee work as the Conservative Senate caucus whip, told The Hill Times last month. -
Suggested Messages for Senators Regarding Bill C-262
Suggested Messages for Senators Regarding Bill C-262 Friends! Bill C-262 is an act asking “... the Government of Canada to take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Read the complete text of Bill C-262 Because of the amazing grassroots advocacy of at https://goo.gl/mWTFLh Indigenous peoples, churches and social justice organizations, Bill C-262 has passed 3rd reading in the For more info about the House of Commons and is now up for debate in the UN Declaration and C-262 see Senate. www.declarationcoalition.com Below are some suggested messages for handwritten postcards urging Senators to support Bill C-262. Pick one that resonates, or feel free to craft your own. Use language that is positive and respectful, as it will garner more ears to hear. Bill C-262 can change Canada’s future and move us toward respectful relations with Indigenous nations. I urge you to support Bill C-262, “An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has stated that the adoption of the Declaration is foundational to any genuine reconciliation in Canada. Bill C-262 can make that happen. Please support this “Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” I pray for the federal government, as I pray for myself: that we would have the courage to seek justice and do the hard work required to repair the damage of colonialism. -
Women's Constitutional Activism in Canada and South Africa Marilou
EMBARGOED. For PFOTA participants only. Forthcoming chapter in COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONALISM AND RIGHTS: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES. Editors Penelope E. Andrews, City University of New York School of Law and Susan Bazilli, International Women’s Rights Project, University of Victoria, British Columbia. Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming February 2007. Not for distribution. Women’s Constitutional Activism in Canada and South Africa Marilou McPhedran We now have a Charter which defines the kind of country in which we wish to live, and guarantees the basic rights and freedoms which each of us shall enjoy as a citizen of Canada. It reinforces the protection offered to French-speaking Canadians outside Quebec, and to English-speaking Canadians in Quebec. It recognizes our multicultural character. It upholds the equality of women, and the rights of disabled persons. Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1982) 1 ………………………………………………… Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. All of us must take this on board, that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme will not have been realized unless we see in visible and practical terms that the condition of the women of our country has radically changed for the better, and that they have been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any other member of society. Nelson Mandela (1994) 2 Marilou McPhedran, C.M., B.A., LL.B., LL.M. (LL.D. HONORIS CAUSA), holds the 2007 Ariel F. Sallows Chair in Human Rights, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; founded and now co-directs the International Women's Rights Project (IWRP), Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria, Canada. -
Report of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments Permanent Process (July to November 2016)
Report of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments Permanent Process (July to November 2016) The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 December 13, 2016 Dear Prime Minister, Pursuant to our Terms of Reference, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments submits to you this report on the first cycle of the permanent process for providing recommendations for appointments to the Senate of Canada. We thank you for your continued confidence and for the opportunity to serve such an important process. Respectfully, Huguette Labelle Chair Federal members: New Brunswick members: Prince Edward Island members: Daniel Jutras Donald Savoie Jeannette Arsenault Indira Samarasekera Roxanne Tarjan Chief Brian Francis British Columbia members: Nova Scotia members: Québec members: Anne Giardini Jennifer Gillivan Sylvie Bernier Vikram Vij Ramona Lumpkin Yves Lamontagne Manitoba members: Ontario members: Heather Bishop Dawn Lavell Harvard Susan Lewis Murray Segal Permanent Process Report (July to November 2016) 1 | P a g e Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Establishment of the Board ....................................................................................................................... 3 Implementation of the new appointments process ................................................................................