Debates of the Senate 1st SESSION . 41st PARLIAMENT . VOLUME 148 . NUMBER 148 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Monday, March 25, 2013 THE HONOURABLE PIERRE CLAUDE NOLIN ACTING 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: David Reeves, National Press Building, Room 926, Tel. 613-947-0609 Published by the Senate Available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 3551 THE SENATE Monday, March 25, 2013 The Senate met at 6 p.m., the Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin, [Translation] Acting Speaker, in the chair. According to the principles of democratic debate — be it at the Prayers. municipal or the international level — we need to listen not only to the people we agree with, but also to the people we disagree with. However, there can be no debate or discussion if no one is SENATORS' STATEMENTS there to participate. [English] IDLE NO MORE MOVEMENT JOURNEY OF THE PEOPLE To do so is not to entertain dictatorships and the like, but the opposite, to challenge them, to put them on the hot seat and to show them, if necessary, no mercy in regard to what they are Hon. Sandra Lovelace Nicholas: Honourable senators, today, as doing to their peoples, to their country and, in fact, to the stability an Aboriginal mother, I was proud of the young people who and peace of the planet and humanity. arrived in Ottawa after a 1,600-kilometre walk in support of the Idle No More movement. The initial six young people left their James Bay Cree community in January on their journey of Recall that it is through the UN that the President of Sudan was Nishiyuu, which means ``journey of the people'' in Cree. They referred to the International Criminal Court, that countries such walked to Ottawa to tell this government that its approach to as Iran are condemned for their pursuit of nuclear arms. In a few Aboriginal issues is simply not working. days, the Human Rights Council is expected to pass a proposal for a commission of inquiry to investigate the extent to which These young people came through snow and storms on North Korea has committed crimes against humanity. These are snowshoes. They persevered through the long trek to come and laudatory acts that deserve recognition and support. inspire us all with their message of hope and their plea that the government change its unilateral and paternalistic approach to Honourable senators, we are a leading middle power in the Aboriginal people in Canada. world. We are among the 11 most powerful nations of the 193 nation states in the world today. With power comes a responsibility, as Churchill said, beyond our borders to those We must now honour their courage by working with Aboriginal who are in need of the resources and support that we could peoples to close the unacceptable gaps in outcomes in terms of provide. True, the United Nations is not perfect and we must health, education, housing, water and their participation in the remain critical of its shortcomings, but it is equally true that if we community. Please do not let them down. They are counting on are to avoid the scourge of war and the atrocities that flow from us, the Senate of Canada, to bring hope to support them in their it, then we cannot turn our backs on this indispensable institution. quest for equality. In 2005, 101 recommendations were presented to the General THE UNITED NATIONS Assembly for approval. One was approved, the responsibility to protect, to which we even avoid using the term. Why are we not CANADA'S ROLE picking up the 100 others and attempting to advance them even though the United States at the time had vetoed them? Hon. Roméo Antonius Dallaire: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak on a trend I find deeply worrying: Canadians losing faith in the United Nations. This trend has been facilitated WORLD WOMEN'S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 by pointed criticisms from a number of sources. Most worrying, a fair number of these criticisms have come from our government CONGRATULATIONS TO CANADIAN and political class. TEAM ON WINNING BRONZE MEDAL [Translation] Hon. Joseph A. Day: Honourable senators, it is with great pride and pleasure that I congratulate our Canadian women's curling There are a number of complaints, among them that the UN is team for winning bronze at this year's World Women's Curling ineffective, that it entertains dictators and that it squanders Championship held in Riga, Latvia. Emma Miskew, one of the limited resources by not focusing on the worst situations. talented young athletes on this team, works as a project coordinator and planner for the Senate. As many honourable [English] senators will recall, Emma, along with her teammates Rachel Homan, Alison Kreviazuk, Lisa Weagle and Stephanie LeDrew, In the face of these criticisms, some have gone so far as to visited our gallery a few weeks ago and were introduced after suggest that we should even consider walking away from the recently winning the Scotties Tournament of Hearts here in United Nations. Honourable senators, such rhetoric is not only Ontario. Supporters who followed them were few but very vocal, self-righteous, but self-defeating. as I understand. 3552 SENATE DEBATES March 25, 2013 . (1810) BUDGET 2013 I would also like to pay respect to the number five on the team, who was not called upon to fill in but was there and ever-ready to NOTICE OF INQUIRY do so. I am also proud to say that the team was very ably coached by a former Royal Military College of Canada colleague of mine Hon. Claude Carignan (Deputy Leader of the Government): and Senator Dallaire's, Earle Morris. Honourable senators, I give notice that, two days hence: While I know they would have liked to come home with the I will call the attention of the Senate to the 2013 budget gold, it was a hard-fought battle and a nail-biter, an 8-to-7 loss to entitled: Economic Action Plan 2013: Jobs, Growth, and the eventual tournament champions, Scotland, which saw them in Long-term prosperity, tabled in the House of Commons on the bronze-medal game. Despite this tough loss, the fact that they March 21, 2013 by the Minister of Finance, the Honourable were able to bounce back and defeat a very strong U.S. team, led James M. Flaherty, P.C., M.P., and in the Senate on March by veteran Erika Brown, shows the maturity and competitiveness 25, 2013. of the four women. They should most certainly be proud of their showing at this year's world championship. The trip was not without its hardship, honourable senators. Bad weather in Germany grounded them for a night at the Frankfurt airport, where they slept on chairs, and made their arrival at the [English] tournament much later than expected. They experienced some early losses, probably as a result of being a bit tired and upset from that trip — a rarity for them, I am sure — yet they regrouped and were able to reach the podium amongst the field of QUESTION PERIOD the world's best. I am certain this is only the beginning for these talented young ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN women, and I ask honourable senators to join me in DEVELOPMENT congratulating Emma Miskew and her teammates and in wishing them the best of luck as they chase down the ultimate BUDGET 2013—EDUCATION FOR ABORIGINAL YOUTH goal of represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Hon. Sandra Lovelace Nicholas: Honourable senators, the Prime Minister had promised to improve Canada's relationship with First Nations. The budget presented last week shows, once again, that the government is not ready to go beyond official statements and photo ops. This budget provides not one new dollar for First Nations K-to-12 education, depriving the ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS economy of a pool of talent and depriving First Nations people of a prosperous future. BUDGET 2013 Why is the government refusing to address this issue and failing DOCUMENTS TABLED to close the education funding gap? Hon. Claude Carignan (Deputy Leader of the Government): Hon. Marjory LeBreton (Leader of the Government): Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official Honourable senators, with regard to the question, in Economic languages, the budget, entitled: Economic Action Plan 2013: Jobs, Action Plan 2013, which the Minister of Finance released last Growth and Long-term Prosperity. Thursday, the government reaffirmed our commitment to consult with First Nations across Canada on the development of a First [Translation] Nations education act. This legislation will put in place the structures and standards to support strong and accountable education systems on reserve. We look forward to further GOVERNOR GENERAL discussion with parents, educators and leaders because we want all Aboriginal students to take advantage of the many opportunities Canada has to offer. SUPREME COURT—COMMISSION APPOINTING THE HONOURABLE RICHARD WAGNER AS DEPUTY— DOCUMENT TABLED Senator Lovelace Nicholas: Honourable senators, young Aboriginal Canadians represent the fastest-growing population Hon. Claude Carignan (Deputy Leader of the Government): in the country and they endure the worst education outcomes in Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official Canada. We all agree that improving the quality of life for languages, a copy of the Commission appointing the Honourable Aboriginal people relies on improving education outcomes, but Richard Wagner as Deputy of the Governor General. the budget offers no new money to eliminate the gap in funding [ Senator Day ] March 25, 2013 SENATE DEBATES 3553 for education.