Six new senators had just been sworn in, and other senators in the chamber had been shuffle around, making for a fuller chamber. This week’s special ministerial guest star was employment minister MaryAnn Mihychuk (and I can’t recall if she’s been here before). Senator Carignan led off, asking about union certification and secret ballots, taking a shot at Senator Bellemare while he was at it. Mihychuk, after getting him to repeat the question, said there was no real reason to move away from the card check system, and noted that while intimidation does exist, they are returning to a system that worked well for years.

Senator Cowan asked about the issue of pension reforms, particularly around the public service and Crown Corporations and target benefit plans and whether the government’s position was to leave defined benefit plans as is for existing members. Mihychuk noted that this was more Minister Duclos’ bailiwick, but the government was committed to collective bargaining and that they got the provinces to sign onto an enhanced CPP. Cowan clarified that he was more asking about existing retirees who don’t have access to a collective bargaining process, but Mihychuk said she would need to take the question under advisement and get back to him.

Senator Black asked about the temporary foreign workers programme, where there are real demands in the agribusiness sector, and Mihychuk said that the government’s position is Canadians-first, particularly where there are areas of high unemployment with Indigenous communities. She then went into talk about the need for increased on-site inspections to ensure that those temporary foreign workers who are in the system are properly protected. Black noted that many of these needed jobs are ones that Canadians don’t want, particularly in place like feedlots. Mihychuk agreed there was a need for flexibility, and cited a Saskatchewan programme to help recruit more locals.

Senator Housakos asked about the government not following through on promises for aerospace commitments for Manitoba, particularly after the promises around Bill C-10. Mihychuk noted her previous engagement on the file provincially, and her championing the sector, praising the current plan as a strong one. Housakos asked if the full commitment had been delivered, and Mihychuk noted it was a bit outside of her scope, but offered to take it under advisement.

Senator Lankin asked about the delays regarding the RCMP unionization bill, which the Senate sent back to the Commons with amendments, and Mihychuk noted it wasn’t her bill to speak on, but the government respected the recommendations of the Senate as they valued the role of the institution. Lankin remarked about harassment in the RCMP, and Mihychuk stated the government’s commitment to combatting it. Senator Cordy rose on a supplemental and tried to get a sense of when they might see the bill again, and Mihychuk said that she would look into it but their agenda was pretty packed.

Senator Day asked about youth being consigned to constant temporary employment, and Mihychuk lamented the raised bar for education and in particular the plight of young Indigenous Canadians. She noted the expansion of the summer jobs programme and plans to expand it even further, along with work-integrated learning programmes and investments in apprenticeships.

Senator Dagenais asked about criminal elements in union leaderships as a pretext to condemn the government’s bill repealing Bill C-377. Mihychuk noted the obligations imposed on the unions which were unfair, and didn’t really help combat criminality.

Senator Raine asked about the temporary foreign workers changes affecting the tourism industry — in particular the ski industry — and Mihychuk noted they were trying to work with the industry to meet their needs.

Overall, it was another one of those ministerial QPs where the minister got increasingly long-winded as she went along, which can be both illuminating (as they don’t get to answer in depth in Commons QP), but at the same time can eat up a lot of time when it comes to the ability to answer more questions. And while I will commend senators for pressing on just when the government plans to move ahead with addressing their amendments to the RCMP unionization bill, there was a real overt tone of outright bitterness from Conservative senators that their union-busting legislation was being repealed by the current government (never mind that it split their own caucus back when it was up for debate).

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator David Wells for a nicely tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark blue tie, and to Senator Jane Cordy for a black dress with a white geometric pattern and a navy sweater. Style citations go out to Senator Pamela Wallin for a dusky rose jacket with a too-large dark floral scarf, and to Senator Doug Black for a blue-grey jacket with a white shirt and a maroon tie with a silver-grey pocket square.