Senate QP: Some of Goodale’s Regina Monologues

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While his planned appearance had been postponed a few weeks earlier due to “unforeseen circumstances,” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was in the Senate for Question Period, which curiously interrupted a vote bell, as the rules of the Senate allow. Senator Plett led off, asking about the gun control bill and the amendments that the committee is debating, asking if he would “instruct” the Independent senators to kill the amendments of not, to which Goodale quipped that he would never presume to tell senators what to do. When Plett tried to press as to whether the government would entertain amendments, Goodale gave a paean about the need for debate and votes.

Linda Frum raised the House of Commons voting to list the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, and eleven months later, they had not been. Goodale reminded her that there is a detailed process under law that was being followed, and noted that some of their subsidies had already been listed.

Senator Day raised the flooding in New Brunswick and elsewhere, and raised the item in Goodale’s mandate letter about building resilience against natural disasters. Goodale first noted that the expected flood in Manitoba did not materialise, and that then praised the Canadian Armed Forces’ work in other floods, before finally getting to the preparations mentioned in the question, saying that provinces would take the strategy that had been tabled and adapt it to their local circumstances, given that they have the lead jurisdiction and the federal government only plays a supporting role.

Senator Joyal asked about social media and the spread of hate speech, and why the government wasn’t tabling legislation to signal their intentions. Goodale noted that this has come up in every meeting of the G7 security ministers and the Five Eyes, it is part and parcel with other concerns around terrorism, child sexual exploitation and election interference. To that end, the overwhelmingly majority of these partner countries expected social media companies to act, or to expect regulation — something Mark Zuckerberg has signalled that he might welcome. He also mused whether or not to create a new tort that would see these companies pay for actions that resulted from content on their platforms.

Senator Gold asked about the national security bill currently being debated in the Senate, and Goodale went through what was then contents of the bill to highlight why it was urgent.

Senator McIntyre asked about the gun control bill versus Bill Blair’s consultations on banning handguns and assault rifles, which was at odds with the bill, to which Goodale assured him that the measures were sequential and complimentary, and then went through the reasons as to why.

Senator Dagenais asked about the Americans asking the government to ban Huawei from our 5G network, and Goodale walked through the importance of 5G technology, and the problems around the integrity of the supply chain, which is why the government was conducting a holistic, systemic review in order to get a complete picture.

Senator Pratte asked for Goodale’s opinion on some of the amendments to the gun control bill, and Goodale walked through why some of those changes would, in his view, contradict witness testimony and make Canadians less safe.

Senator Pate noted the solitary confinement bill, and the problems therein given how the Correctional Service already isn’t following all of the rules around the practice, to which Goodale disputed some of her characterisation before going on a journey about his attempts to reform the solitary confinement practice, as court decisions piled up, to which he arrived at the conclusion that they needed to build a system that steers people away from this practice, adding that he was determined to get it right.

Senator Batters asked about the Liberal party database being used to vet appointments, including parole board officers. Goodale assured her that when he makes appointments for boards and commissions under his purview, it’s done on a meritorious basis.

Overall, while I generally appreciate that Ralph Goodale gives better answers in Commons QP than his compatriots, without his 35-second time constraint in the Senate, he often would start going on lengthy soliloquies that meandered a bit to capture several points, but wound up saying little of substance overall. And to be fair, some of the questions lobbed his way were somewhat suspect, particularly those of the “tell us why this bill is important” variety. Guys. That’s not what Question Period is for – it’s for the exercise of accountability, and that’s what kinds of questions you should be asking. “Tell us why this bill is important” is what you ask the minister when he comes to defend the bill at committee. Asking that in QP simply wastes everyone’s time, and you should know better.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator Peter Harder for a tailored blue-grey suit with a light pink shirt and a blue and pink tie, and to Senator Nicole Eaton for a black jacket and skirt with a white grid pattern. Style citations go out to Senator Salma Ataullahjan for a black dress with a dark grey grid and white and red florals, and to Senator Don Plett for a black suit and shirt with a black and white patterned tie.