PROFILES: SENATORS' PUBLIC POLICY BILLS

A former Cabinet minister in Alberta and a champion of sustainable development in Canada, Senator Elaine McCoy brought forth Bill S-206 in January 2009.³ The bill sought to remove the position of the federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development from the Office of the Auditor General and make the office of the Commissioner a free-standing one directly responsible to both houses of Parliament.

In June 2008, the Senate passed a bill which became the Federal Sustainable Development Act. Studying it reinforced Senator McCoy's impression that practicing systemic sustainable development throughout the government is such a complex job that it needs a single champion. Making the Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner an independent parliamentary officer, she feels, would free the commissioner from behaving reactively - i.e., simply auditing and critiquing current practices. It would allow the position to grow into a proactive role; the commissioner would be ideally situated to evaluate best practices, innovate better ones, and help the government evenly apply these across its many departments and agencies.

As a self-proclaimed "unreconstructed monarchist," Senator Hugh Segal is interested in protecting the institution of the monarchy in Canada. His Bill S-225,⁴ introduced in February 2009, is in support of that interest. Specifically, the bill aimed to defend the current oath of citizenship sworn by new citizens, which includes a pledge of loyalty to the Queen of Canada.

The bill was a response to recent Charter challenges from prospective citizens who feel they cannot swear allegiance to the Crown because, as republicans, they would like to see it abolished in Canada. Senator Segal argues that the Crown is an integral part of our Constitution and allegiance to it is thus an integral part of the oath of citizenship. He does not object to changing the oath or the Constitution, but feels it should be done through due political process. "We should respect their right to petition, campaign and advocate for the removal of that allegiance," he said in the Senate chamber. "However, neither they nor anyone else should have the right to use one part of the Constitution to eradicate another through the use of the Charter in the courts."

Senator Segal's bill proposed a rare parliamentary use of the "notwithstanding clause" of the Constitution Act, 1982, to exempt the Oath of Allegiance from challenges under sections 2 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The bill would thus protect the oath from Charter-based court challenges.

On May 7, 2008, Senator Aurélien Gill rose in the Senate chamber, saying, "Aboriginals must take their place in Canada's political landscape. The 1982 Constitution recognizes us as peoples. It recognizes that we have rights. Therefore, it is time to take action and do what is needed to enable the Aboriginal peoples to take charge of their futures."

According to Senator Gill, a Montagnais and former chief from Mashteuiatsh in Quebec, that action could begin with his Bill S-234.⁵ The Assembly of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Act proposed to create an assembly in Ottawa uniting representatives of the Inuit, Indian and Métis peoples. They would form a proto-parliamentary chamber that would review all Canadian policy, bills, programs and spending that affect Aboriginal Canadians. Replacing the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (in which Senator Gill was once a director general), the assembly could, he feels, eventually form a third chamber of Parliament. This would allow full First Nations participation in political affairs and, he hopes, lead to an era of responsibility and reconciliation.

According to Senator Jerahmiel Grafstein, Canada's global competitiveness is significantly damaged by the fact that it has 13 securities jurisdictions jostling inside its borders. The 218-page Bill S-208,⁶ introduced on November 20, 2008, is his solution. It proposes creating a single national commission to regulate securities.

After having come across the issue many times in his research, Senator Grafstein first proposed his Canada Securities Act in May 2007. A single regulator, he feels, will increase the productivity of our capital markets, protect investors from fraud and stimulate the economy. Letters of support and op-ed articles from economists, investors and members of the business community show that others concur. The Senate Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee has noted the need for such a measure in its reports for many years, and many experts in Canada and abroad have agreed. This includes the federal government, whose 2009 Budget cemented its intention to move ahead with a national commission.

Senator David Tkachuk first introduced a version of Bill S-225⁷ in 2005. He has introduced three versions of it, with improvements, in successive sessions of Parliament. He has worked on getting support for this bill with the Canadian Coalition Against Terror, a group made up of families who lost loved ones in the Air India bombing in 1984, the 9/11 attacks on the United States, and other acts of terrorism.

The bill aimed to give such families one way to address the powerlessness they feel in the aftermath of their tragedy. It proposed amending the Criminal Code to allow victims and their families who had suffered loss or harm as a result of terrorism to sue those responsible for the terrorist actions. It also proposed to remove immunity for any state that knowingly sponsors the activities of listed terrorist organizations, allowing victims to sue such states as well. Making clear that Canada will hold them to account for their actions, Senator Tkachuk feels, would give terrorists and terrorism-sponsoring states pause before launching an attack. The measure would thus not only empower victims and their families, but give Canadians an extra layer of protection against acts of terror.