Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦

I really thought this amendment was a possible compromise. Its defeat was quite disappointing and discouraging. Next week, we will face a similar challenge with C-12. Hoping to find greater support for amendments there.

Senator Paula Simons Topic Intervention 684894 - 33 Senators

I did my best to add a substantive amendment to the bill. My amendment failed - but the sunset clause fared better! Here, fwiw, is the speech I gave about my own amendment plan.

Late last Thursday, I made my best effort to amend C-4 in a sensible and concrete way. I failed, alas. But here is a link to the argument I made. #cdnpoli #C4 #BillC4 #SenateofCanada

Thank you. I really enjoyed that show and I was starting to feel like I was the only person who remembered it.

YouTube video by Borderlines - Canadian Immigration Law Podcast #206 - The Importance of the Canadian Senate with Senator Paula Simons

Today, I was a guest on the Borderlines podcast, to talk about Bill C-12, anti immigrant rhetoric, and the role of the modern Senate when government legislation comes under fire. Here’s my conversation with B.C. immigration lawyer Deanna Okun-Nachoff. #cdnpoli #abpoli #C12 #BillC12 #SenateofCanada

Do you have a lawyer now? Have you made a refugee claim? If not, you would want to file one before C-12 is voted on.

The whole model of the United States as a safe third country is becoming more problematic all the time.

And once we pass it, we wait for Royal Assent. We send a message to the GG and await her formal response.

Much of this is pro forma, since by convention we don’t amend budget bills. But we do have steps to follow.

But because of all the pre studies, things will move quickly. After National Finance reports back to the Senate, we’ll have 3rd reading debate (which will probably be short) and then the vote.

We received Bill C-15, the Budget Implementation Act, Thursday night, but our committees have been doing prestudies for months now, and we have all submitted our reports. We will have 2nd reading debate when we return - and then I believe the bill will be referred to the National Finance Committee.

It is such a powerful novel. I wish it were better known.

And in this time of rising anti-refugee and immigrant sentiment, and toxic antisemitism, it’s a perfect opportunity to reflect on the lessons and legacy of Henry Kreisel, and all he did to tell Alberta stories, build Alberta’s flagship university, and put Edmonton on the literary map.

He was also courtly, charming and kind - and I had the great privilege of being one of his students. So it is a very special honour to be able to speak at tonight’s 20th Kreisel Lecture!

He wrote about the waves of post-war European immigrants who were remaking the city and themselves. He wrote about clashing cultures. He wrote Edmonton’s coming of age stories- and wrote about rural Alberta in transition.

He moved to Edmonton and the U of A as a young prof, and dedicated his career to building a great university - he eventually served as vice president, academic. And he dedicated himself to telling Edmonton’s story, to writing about the multicultural mid century modern boom city.

The older internees created a kind of university, to teach the youngsters with whom they were imprisoned. For Kreisel, it was the start of a voracious passion for learning. Rejecting his German mother tongue, he learned fluent English and committed to writing in his new language.

Henry Kreisel was a remarkable Canadian writer and scholar. A teenage Jewish refugee from Austria, post-Anschluss, he was interned in Canada as a suspected Nazi - a nonsensical charge. But…he was imprisoned alongside some of Europe’s most brilliant intellectuals, some Jewish, some anti-Nazi.

2026 Kreisel Lecture: A Special Anniversary Edition with Lise Gaboury-Diallo, Richard Van Camp, and Shani Mootoo Join us for the 20th anniversary Kreisel Lecture brings together three celebrated authors to explore storytelling, culture, and connection.

I’m hurrying home to Edmonton, so I can be the MC and onstage interviewer at the 20th anniversary Kreisel Lecture, tonight at the University of Alberta. I believe some tix are still available! #Edmonton #yeg #ualberta #CanLit

I’ll post my own speeches on C-4 later today, once they are available. (I’m guessing most of you are still asleep, since it’s currently 5:02 EST)

Leaving Ottawa on a slushy, snowy morning. Our extended debate on C-4 last night was a real rollercoaster. Two very substantive amendments failed to pass - but we did push back a bit with a sunset clause, and we got all the concerns about the lack of privacy protections on the record.

I will post my speeches here as soon as they’re available.

We had the final vote tonight. I fought hard for an amendment from @senclement.bsky.social to delete all of part 4. It failed. I then proposed my own amendment to toughen privacy rules. It failed. But we did finally pass one amendment, for a sunset clause. Weak sauce. But we did send the bill back

Well, we’d pass the tax bits.

You can watch all the action here - stream it in real time, or later, at your leisure. I grant you, this is not exactly as exciting as an episode of Heated Rivalry or today's Bridgerton drop. But for privacy and civil liberty nerds? Pour the tea. senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/P...

IF Sen. Clement's motion passes, the rest of C-4 is likely to pass without any issue. IF the motion fails? Well, expect some other amendments to be brought to the floor, to deal with the watered down privacy regulations. Either way, the debate in here is going to get sparky.

On Wednesday, my friend and colleague @senclement.bsky.social moved the excise the entire section dealing with party personal privacy protection. Then we could pass the tax relief, and let the government craft a better voter privacy protection system. Today, we'll debate Senatrice Clement's motion.

The other major item on our agenda is the continuation of our debate on Bill C-4....which is mostly about tax relief, but which has, in part 4, an insidious clause that allows federal political parties to set their own bespoke information privacy rules, with virtually no restrictions. #C4 #BillC4

At 3 pm EST, we will have a committee of the whole Q&A session with Anton Boegman, who has been named to become Canada's first foreign influence transparency commissioners. (This is sort of like a Senate confirmation hearing, but rather less partisan than the American variety.) #ForeignInterference

Today is going to be a very interesting sitting of the Senate. (I mean. It's always interesting. I promise. But today is going to be especially so.) #cdnpoli #SenateofCanada #Canada #SenCa