The Senate, under its new leadership, has returned to the recent practice of holding a special Question Period in order to question a minister, and today it was Steven Guilbeault, while we are told this will happen every couple of weeks—and hey, because they held it at 3:30 and not competing with Commons QP, I could be here. As things were about to get started, it was the Speaker pro tempore in the Big Chair today, and he offered a reminder that questions are limited to one minute, and answers to a minute-and-a-half, which is a far sight better than the thirty-five second clock in the Commons. It was also a much longer QP than usual, being about sixty-five minutes, which I didn’t realise going into it. (I also didn’t have access to an earpiece for the first couple of rounds so I had difficult following, so please forgive any particular lapses).

At the Senate for a special #SenQP with minister Guilbeault.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-09-25T19:31:34.022Z

Senator Housakos led things off by asking about the appointment of a new official languages commissioner, and accused the government of holding out for a Liberal friend. Guilbeault disputed this, and noted the support the government has given to official languages over the past few years. Housakos again pressed that they have not take this appointment seriously, and Guilbeault again pointed to the resources they are devoting to official languages.

Housakos switched to English to ask about policies that allowed a Canada Post employee to be bullied a at work for displaying a Canadian Flag at his desk. Guilbeault noted that Canada Post is not under his remit, but he suggested he could raise it with his colleague. Housakos again worried about the harassment this employee suffered for being patriotic, and Guilbeault again deferred any response. (I have to wonder if there was more to this story than Housakos claimed).

Senator Surette asked about working with Treasury Board to fully implement official languages obligations in the civil service. Guilbeault insisted that there was close collaboration. Surette asked whether Guilbeault sees a conflict between his role and Treasury Board, but Guilbeault insisted that there is no conflict and that they work closely together.

Senator Simons asked about privacy provisions that got removed from Bill C-11, and what was to be done about it. Guilbeault said he had no information on this but would get back to her, and praised commitments by Evan Solomon for digital privacy legislation. Simons asked how much this legislation had netted for Canadian cultural industries. Guilbeault said he recalled $300 million being tossed around, but would get back to her with specifics, but the implementation was up to the CRTC.

Senator Quinn asked about the machinery of government changes that puts marine protected areas under the Secretary of State for Nature, who is under his purview, rather than in Fisheries and Oceans. Guilbeault said this was because of Parks Canada was put under Heritage. Quinn said that he can’t get answers from anyone on these protected areas. Guilbeault says marine protected areas is under Fisheries and Oceans, and he could reach out to that minister.

Senator Klyne asked about the RCMP heritage centre next to Depot in Saskatchewan, and why it has not yet been established as a museum. Guilbeault said they were working on a plan to do just that. Klyne asked about the legislation that died on designating historical sites, and Guilbeault said there were plans to revive this legislation, before he patted himself on the back for being the minister that passed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation legislation. 

Senator Carignan worried that the coming budget cuts would affect official languages programmes, to which Guilbeault said that the cuts would not be blanket across all departments, and there may be duplications that they could rationalise instead, but he did present his concerns to the minister of finance about official languages. Carignan wondered how much the immigrants department would be cut, and Guilbeault said that was not his portfolio and the budget was coming. Carignan instead asked where Guilbeault recommended cuts in his department, and Guilbeault said this was not how the exercise happened and they were mostly looking to eliminate duplication of finding efficiencies, and the went for another round of the same.

Senator McBean asked about the Future in Sport Commission report, and the point it made about underfunding. Guilbeault said that they want to ensure there is safe sport, and that he was working with Finance to see how they could better resource the sector. McBean asked about the commitments to implementing the recommendations, and Guilbeault said they were still combing through the report to come up with a plan.

Senator Arnold asked about support for local journalism, and Guilbeault praised the agreement with Google to help fund these supports, and their commitment to increase funding for CBC/Radio-Canada to be focused on local news. Arnold said that they are not seeing this filter through onto the ground, and Guilbeault said that this as not a uniquely Canadian phenomenon.

Senator Downe asked whether the government would support a senator’s bill to limit sports gambling advertising, and Guilbeault said the government was looking into finding the best vehicle to limit these kinds of advertising. Downe wondered why they couldn’t have the same restrictions for alcohol and cigarettes. Guilbeault repeated his same assurances.

Senator Audette wanted assurances that First Nations in Quebec would not be disadvantaged by the Indigenous languages legislation implementation. Guilbeault praised the legislation and said they would work with communities for the review. Audette asked if he would meet with the regional chief, and Guilbeault said they already are in contact.

Senator Housakos got another round, and asked how Guilbeault defines Canadian identity per his Cabinet title. Guilbeault said his job is not to come up with one definition, and praised the diversity of the country and their summer pass programme. Housakos said he was disturbed that a minister couldn’t define identify, and said that he needed an answer that helps with integration. Guilbeault repeated his response in French. Housakos insisted that he come up with something to help integrate immigrants into the founding English and French cultures, and Guilbeault listed funding for language training, as well as to arts and culture. Housakos was not mollified, and demanded a plan for integration, but Guilbeault didn’t give him one.

Senator Clement worried abroad funding cuts to Indigenous languages, to which Guilbeault insisted that they are not cutting, but also said that they went form $5 million under the Conservatives to $1.4 billion under the current government. Clement asked after implementation, and Guilbeault says the federal government alone doesn’t dictate how it gets spent because it is done with Indigenous partners.

Senator Dalphond asked about the government’s commitment writ-large to addressing n climate change, and Guilbeault insisted that they were still committed. Dalphond moved onto funding for official languages, and Guilbeault again said that wanted to ensure they were not harming needed services.

Senator Ince worried about Canadian children getting access to high-quality programming that reflects Canadian values as production declines. Guilbeault said that he was concerned about the decline in production, and praised CBC/Radio-Canada’s ability to not only produce but buy programming to distribute it, and that the Online Streaming Act would help with new funding. 

Senator Miville-Dechêne asked about a Quebec plan for a domestic unified streaming platform, and Guilbeault said they need to be careful about government dictating programming, but he agreed that discoverability is important. When pressed, he said that if private outlets want to band together he would entertain the idea, but it can’t come from government. 

Senator Carignan got another round, but he wondered if official languages was spared from cuts, and Guilbeault said that he can’t say what he doesn’t know because the budget isn’t out yet.

Senator Downe returned, and noted that a Raptors player was banned for assisted bettors, and wondered about monitoring for sports betting issues. Guilbeault said he would get back to him on that.

Senator Cardozo asked about the future of CBC, and asked for an arms-length funding mechanism to remove the appearance of government favour. Guilbeault pointed out that this already happens with the online news mechanism. Cardozo asked if the CBC’s mandate could be focused to a local focus, and Guilbeault said that they have already committed to expanding local coverage, particularly for news.

Senator Saint-Germain returned to the issue of sports betting restrictions, and Guilbeault deferred to it being a “complex issue” that he was willing to have more discussions about. Saint-Germain asked about his title, and Guilbeault listed off the different aspects, which all help make up Canadian identity.

Overall, this was certainly a change of pace from Commons QP, and it was novel to get a whole different series of questions that we have in the Commons. All kinds of issues that have never been raised among MPs, and discussions on the coming cuts spoken about in ways that we have never seen in the Other Place. And hey, we had a minister who has spoken about the cost reduction exercise in ways that we have not seen anywhere else, either in English media or in the Commons. This being said, Guilbeault didn’t have great answers, because this government has been pretty terrible about it overall, but it was certainly a change of pace that is not unwelcome.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator Peter Boehm for a navy suit with a light blue shirt and a bright pink tie, and to Senator Josée Verner for a teal top with a gold feather pattern across the front and sleeves over brown slacks. Style citations go our to Senator Éric Forest for a taupe grey jacket over a light blue shirt, a dark blue tie and navy slacks, and to Senator Manuelle Oudar for a moss green suit and slacks with a belted jacket over white top, and the suit looked like it was the same fabric that upholsters the chairs in the House of Commons. Dishonourable mention to Senator Bernadette Clement for a bright yellow jacket over a white top and black slacks.