INTERVENTIONS IN THE SENATE CHAMBER

Below are all of Senator Colin Deacon's interventions in the Senate Chamber dating back to his appointment in 2018. Interventions in the Senate Chamber includes Senator's statements at the commencement of Senate sittings, speeches on particular bills or motions, as well as questions posed in response to the speeches of other Senators or during the question period.

2022

Senator Deacon rises in the Senate Chamber to pay tribute to the first Mi’kmaw senator, Senator Dan Christmas on the occasion of his retirement. Click here to read more.
December 15, 2022
In this Ministerial Question Period, Senator Deacon asks the Minister of Natural Resources about the ways in which his department could catalyze increased innovation & market diversity in the use of forestry wood waste. Click here to view the exchange.
December 14, 2022
As a consequence of climate change, our generation is delivering an unprecedented challenge to future generations. In this statement, Senator Deacon encouraged investing in programs that strengthen the entrepreneurial culture in Canada and help educate many more creative problem solvers who embrace risk, challenge the status quo and think outside the box. For more information, click here.
December 7, 2022
Forty percent of Canadians live in places with fewer than 100,000 people and rural communities are perennially underserved by our financial system. In this Ministerial Question Period, Senator Deacon asks the Minister of Rural Economic Development of Canada to what extent Open Banking is considered a complementary tool to help address a worrying problem undermining livelihoods and economic potential in rural Canada. Click here to read more.
December 1, 2022
Making sure that Canada is a top destination for businesses to invest, grow and create jobs and prosperity for Canadians is one of the Government's top priorities. The Strategic Innovation Fund's (SIF) objective is to spur innovation for a better Canada by providing funding to support innovative, intellectual property-rich firms (targeted $250M investment over five years). Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to ask the Government Representative of the Senate when Canadian companies will start to receive funding on equal terms with foreign companies, incentivizing them to strengthen their IP portfolio, which is crucial to their global competitiveness. Click here to read more.
November 17, 2022
Prepaid solutions can quickly, securely, and equitably serve all Canadians better and more cost-effectively. Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to suggest Senator Yussuff, sponsor of Bill C-31, consider the prepaid payments solutions to boost the rollout of Canada's new dental care benefit. Click here to read more.
November 17, 2022
Substance abuse during pregnancy is more prevalent than commonly realized: approximately 70% of women of childbearing age drink, and 50% of pregnancies are unplanned. Senator Deacon rise at the Senate of Canada to speak about Bill S-253, An Act respecting a national framework for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD. Click here to read the entire speech.
November 15, 2022
In this Ministerial Question Period, Senator Deacon asks the Minister of Transport about the issue of bilge water dumping continuing to threaten Canada’s waterways and coastal ecosystems. Canada has been a MARPOL signatory since it came into force in 1983. Senator Deacon asked whether the government will strengthen compliance for bilge water dumping and incentivize the installation of effective bilge water filtration systems. Click here to see the question and Minister's response.
October 27, 2022
Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to speak in support of the subamendment to Bill S-236, as this issue gets to the core of a very important national problem. This movement is critical in eliminating a longstanding unfair treatment of PEI citizens based on their place of residence, and will help address the challenge of labour shortages currently affecting the province. Click here to see more.
October 25, 2022
Digital transformation puts the individual at the centre. And will ensure that people's safety and fundamental rights are protected. Canadians want to match digital progress with responsibility. In this statement, Senator Deacon raises issues concerning initiatives on digital regulations and cooperation with international partners. Click here to read the entire speech.
October 20, 2022
Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to speak on Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations (Prince Edward Island). If passed, Bill S-236 would set out a structure to make the province of PEI one zone to ensure equity across EI claimants. Senator Deacon argues that this Bill is critical in correcting a longstanding unfair treatment of PEI citizens based on their place of residence, and will assist with labour shortages currently affecting the province. Click here to see more.
October 6, 2022
In this statement, Senator Deacon raises issues concerning Canadian intellectual property rights and protections. Despite being a nation of innovators with a globally competitive research engine, far too much of Canada's IP is commercialized elsewhere. Over the past 20 years, the number of Canadian-invented patents transferred to foreign firms has tripled from 18% to 56%.
October 6, 2022
Budget 2022 promises to deliver "targeted and responsible investments to create jobs and prosperity today, and build a stronger economic future for all Canadians." Senator Deacon speaks at the third reading of the Budget Implementation Act, stressing the importance of the government's role as a catalyst for private investment and innovation, the need for greater competition, and regulatory modernization for our collective prosperity. Click to see the full speech.
June 22, 2022
In a rapidly evolving world, Canada's regulations need the agility to deal with disruptions and new developments head-on. The current status quo governing regulations impedes catalytic market activity, creates unnecessary, cumbersome burdens for Canada's firms, and leaves little opportunity for innovation. In his second speech on the importance of regulatory modernization in Canada, Senator Deacon reiterates the importance of broader consultations with diverse stakeholders and advocates for industry-led standards to complement the regulatory modernization process. Click here to see his full remarks.
June 20, 2022
In June 2022, the federal government announced the nomination of Mr. Philippe Dufresne as the next Privacy Commissioner of Canada. At his nomination hearing in the Senate, Senator Deacon asked Mr. Dufresne how he intends to fulfill his mandate of balancing the need to protect consumer data rights and Privacy, while enabling globally competitive innovation in Canada. Click here to see his question and Mr. Dufresne's full answer.
June 14, 2022
In this Ministerial Question Period, Senator Deacon asks the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship about the government's strategy for leveraging immigration for Canada's innovation sector. Senator Deacon asks about whether the government will simplify the Global Talent Stream and update the Startup Visa program in order to attract the best tech talent to Canada. Click here to see the question and Minister's response.
June 14, 2022
Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to speak on Bill S-233 (An Act to develop a national framework for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income). He argues the importance of the Bill being studied in Committee, so that we can understand the principles more clearly and uncover the evidence needed to discern if a GLBI in Canada is a good policy.
June 7, 2022
In this Ministerial Question Period, Senator Deacon asks Minister Bibeau (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food) what it will take to see advanced soil carbon sequestration in Canada, given its widespread support. Click to see the full question and response from the Minister.
June 2, 2022
Senator Deacon pays tribute to Senator Howard Wetston, who retired in the Senate on June 3rd, 2022. Click here to see the entire speech.
June 2, 2022
In this Statement, Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to honour fellow Nova Scotia Senator, Dan Christmas, for being awarded an honorary Doctors of Letters from Cape Breton University this week.
May 17, 2022
The COVID Alert app was a great tool which could have increased contact tracing practices, but unfortunately was a failure. Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to ask the Government Representative of the Senate why the adoption rates of the app were low, what plans the government has for assessing the app and how they will manage the public perception in the future of similar apps.
May 4, 2022
Senator Deacon rises in the Senate Chamber to speak to Bill S-6 (An Act respecting regulatory modernization), which is an Annual Regulatory Modernization exercise led by the Treasury Board of Canada to identify and remove legislative 'irritants'. Senator Deacon argues that we need to go beyond just identifying irritants in regulation and strategize on how to increase the flexibility and agility of Canada's regulations in an inclusive and principles-based manner. Doing so would be key to advancing innovation, competition and productivity growth in our country.
April 28, 2022
A recent poll from Pollara highlighted that majority of Canadian small business owners and consumers believe that bank fees are too high, while more than half felt stressed with their interactions with banks. Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to talk about this pervasive problem in the financial sector, and how regulatory reforms like Open Banking can be part of the solution. Click to see more of his speech.
April 7, 2022
Senator Deacon joins the debate in the Chamber on the motion to extend hybrid sittings until April 2022. He argues that embracing hybrid sittings in the Senate for the long-term is key to becoming not only a competitive employer, but a more productive, inclusive, and modern institution. Click here to see more of this insightful speech.
March 31, 2022
Senator Deacon shares his personal reflections on his visit to Ukraine in 2019, where he was an observer for the Presidential elections that year. He recounts some of the inspiring experiences with the Ukrainian people, remembering their optimism, courage and strong-hearted nature; and expressed the importance of Canada's solidarity now more than ever. Click here to see the full speech.
March 4, 2022
Senator Deacon rises to the Chamber to speak to Motion No. 48, which would further advance the recommendations of the Senate Advisory Working Group on the Environment & Sustainability (AWG). If adopted, the motion initiates the following two actions: first, adopt a new Senate of Canada Environment Policy Statement to replace the existing 1993 version, and second, empower the Senate Standing Committee of Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration (CIBA) to further examine and consider the range of recommendations in the AWG's report. Click here to see his full speech.
March 3, 2022
Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to pay tribute to Senator Diane Griffin, who retires from the Senate later this month. Click the link to see the full speech.
March 2, 2022
Senator Deacon joins the debate on the Emergencies Act motion in the Senate Chamber, supporting the Act’s invocation. He also highlights the vulnerabilities exposed in our public, political, and financial institutions as a result of the protest activities, and advocates for a non-partisan inquiry to ensure that these institutional shortcomings are thoroughly assessed and examined. Click the link to see more of his speech.
February 23, 2022
Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to celebrate former Senator Don Oliver, upon the recent release of his autobiography, "A Matter of Equality: The Life's Work of Senator Don Oliver". Throughout his life, The Honourable Don Oliver worked to make the business case for diversity and inclusion in Canada. His determined efforts advanced diversity as a social priority & economic opportunity, helped countless people, and catalyzed the efforts of future generations. Click here to see more.
February 9, 2022

Votes in the Chamber

Click below to see Senator Deacon's voting history. You can select the desired parliamentary session, and specific date you wish to examine.