HEAL Committee Meeting
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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Meeting No. 14
Monday, December 9, 2002
The Standing Committee on Health met at 3:44 p.m. this day, in Room 371, West Block, the Chair, Bonnie Brown, presiding.
Members of the Committee present: Bonnie Brown, Jeannot Castonguay, Brenda Chamberlain, Stan Dromisky, James Lunney, Réal Ménard, Rob Merrifield, Hélène Scherrer, Judy Sgro, Carol Skelton, Yolande Thibeault, Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
Acting Members present: John Finlay for Hedy Fry, Massimo Pacetti for Carolyn Bennett.
Other Member present: Paul Szabo.
In attendance: From the Library of Parliament: Nancy Miller Chenier, Sonya Norris and Monique Hébert, Research Officers. From the Committees Directorate: Joann Garbig, Jeffrey LeBlanc, Legislative Clerks.
Witnesses: From the Department of Health: Francine Manseau, Senior Policy Analyst, Health Policy and Communications Branch, Special Projects Division; Caroline Weber, Director General, Policy Planning and Priorities Directorate. From the Department of Justice: Glenn Rivard, Senior Legal Counsel.
Pursuant to its Order of Reference of Wednesday, October 9, 2002, the Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-13, An Act respecting assisted human reproduction (See Minutes of Proceedings, Tuesday, November 19, 2002, Meeting No. 2).
The Committee resumed Clause-by-Clause consideration on Clause 16 of the Bill.
Clause 16 carried on division.
On Clause 17,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 17, be amended
(a) by replacing line 14 on page 11 with the following:
“17. (1) The Agency shall maintain a personal”
(b) by replacing lines 19 and 20 on page 11 with the following:
“procedures, persons conceived by means of those procedures and identification of all embryos created and destroyed.”
(c) by adding after line 20 on page 11 the following:
“(2) The Agency shall, within three months after the termination of each financial year, submit an annual report to Parliament on the activities of the Agency during that financial year, including statistics on the numbers of individual donors, types of donations, embryos created and destroyed, persons who undergo assisted reproduction procedures and persons conceived as a result, as well as research projects undertaken.
(3) All embryos produced and destroyed by licensees maintained on the registry of the Agency be identified by a standard formulaic name composed of the donor's names, rather than by number.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 7
Clause 17 carried on division.
On Clause 18,
Jeannot Castonguay moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 18, be amended by
(a) replacing line 32 on page 11 with the
following:
“cy Act but subject to subsections (3) to (8),”
(b) replacing line 1 on page 13 with the following:
“(7) The Agency may disclose the identity of a donor to a physician if, in the
Agency's opinion, the disclosure is necessary to address a risk to the health
or safety of a person who has undergone an assisted reproduction procedure, was
conceived by means of such a procedure or is a descendant of a person so
conceived. The physician may not disclose that identity.
(8) The Agency may disclose health report-”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted on division.
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 18, be amended by
a) replacing line 9 on page 12 with the following:
“conceived, but, subject to subsection (3.1), the identity of the donor - or”
b) adding after line 13 on page 12 the following new clause:
“(3.1) The Agency shall disclose on request the identity of a donor to a person conceived by means of an assisted reproduction procedure using that donor’s human reproductive material or in vitro embryo, or to their descendant, if the person or their descendant, as the case may be, is at least 18 years of age.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived on the following recorded division:
YEAS
James Lunney
Rob Merrifield
Carol Skelton
Yolande Thibeault
Judy Wasylycia-Leis – 5
NAYS
Jeannot Castonguay
Stan Dromisky
John Finlay
Massimo Pacetti
Hélène Scherrer
Judy Sgro -- 6
Judy Wasylycia-Leis moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 18, be amended by deleting lines 14 to 22 on page 12.
After debate, by unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.
Clause 18, as amended, carried on division.
On Clause 19,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 19, be amended by replacing lines 9 and 10 on page 13 with the following:
“inspection by the public or for public hearings for licensing or for special issues any information that is pre-”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 7
Clause 19 carried on division.
On new Clause 19.1,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 4 on page 14 the following new clause:
“19.1 All of the Agency's activities shall be reported in the public information registry unless specifically excluded by the Act.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 8
On Clause 20,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 20, be amended by adding after line 11 on page 14 the following:
“(3) The Minister, in collaboration with provincial ministers of Health, shall take all required actions to encourage the development of uniform legislation across the country establishing the legal status of gamete donors in relation to children born as a result of their donation.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 4 NAYS: 8
Clause 20 carried on division.
On Clause 21,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 21, be amended by replacing line 14 on page 14 with the following:
“body corporate that shall exercise powers and”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 4 NAYS: 7
Clause 21 carried on division.
On Clause 22,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 22, be amended by replacing line 21 on page 14 with the following:
“(a) to protect and promote the life, health and”
The Chair ruled the proposed amendment inadmissible, because the Committee had already decided against a similar amendment in Clause 2.
Whereupon, Rob Merrifield appealed the decision of the Chair.
The question: “Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?” was put and the decision was sustained, by a show of hands:
YEAS: 7 NAYS: 4
Judy Wasylycia-Leis moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 22, be amended
a) by replacing, in the English version, line 23 on page 14 with the following:
“rights, of Canadians,”
b) by replacing, in the English version, line 25 on page 14 with the following:
“principles; and”
c) by adding after line 25 on page 14 the following:
“(c) to inform the public of the causal factors that may lead to infertility and to implement programs and promote measures aimed at preventing the development of these factors,”
By unanimous consent, the amendment was allowed to stand.
By unanimous consent, Clause 22 was allowed to stand.
On new Clause 22.1,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 27 on page 14 the following new clause:
“22.1 Where there is a conflict between ethical acceptability and scientific possibility, the ethically acceptable course of action shall prevail.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 4 NAYS: 7
Clause 23 carried.
On Clause 24,
Judy Wasylycia-Leis moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 24, be amended by replacing line 31 on page 14 with the following:
“24. (1) The Agency shall”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 4 NAYS: 8
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 24, be amended by replacing line 16 on page 15 with the following:
“enforcement of this Act;
(g.1) develop a code of ethics based on the principles of its mandate;
(g.2) table an annual report in Parliament;
(g.3) prepare a strategic plan every three years to be approved by the Minister and Parliament; and”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 8
Clause 24 carried on division.
On Clause 25,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 25, be amended by deleting lines 32 to 35 on page 15.
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 7
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 25, be amended by adding after line 35 on page 15 the following:
“(1.1) Before a policy direction is issued to the Agency, the Minister shall lay the draft direction before each House of Parliament for comment and recommendation.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 7
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 25, be amended by replacing, in the English version, line 37 on page 15 with the following:
“shall not affect a matter that is before the”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 7
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 25, be amended by deleting lines 40 to 42 on page 15.
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 3 NAYS: 8
Clause 25 carried on division.
At 5:05 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
José Cadorette
Clerk of the Committee