Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD)

Mandate

The special joint committee was appointed to undertake a review of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying and their application, including but not limited to issues relating to mature minors, advance requests, mental illness, the state of palliative care in Canada and the protection of Canadians with disabilities.

Summary of Committee Activity

During the period of April 1 to August 31, 2022, the committee met 14 times. At its first meeting on April 8, the Hon. Yonah Martin and the Hon. Marc Garneau were elected as Joint Chairs of the committee. Pursuant to the Orders of Reference from the House of March 30 and May 2, and from the Senate of March 31 and May 4, and subsection 5(1) of An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), the committee undertook the statutory review of the provisions of the criminal code relating to medical assistance in dying and their application. During this time, the committee heard from 69 witnesses. On June 20, the committee presented its first report, entitled Medical Assistance in Dying and Mental Disorder as the Sole Underlying Condition: An Interim Report.

Membership (as of August 31, 2022)

Hon. Yonah Martin (Senate) (Joint Chair), Hon. Marc Garneau (Joint Chair), Hon. Marie‑Françoise Mégie (Senate) (Vice-Chair), Michael Barrett (Vice‑Chair), Luc Thériault (Vice-Chair), Alistair MacGregor (Vice-Chair), Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond (Senate), Hon. Stanley Paul Kutcher (Senate), Hon. Pamela Wallin (Senate), Gary Anandasangaree, René Arseneault, Michael Cooper, Hon. Hedy Fry, James Maloney, Dominique Vien

Expenditures (April 1 to August 31, 2022)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Expenditures.”

Meetings, Witnesses, Briefs and Reports (April 1 to August 31, 2022)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Meetings, Witnesses, Briefs and Reports.”

Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency (DEDC)

Mandate

On 14 February 2022, the government invoked the Emergencies Act, issuing a declaration of a public order emergency and giving the federal government certain temporary powers.

The Emergencies Act sets out the procedure by which a national emergency can be declared and by which a declaration of emergency can be confirmed, continued, amended and revoked. It also provides for a supervisory role for Parliament.

The declaration of emergency was revoked on 23 February 2022 by proclamation. Under subsection 62(1) of the Emergencies Act, a parliamentary review committee must review the “exercise of powers and the performance of duties and functions pursuant to a declaration of emergency.” Accordingly, this special joint committee was established by motion of the Senate and House of Commons on March 3, 2022.

Summary of Committee Activity

From April 1 to August 31, 2022, the committee held eight meetings. It heard from four ministers and 32 witnesses as part of its study of the review of the exercise of powers and the performance of duties and functions pursuant to the declaration of emergency that was in effect from Monday, February 14, 2022, to Wednesday, February 23, 2022.

Membership (as of August 31, 2022)

Hon. Gwen Boniface (Senate) (Joint Chair), Rhéal Éloi Fortin (Joint Chair), Matthew Green (Joint Chair), Hon. Claude Carignan (Senate) (Vice-Chair), Arif Virani (Vice‑Chair), Glen Motz (Vice-Chair), Hon. Peter Harder (Senate), Hon. Vernon Darryl White (Senate), Rachel Bendayan, Larry Brock, Yasir Naqvi

Expenditures (April 1 to August 31, 2022)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Expenditures.”

Meetings, Witnesses, Briefs and Reports (April 1 to August 31, 2022)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Meetings, Witnesses, Briefs and Reports.”