Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD)

Mandate

In October 2023, motions were adopted in the House of Commons and Senate to re‑establish the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, in accordance with Recommendation 13 in the Second Report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying.

Summary of Committee Activity

From September 1 to December 31, 2023, the committee met six times. The committee completed a study on the follow-up on recommendation 13 of the Second Report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, concerning the coming into force of eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID) where a mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition, in order to verify the degree of preparedness attained for a safe and adequate application of MAID (where mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition (MD-SUMC)). It heard from 21 witnesses and received over 800 submissions from individuals and groups during the course of the study.

Membership (as of December 31, 2023)

Hon. Yonah Martin (Senate) (Joint Chair), René Arseneault (Joint Chair), Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie (Senate) (Vice-Chair), Shelby Kramp-Neuman (Vice-Chair), Alistair MacGregor (Vice-Chair), Luc Thériault (Vice-Chair), Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond (Senate), Hon. Stanley Paul Kutcher (Senate), Hon. Pamela Wallin (Senate), Michael Cooper, Hon. Ed Fast, Darren Fisher, Annie Koutrakis, James Maloney, Francis Scarpaleggia

Expenditures (April 1 to December 31, 2023)

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

Meetings, Witnesses, Briefs and Reports (April 1 to December 31, 2023)

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The declaration of emergency was revoked on 23 February 2022 by proclamation.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

Since its creation in March 2022, the committee has been working towards reporting to both the House and Senate on 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. During the period from April 1 to August 31, 2023, the committee held three meetings for the consideration of a draft report.

During the period of September 1 to December 31, 2023, the committee held two meetings in relation to its ongoing study of the declaration of emergency in effect from Monday, February 14, 2022, to Wednesday, February 23, 2022. Furthermore, the committee elected Rachel Bendayan as a vice-chair of the committee.

Membership (as of December 31, 2023)

Hon. Gwen Boniface (Senate) (Joint Chair), Rhéal Éloi Fortin (Joint Chair), Matthew Green (Joint Chair), Hon. Claude Carignan (Senate) (Vice-Chair), Rachel Bendayan (Vice-Chair), Glen Motz (Vice-Chair), Hon. Peter Harder (Senate), Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson (Senate), Larry Brock, James Maloney, Sherry Romanado

Expenditures (April 1 to December 31, 2023)

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

Meetings, Witnesses, Briefs and Reports (April 1 to December 31, 2023)

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