HEAL Committee Meeting
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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Meeting No. 13
Monday, December 9, 2002
The Standing Committee on Health met at 9:18 a.m. this day, in Room 371, West Block, the Chair, Bonnie Brown, presiding.
Member(s) of the Committee present: Bonnie Brown, Jeannot Castonguay, Brenda Chamberlain, Stan Dromisky, James Lunney, Réal Ménard, Rob Merrifield, Hélène Scherrer, Carol Skelton, Yolande Thibeault, Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
Acting Member(s) present: Marcel Proulx for Judy Sgro, Mac Harb for Hedy Fry, David Price for Carolyn Bennett, John Harvard for Hedy Fry, Ovid Jackson for Carolyn Bennett, Larry Bagnell for Judy Sgro, Mac Harb 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 and 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; Rodney Ghali, Policy Analyst, 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 6 of the Bill.
Yolande Thibeault moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 10 on page 6 with the following:
“female person is under 21 years of age.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands:
YEAS: 10 NAYS: 2
Clause 6, as amended, carried on division.
On Clause 7,
Judy Wasylycia-Leis moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing lines 11 to 14 on page 6 with the following:
“7. (1) No person shall
(a) purchase, offer to purchase or advertise for the purchase of sperm or ova; or
(b) sell, offer for sale or advertise for sale sperm or ova.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 5 NAYS: 6
Clause 7 carried.
On Clause 8,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 8, be amended by replacing line 2 on page 7 with the following:
“embryo for any purpose unless the donors have”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 2 NAYS: 8
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 4 on page 7 the following:
“(4) No licensee shall produce more embryos than are reasonably necessary to complete the reproductive procedure intended by the donors.”
James Lunney moved and debate arose, -- That the amendment be amended by adding after the word “donors” the words “as prescribed by the regulations”.
After debate, the question being put on the amendment and the result of the vote was announced:
YEAS: 5 NAYS: 5
Whereupon, the Chair voted in the affirmative. Accordingly, the amendment was adopted.
After debate, the question being put on the amendment of Rob Merrifield, as amended, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 5 NAYS: 6
Clause 8 carried.
Clause 9 carried.
On new Clause 9.1,
James Lunney moved, -- That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 11 on page 7 the following new clause:
“9.1 (1) In this section, “prohibited activity” means any activity described in sections 5 to 9.
(2) No person shall attempt to engage in any prohibited activity.
(3) Every person who, having an intent to engage in a prohibited activity, does or omits to do anything for the purpose of carrying out his or her intention is considered as having attempted to engage in the prohibited activity, whether or not it was possible under the circumstances to perform the prohibited activity.
(4) Every one is a party to engaging in a prohibited activity who
(a) actually performs it;
(b) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to perform it; or
(c) abets any person in performing it.
(5) Where two or more persons form an intention in common to carry out a prohibited activity and to assist each other therein, and any one of them, in carrying out the common purpose, performs the prohibited activity, each of them who know or ought to have known that engaging in the prohibited activity would be a probable consequence of carrying out the common purpose is a party to the prohibited activity.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 2 NAYS: 8
On Clause 10,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 10, be amended by adding after line 20 on page 7 the following:
“ (2.1) A license authorizing the use of an in vitro embryo for the purpose of research may be issued only if no other biological material can be used for the purpose of the proposed research with the promotion of healing therapies as its object.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 2 NAYS: 8
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 10, be amended by replacing lines 25 and 26 on page 7 with the following:
“the purpose of creating an embryo;
(b) an in vitro embryo, for any purpose; or
(c) anything for any purpose contrary to this Act.”
By unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 10, be amended by replacing line 26 on page 7 with the following:
“(b) an in vitro embryo, or any part of one, for any purpose.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 2 NAYS: 9
Clause 10 carried.
On Clause 11,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing lines 27 and 28 on page 7 with the following:
“11. (1) No person shall”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 2 NAYS: 9
Clause 11 carried.
On Clause 12,
Jeannot Castonguay moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 12, be amended by
(a) replacing line 10 on page 8 with the
following:
“expense incurred by her in relation to”
(b) replacing line 13 on page 8 with the following:
“ture referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) unless a”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment and the result of the recorded vote was announced:
YEAS
Jeannot Castonguay
Stan Dromisky
Mac Harb
David Price
Marcel Proulx
Hélène Scherrer -- 6
NAYS
Brenda Chamberlain
James Lunney
Réal Ménard
Rob Merrifield
Yolande Thibeault
Judy Wasylycia-Leis -- 6
Whereupon, the Chair voted in the negative. Accordingly, the amendment was negatived.
At 11:10 a.m., the sitting was suspended
At 11:19 a.m., the sitting resumed.
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 12, be amended by replacing line 15 on page 8 with the following:
“expenditure and that the expenditure is reasonable, necessary and directly related to the objects above.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 4 NAYS: 5
Clause 12 carried.
Clause 13 carried.
On new Clause 13.1,
James Lunney moved, -- That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 20 on page 8 the following new clause:
“13.1 (1) In this section, “controlled activity” means an activity described in sections 10 to 13.
(2) No person shall attempt to engage in any controlled activity, except in accordance with the regulations and a licence.
(3) Every person who, having an intent to engage in a controlled activity, does or omits to do anything for the purpose of carrying out his or her intention is considered as having attempted to engage in the controlled activity, whether or not it was possible under the circumstances to perform the controlled activity.
(4) Every one is a party to engaging in a controlled activity who
(a) actually performs it;
(b) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to perform it; or
(c) abets any person in performing it.
(4) Where two or more persons form an intention in common to carry out a controlled activity and to assist each other therein, and any one of them, in carrying out the common purpose, performs the controlled activity, each of them who know or ought to have known that engaging in the controlled activity would be a probable consequence of carrying out the common purpose is a party to the controlled activity.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was negatived by a show of hands:
YEAS: 2 NAYS: 6
On Clause 14,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 14, be amended by replacing line 3 on page 9 with the following:
“person and require the person to receive counselling; and”
By unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 14, be amended by replacing lines 1 to 3 on page 9 with the following:
“(b) ensure that the person receives professional counselling services in accordance with the regulations; and”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted by a show of hands:
YEAS: 6 NAYS: 1
Judy Wasylycia-Leis moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 14, be amended
(a) by replacing, in the English version, line 3 on page 9 with the following:
“regulations;”
(b) by replacing, in the English version, line 6 on page 9 with the following:
“referred to in paragraph (a); and”
(c) by adding after line 6 on page 9 the following:
“(d) provide the person with information made available by the Agency in accordance with paragraph 19 (i) and in accordance with the regulations.”
After debate, the question being put on the amendment, it was adopted on division.
Clause 14, as amended, carried on division.
On Clause 15,
Rob Merrifield moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 15, be amended by replacing line 35 on page 9 with the following:
“licensee and the Agency the health reporting information in its”
By unanimous consent, after debate, the amendment was allowed to stand.
At 12:10 p.m., the sitting was suspended
At 12:40 p.m., the sitting resumed.
Jeannot Castonguay moved, -- That Bill C-13, in Clause 15, be amended by replacing lines 10 to 12 on page 10 with the following:
“nor - shall not be disclosed without the donor's written consent.”
By unanimous consent, after debate, the amendment was allowed to stand.
By unanimous consent, Clause 15 was allowed to stand.
At 1:00 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
José Cadorette
Clerk of the Committee