Good morning, everyone.
I call to order meeting number 19 of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. Welcome to the members of the committee, the witnesses and the members of the public watching this meeting on the Internet.
My name is Marc Garneau, and I am the committee vice‑chair from the House of Commons. With me is the Hon. Yonah Martin, the committee vice‑chair from the Senate.
Today, we are continuing our statutory review of provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying and their application.
I would like to remind members and witnesses to keep their microphones muted unless they are recognized by name by one of the joint chairs. All comments should be addressed through the joint chairs.
When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. Interpretation in this video conference will work as it does in an in-person committee meeting. You have a choice at the bottom of your screen. You can probably see the interpretation button that gives you the choice of “floor”, “English” or “French”.
With that, I would like to welcome our witnesses for our first panel. They are here to discuss the state of palliative care in Canada.
As an individual, we welcome Dr. Geneviève Dechêne, who is a family physician.
We have Dr. James Downar, professor and head, division of palliative care at the University of Ottawa.
We have Mr. Spencer Hawkswell from TheraPsil, president and chief executive officer.
Thank you for joining us this morning. We will begin with opening remarks. Each of you will have five minutes to speak, and we'll start with Dr. Dechêne.
Go ahead, Dr. Dechêne.