Good evening and welcome to this meeting on the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying.
I'd like to begin by welcoming members of the committee and all our witnesses, as well as those watching on the web.
My name is Yonah Martin. I'm the Senate's joint chair of this committee. I'm joined by René Arseneault, the House of Commons joint chair of the committee.
Today we continue our examination of the degree of preparedness attained for a safe and adequate application of medical assistance in dying where mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition, in accordance with recommendation 13 of the committee's second report.
I want to remind members and witnesses to keep microphones muted unless recognized by one of the joint chairs. As a reminder, all comments should be addressed through the joint chairs. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. For those appearing by video conference, interpretation is available. You have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of floor, English or French.
With that, I wish to welcome our witnesses this evening.
Thank you very much for your presence.
As individuals, we have Jocelyn Downie, professor emeritus at the Health Justice Institute of Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law, and Trudo Lemmens, professor and Scholl chair in health law and policy at the University of Toronto's faculty of law, by video conference.
From Health Canada's strategic policy branch, we have Jocelyne Voisin, assistant deputy minister, accompanied by two officials with the health care programs and policy directorate: Sharon Harper, director general, and Jacquie Lemaire, senior policy adviser. From the Department of Justice, we have Myriam Wills, counsel, criminal law policy section.