Very good. Thank you.
Good afternoon, and welcome to the ninth meeting of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying.
I would like to begin by welcoming members of the committee, witnesses and those watching this meeting on the web.
My name is Marc Garneau, and I am the House of Commons' Joint Chair of this committee. I am joined by the Honourable Yonah Martin, the Senate's Joint Chair.
Today, we are continuing our examination of the statutory review of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying and their application.
The Board of Internal Economy requires the committee to adhere to health protocols. I'm not going to name them, because by now you're very familiar with them and they're in effect until the end of Parliament in late June.
Before beginning, here are a few pieces of administrative information. I'd like to remind the members and witnesses to keep their microphones muted unless recognized by name by the joint chairs. I would remind you that all comments should be addressed through the joint chairs. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. Interpretation of this video conference will work like an in-person committee meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French.
With that, I would like to welcome our first panel of witnesses today. Here on the first panel to discuss whether to permit medical assistance in dying for mental illness in Canada, we have Mr. John Maher of the Ontario Association for ACT & FACT. We also have two individuals, Dr. Georgia Vrakas and Dr. Ellen Wiebe.
Thank you for joining us here today. We'll begin in the usual fashion. You will each have five minutes for an opening statement. I would ask you to respect that five minutes, so that we can allow as many questions as possible.
We'll start with Mr. Maher. You have five minutes.