We have a quorum and I'm calling the meeting to order.
Welcome to the 11th meeting of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying.
I'm Kelvin Ogilvie, a senator from Nova Scotia and co-chair of this committee. I'm chairing it today along with my co-chair colleague, Rob Oliphant, the member of Parliament for Don Valley West.
In this session, which will go from 5 to 6 p.m., we have two groups presenting. First of all, we have His Eminence Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, and with him Laurence Worthen, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada and the Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience.
We welcome you. I will remind you that together you have a total of 10 minutes for your presentation.
Appearing by video conference we have Vyda Ng, executive director of the Canadian Unitarian Council.
Ms. Ng, you have 10 minutes as well. Because it's technology, and we already know you've been shunted around Toronto a bit with something happening at the first site, we're going to invite you to present first.
Just before you start, I want to remind the witnesses and everybody that the committee members, when called, have five minutes in total for their question and the response, so the questioners should be efficient with language, and to the responders, if you could be direct in your answers, it would be much appreciated.
With that, I invite Ms. Ng to present.