Justice committee  I'm sorry, I missed that.

Justice committee  First of all, I'll agree with her that CPIC is way behind being updated, which is really unfortunate and why prosecutors currently supplement the CPIC record with the provincial record, but no, there's no reason to go and call viva voce evidence at a bail hearing just because of

Justice committee  Thank you, honourable members, for having me here today. I'll start by offering condolences to Constable Wynn's family, who lost a husband and a father through something that was entirely preventable, something at which Bill S-217 is indeed aimed at preventing from occurring agai

Justice committee  Not to be trite, but to be respectful, I would like to think that the current legislation would have helped Sue Rodriguez. The supposition, the speculation, that it wouldn't have helped is misplaced. We never know what would have happened. Watching the attorney general's presenta

Justice committee  With respect, sir, I think you're blurring the issue. The issue is whether or not a group of individuals who have formed around a common creed can decide whether or not they're going to participate in MAID—that's the question. We say they can—that's the answer.

Justice committee  I think the answer to your question lies in the history of the medical profession.

Justice committee  I don't know of an analogous situation where the consequence of the act of a physician is the intended death of the patient, so there's nothing analogous I can think of. Physicians and nurses were trained and raised to care for patients and provide health care. I share the conce

Justice committee  I'm not advocating for regulating professions, but I would note that every single month there are lawyers who are disbarred for malpractice and for improprieties. It's clear from the study that was released today that whether it's intentional or accidental, the medical professi

Justice committee  Only so far, sir. Parliament decides what's criminal, and there are limits to what is in the purview of both the law societies as well as the medical professions. They have a limited mandate, whereas Parliament's mandate is much larger and broader.

Justice committee  I can point you to the freedom of association under paragraph 2(d) of the charter, which is not just a right for individuals, but also a collective right. Collectives form around the notion of doing what they can do collectively, what they can do individually.

Justice committee  In this case.... Well, I don't know. If you want to tell me what my answer is....

Justice committee  I'd refer you to the Mounted Police Association case.

Justice committee  It's Mounted Police Association with respect to the associational rights of the collective.

Justice committee  Without a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada, it's impossible to say entirely 100% for sure. I can't say. I feel as though I would be delving into the realm of speculation to say. Suffice it to say, I think this bill can enact protections with respect to conscience rights.

Justice committee  I would say this, that Justice Dickson at paragraph 143 in the Edwards Books decision counselled the avoidance of inquiries into people's religious beliefs. From our perspective, this doesn't have to be made to be about religious beliefs. There are long-standing beliefs, thousand