Studies & Bills

Orders of Reference

An order of reference is a decision of the Senate authorizing a committee to undertake the study of an issue, bill or other matter. Most committees require an order of reference before they can undertake such work. However, three committees are empowered by the Rules of the Senate to act on their own initiative without a prior order of reference from the Senate. These are the Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament; the Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration; and the Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators.

Studies & Bills	Order of Reference	Session	note	note
Government response to the seventeenth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, entitled "An Ocean of Misery: The Rohingya Refugee Crisis"	2019-06-19	42-1
Government response to the fourteenth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, entitled "Promoting Human Rights: Canada’s Approach to its Export Sector"	2018-11-06	42-1
Examine and monitor issues relating to human rights and, inter alia, to review the machinery of government dealing with Canada’s international and national human rights obligations	2018-09-20	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 11:30 AM Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 11:30 AM Lacey Batalov, Acting Director, Government Advisory Directorate (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) Uzma Jamil, Fellow, Muslim Studies for the InterReligious Institute (Chicago Theological Seminary) Jared Mikoch-Gerke, Advisor, Aviation Security (WestJet) Rayyan Syed Kamal, 4th Year Medical Science Student, Western University (As an Individual) Daniel Therrien, Privacy Commissioner of Canada (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 11:30 AM Bonnie Brayton, National Executive Director (DisAbled Women's Network of Canada) Josephine Etowa, Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa (As an Individual) Julie Harris, President and Principal (Contenworks Inc.) Abby Hoffman, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch (Health Canada) Morgan Holmes, Representative (Egale) Dr. Tom Wong, Chief Medical Officer of Public Health and Executive Director (Department of Indigenous Services Canada) Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 11:30 AM Bashir Ahmed Mohamed (As an Individual) Khadijah Cajee, Co-Founder (No Fly List Kids) John Davies, Director General, National Security Policy (Public Safety Canada) Andrew Lawrence, Acting Director General, Travellers Programs Directorate (Canada Border Services Agency) Wendy Nixon, Director General, Aviation Security (Transport Canada) Sarah Willson, Parent (No Fly List Kids) Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at 11:30 AM Anne Curley, Vice President (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada) Francyne Joe, President (Native Women's Association of Canada) Virginia Lomax, Legal Counsel (Native Women's Association of Canada) Melanie Omeniho, President (Women of the Métis Nation) Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 11:30 AM Jackie Hansen, Gender Rights Campaigner (Amnesty International) Alisa Lombard, Lawyer and Partner, Semaganis Worme Lombard (As an Individual) Sandeep Prasad, Executive Director (Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights) Karen Stote, Author and Assistant Professor, Women and Gender Studies Program, Wilfred Laurier University (As an Individual) Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 11:30 AM Kelley Blanchette, Deputy Commissioner for Women (Correctional Service Canada) Daryl Churney, Executive Director General (Parole Board of Canada) Anne Kelly, Commissioner (Correctional Service Canada) Michelle Van De Bogart, Regional Director General, Ontario Region (Parole Board of Canada) Larry Motiuk, Assistant Commissioner, Policy (Correctional Service Canada) Jennifer Oades, Chairperson (Parole Board of Canada) Alain Tousignant, Senior Deputy Commissioner (Correctional Service Canada) Jennifer Wheatley, Assistant Commissioner, Health Services (Correctional Service Canada) Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 11:30 AM Dianne Grenier, Lawyer and partner of former prisoner (As an Individual) Ajay Pandhi, Vice President (Canadian Association of Social Workers) Fred Phelps, Executive Director (Canadian Association of Social Workers) Mitch Taillon, President (Canadian Dental Association) Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 11:30 AM Marcella Daye, Senior Policy Advisor (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Marie-France Kingsley, Executive Director (Office of the Correctional Investigator) Kyle Kirkup, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa (As an Individual) Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director, Prisoners' Legal Services (West Coast Prison Justice Society) Sheila Osborne-Brown, Senior Legal Counsel (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Howard Sapers, Former Correctional Investigator of Canada (As an Individual) Ivan Zinger, Correctional Investigator of Canada (Office of the Correctional Investigator) Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 11:30 AM Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 11:30 AM Jean-Nicolas Beuze, Representative in Canada (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Mohammed Emrul Hasan, Vice President, Program Effectiveness and Quality (Plan International Canada) Alice Kim (As an Individual) Cheryl Knockwood, Governance Coordinator (Membertou Band Council) Marie-Claude Landry, Chief Commissioner (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Monette Maillet, Deputy Executive Director and Senior General Counsel (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Robyn Maynard, Author of Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present (As an Individual) Martin O'Hanlon, Chair, CWA Canada, The Media Union (International Federation of Journalists) Kathy Vandergrift, Chair (Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children) Wednesday, November 21, 2018 at 11:35 AM Jean-Nicolas Beuze, Representative in Canada (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer (Fortify Rights) Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 11:30 AM Md. Shakhawat Hossain, Counsellor, Passport and Visa Wing (High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh) Miah Md. Mainul Kabir, Counsellor (High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh) John Packer, Director, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa (As an Individual) His Excellency Mizanur Rahman, High Commissioner (High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh) Yasmin Ullah, President (Rohingya Human Rights Network) Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at 11:30 AM Payam Akhavan, Professor, International Law, McGill University (As an Individual) Donald Bobiash, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia Pacific (Global Affairs Canada) Rhonda Gossen, Senior Policy Advisor, South Asia Division (Global Affairs Canada) Fareed Khan, Director, Advocacy and Media Relations (Rohingya Human Rights Network) Rosaline Kwan, Executive Director, Southeast Asia, APEC and ASEAN (Global Affairs Canada) François Lafrenière, Director, Myanmar and Philippines Development (Global Affairs Canada) Stephen Salewicz, Director General, International Humanitarian Assistance (Global Affairs Canada) Raïss Tinmaung, Director, Overseas Projects (Rohingya Human Rights Network) Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at 11:34 AM
Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1	2018-06-07	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 4:15 PM Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at 11:30 AM Witness A Witness B Witness C Witness E Witness D Suki Beavers, Project Director (National Association of Women and the Law) Gail Gatchalian, Lawyer and Workplace Investigator (Pink Larkin) Francyne Joe, President (Native Women's Association of Canada) Anne Levesque, Co-Chair of the National Steering Committee (National Association of Women and the Law) Phanikiran Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor, University of Toronto (As an Individual) Monday, June 11, 2018 at 3:30 PM The Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour (Employment, Workforce Development and Labour) Vanessa Bastos, Lead, People, Culture and Inclusion (Senate of Canada) Brenda Baxter, Director General, Workplace Directorate, Labour Program (Employment and Social Development Canada) Charles Bernard, Director General, Portfolio Affairs (Public Services and Procurement Canada) Diane Blais, Interim Lead, Human Resources Partnerships (Senate of Canada) Marcella Daye, Senior Policy Advisor (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Fiona Keith, Senior Counsel (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Marie-Claude Landry, Chief Commissioner (Canadian Human Rights Commission) Diane McCullagh, Chief Human Resources Officer (Senate of Canada) Barbara Moran, Director General, Strategic Policy, Analysis and Workplace Information, Labour Program (Employment and Social Development Canada) Lori Sterling, Deputy Minister, Labour Program (Employment and Social Development Canada)
Bill C-309, An Act to establish Gender Equality Week	2018-05-03	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at 11:30 AM Bob Rae, P.C., Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to Myanmar (As an Individual) Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at 11:33 AM Annie Chau, Project Coordinator, Advancing Women’s Equality, Antigonish Women's Resource Centre & Sexual Assault Services Association (As an Individual) Anjum Mullick, Director of Engineering Services, Business Planning and Support, City of Edmonton (As an Individual) Sven Spengemann, M.P., Sponsor of the Bill Nanci-Jean Waugh, Director General, Communications and Public Affairs Directorate (Status of Women Canada)
Bill S-240, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs)	2018-04-17	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at 11:30 AM Bob Rae, P.C., Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to Myanmar (As an Individual) Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 11:31 AM The Honourable Senator Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, Sponsor of the bill Aimée Comrie, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ) Dr. Jagbir Gill, Director; Associate Professor of Medicine, University of British Columbia; Transplant Nephrologist, St. Paul's Hospital (Canadian Society of Transplantation) The Honourable David Kilgour, P.C. (International Coalition to end Transplant Abuse in China) Dominic Lamb, Certified Specialist in Criminal Law, Edelson & Friedman LLP (Criminal Lawyers Association) David Matas, Lawyer (As an Individual)
Bill C-66, An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts	2018-03-27	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 11:48 AM Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 11:59 AM The Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (Public Safety Canada) Daryl Churney, Executive Director General (Parole Board of Canada) Angela Connidis, Director General, Crime Prevention, Corrections and Criminal Justice Directorate (Public Safety Canada) Serge Côté, Chief Superintendent, Director General, Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services, Specialized Policing Services (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Shawn Scromeda, Senior Counsel, Public Safety, Defense and Immigration Portfolio, Public Safety Legal Services, Public Safety Legal Services (Department of Justice Canada) Kathy Thompson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Community Safety and Countering Crime Branch (Public Safety Canada) Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 11:33 AM Maya Borooah, Defence Counsel, Henein Hutchison (Criminal Lawyers Association) Angela Chaisson, Defence Counsel, Chaisson Law (Criminal Lawyers Association) Ross Higgins, Member, Board of Governors and Head of Collections (Quebec Gay Archives) Tom Hooper, Contract Faculty, Department of History, York University (As an Individual) Gary Kinsman, Professor Emeritus, Sociology, Laurentian University (As an Individual) James Lockyer, Senior Counsel, Innocence Canada (As an Individual) Jacques Prince, President, Board of Governors (Quebec Gay Archives) Ronald Rosenes, C.M., Community Health Advocate and Board Chair, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (As an Individual) Martine Roy, Member (Just Society Committee)
Government Response to the fifth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, entitled" Finding Refuge in Canada: A Syrian Resettlement Story"	2017-11-02	42-1
Bill S-232, An Act respecting Canadian Jewish Heritage Month	2017-04-13	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 11:32 AM Shimon Fogel, Chief Executive Officer (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) The Honourable Senator Linda Frum, Sponsor of the bill Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer (B'Nai Brith Canada)
Study the issues relating to human rights and, inter alia, to review the machinery of government dealing with Canada’s international and national human rights obligations	2017-03-28	42-1
Show/Hide the list of witnesses Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at 11:30 AM Bob Rae, P.C., Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to Myanmar (As an Individual) Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 11:32 AM Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at 11:31 AM Guerda Amazon, Coordinator (La Maison d'Haiti) Ron Nicholson, Member and Past Vice-President (BC Black History Awareness Society) Kwezi Rutega, Vice-President of External Affairs (UBC Africa Awareness Initiative) Craig Smith, Board Chair and President (Black Cultural Society for Nova Scotia) Agang Tema, Global Lounge Representative (UBC Africa Awareness Initiative) Towela Tembo, Vice-President of External Affairs (UBC Africa Awareness Initiative) Marjorie Villefranche, Director General (La Maison d'Haiti) Michelle Williams, Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University (As an Individual) Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 11:29 AM Louise Bradley, President and Chief Executive Officer (Mental Health Commission of Canada) Anne-Marie Hourigan, Director, Board of Directors of MHCC and Retired Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice (Mental Health Commission of Canada) Monday, October 2, 2017 at 4:02 PM Jean-Nicolas Beuze, Representative in Canada (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Donald Bobiash, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia Pacific (Global Affairs Canada) Ian Burchett, Director General, Southeast Asia (Global Affairs Canada) Zaw Wai Kyaw, Founding President and Coordinator (Canadian Burma Ethnic Nationalities Organization) François Lafrenière, Director, Myanmar and Philippines Development (Global Affairs Canada) Pri Lwan, Secretary (Canadian Burma Ethnic Nationalities Organization) Robert McDougall, Executive Director, South Asia (Global Affairs Canada) Stephen Salewicz, Director General, International Humanitarian Assistance (Global Affairs Canada) Matthew Smith, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (Fortify Rights) Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 11:33 AM Nayem Uddin Ahmed, Minister (High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh) Anwar Arkani, President (Rohingya Association of Canada) Farida Deif, Canada Director (Human Rights Watch) Kevin Malseed, Program Manager, Burma (Inter Pares) Alex Neve, Secretary General (Amnesty International Canada) His Excellency Mizanur Rahman, High Commissioner (High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh) Ahmed Ramadan, Outreach Coordinator (Justice for All – Burmese Task Force) Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 11:35 AM Christopher Pullen, Director, Environmental Advisory Services (Export Development Canada)