Medical Assistance in Dying

Moved:

That:

(a)pursuant to subsection 2(1) of An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), No. 2, a special joint committee of the Senate and the House of Commons be appointed to undertake a comprehensive review relating to the eligibility of persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness to receive medical assistance in dying;

(b)the committee be composed of five members of the Senate, including one senator from the Opposition, two senators from the Independent Senators Group, one senator from the Progressive Senate Group, and one senator from the Canadian Senators Group, and ten members of the House of Commons, including five members from the governing party, four members from the official opposition, and one member from the Bloc Québécois;

(c)the joint chair of the committee on the part of the Senate shall be from the opposition and the joint chair of the committee on the part of the House of Commons shall be a member from the governing party;

(d)in addition to the joint chairs, the committee shall elect one deputy chair from the Senate from the Independent Senators Group, and two vice-chairs from the House, of whom the first vice-chair shall be from the Conservative Party of Canada, and the second vice-chair shall be from the Bloc Québécois;

(e)the quorum of the committee be eight members whenever a vote, resolution or other decision is taken, provided that both houses are represented and that one member from the Senate, one member of the governing party in the House, and one member from the opposition in the House are present, and that the joint chairs be authorized to hold meetings, to receive evidence and authorize the publication thereof, whenever six members are present, provided that both houses are represented and that one member of the Senate, one member of the governing party in the House and one member from the opposition in the House are present;

(f)the five senators to be members of the committee be named by means of a notice signed by their respective leader or facilitator, or their respective designates, and filed with the Clerk of the Senate no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, February 27, 2026, failing which, the leader or facilitator and, in the case of the Independent Senators Group, the deputy facilitator, if appropriate, of any party or group identified in paragraph (b) that has not filed the name of a senator with the Clerk of the Senate shall be deemed to be named to the committee, with the names of the senators named as members being recorded in the Journals of the Senate;

(g)for greater certainty, changes to the membership of the committee on the part of the Senate be made in accordance with rule 12-5;

(h)for greater certainty, the provisions of the order adopted by the Senate on June 4, 2025, respecting the participation of senators in hybrid meetings of joint committees for the remainder of the current session apply to senators on this committee;

(i)the committee have the power to:

(i)meet during sittings and adjournments of the Senate;

(ii)report from time to time;

(iii)send for persons, papers and records;

(iv)publish such papers and evidence as may be ordered by the committee;

(v)retain the services of expert, professional, technical and clerical staff, including legal counsel;

(vi)appoint, from among its members such subcommittees as may be deemed appropriate and to delegate to such subcommittees, all or any of its powers, except the power to report to the Senate and House of Commons; and

(vii)authorize video and audio broadcasting of any or all of its public proceedings and to make them available to the public via the Parliament of Canada’s websites;

(j)a report of the committee may be deposited with the Clerk of the Senate at any time the Senate stands adjourned, and that any report so deposited may be deposited electronically, with the report being deemed to have been presented or tabled in the Senate;

(k)pursuant to subsection 2(3) of the act, the committee submit a final report of its review, including any recommendations, to Parliament no later than Friday, October 2, 2026; and

(l)pursuant to subsection 2(4) of the act, following the tabling of the final report in both houses, the committee shall expire; and

That a message be sent to the House of Commons to acquaint that house accordingly.