Cowichan-Malahat-Langford MP Alistair MacGregor has been elected third vice-chair of a newly-created special joint committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD).
AMAD was created to undertake a review of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying (MAID) and its application, including issues relating to mature minors, advance requests, mental illness, the state of palliative care in Canada and the protection of Canadians with disabilities.
AMAD, required by law as part of the Senate’s amendments to the recently passed Bill C-7, will be a multi-party assembly of House and Senate members with a mandate to study possible further legislative and policy changes in the future. The special joint committee will consist of five members of the Senate and 10 members of the House of Commons.
“The role of third vice-chair of the special joint committee on Medical Assistance in Dying is one that I take with great honour and responsibility,” stated MacGregor. “The issues surrounding MAID legislation strike at the very core of who we want to be as a country. I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to ensure that we support the rights of Canadians to medically-assisted death while safeguarding protections for our most vulnerable.”
By law, AMAD will have the power to retain the services of expert, professional, technical and clerical staff and make occasional reports to both the public and Parliament.
Under Bill C-7, AMAD is required to submit its findings in a report to Parliament within one year of commencing its work.