Dear Section members,
The National Health Law Section has been busy working on law reform and Section activities. Below are just a few examples of our recent work.
Congratulations to Ben Su from the University of Ottawa, who has been selected as the winner of this year’s Health Law Essay Contest.
We invite you to get involved. The Section always welcomes new committee members and volunteers. Please visit our website for resources, submissions, news and articles.
Section elections are underway. I invite you to put your name forward for an executive role in the National Health Law Section. For more information, check out the elections webpage.
RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES:
- Get up to speed with an Update on National and Provincial Privacy Law on significant legislative amendments and decisions in privacy law over the past year, presented by the Privacy & Access Law Section on May 16.
- Save the date: On September 25, the Section will host a webinar titled HIV Non-Disclosure: The law vs the science.
- The Section executive met in Ottawa on May 4th to discuss various topics and priorities for the year ahead.
- We hosted a webinar titled Think Before You Spit: DNA Testing and the New Genetic Non-Discrimination Act
- The Section has been have been actively involved on the CBA End-of-Life Working Group. The Working Group made a submission to the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying last fall. The federal government’s second Interim Report on MAID was recently published and we anticipate draft regulations to be available for comment later this year.
- We participated in preparing the CBA submission, Intent to develop regulations under Assisted Human Reproduction Act, to Health Canada in November 2016. We anticipate draft regulations will be available for comment in the new year.
- We participated in the CBA submission, Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of Access to Marijuana Response to Discussion Paper. Proposed amendments to a federal bill on cannabis regulation (C-45) are currently under debate in the House of Commons. A companion bill (C-46) to amend the impaired driving regime is under review by a parliamentary committee.
- The Section is represented on the CBA Children’s Law Committee. The Committee most recently prepared a submission on the template for Canada’s report under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- The Section also holds a biennial Health Law Summit. Last May, our 2017 Health Law Summit was held at the Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-lake. The conference topics included challenges of regulation and approval of new medical therapies and devices. We are currently planning the 2019 Health Law Summit. Stay tuned!
Thanks,
Danie Roy
Chair, Health Law Section