The committee studied Bill S-228, which would amend the Criminal Code to explicitly make performing a sterilization procedure without a person's valid consent constitute aggravated assault. Appearing were Senator Yvonne Boyer, the bill's sponsor, along with Dr. Margot Burnell of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Jennifer Leason of the Native Women's Association of Canada, Marjolaine Étienne of Quebec Native Women Inc., and Dr. Don Wilson, Harmony Redsky, Silvia Mckay, and Shelby Ponace of the Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice.
Senator Yvonne Boyer explained that the bill responds to survivors' demands for explicit criminal prohibition, noting that forced sterilization disproportionately affects Indigenous women, people with disabilities, and racialized people, with cases reported as recently as 2025. She emphasized the bill does not alter existing consent rules or criminalize emergency care, and she recommended passing the bill to provide legal clarity and deterrence, adding that survivors must lead education efforts with health authorities.
Dr. Margot Burnell, on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association, expressed strong support for Bill S-228, condemning forced sterilization as a grave human rights violation rooted in systemic racism. She recommended the bill's passage and stressed that targeted education and training for medical professionals, developed in partnership with survivors, will be needed to implement the new legal standards.
Dr. Jennifer Leason supported the bill but argued that criminalization alone is insufficient, as systemic conditions like lack of Indigenous-specific health data, long travel distances for care, and inadequate consent practices enable the harm. She recommended stable investments in prevention, Indigenous midwifery, and data action plans, and urged shifting responsibility to those with capacity to act.
Marjolaine Étienne supported Bill S-228 but called it incomplete, as it focuses on individual criminal liability without addressing root causes like systemic racism, which she said is a key factor in Quebec. She recommended the bill include clear definitions of free, prior, and informed consent, explicit recognition of systemic racism, independent complaint mechanisms, and systematic collection of disaggregated data.
Dr. Don Wilson, an obstetrician-gynecologist, supported the bill without amendments, stating that inadequate informed consent is a near-universal theme in survivor applications he has reviewed. He argued the bill will serve as a catalyst for the medical profession to strengthen consent processes, and he disagreed with concerns about a chilling effect, noting that physicians not engaging in coercion have nothing to change.
Harmony Redsky, executive director of the Survivors Circle, described the organization's national registry and archive, which tracks forced sterilization cases and shows that informed consent was absent in nearly all members' cases, with the most recent sterilization occurring in 2024. She recommended supporting the Survivors Circle's work as an act of reconciliation and urged passage of the bill to criminalize ongoing acts of genocide.
Silvia Mckay, a survivor and support worker, recounted her 2001 forced sterilization at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, where she said "no" repeatedly but was ignored. She recommended passing Bill S-228 to protect future generations and hold perpetrators accountable, stating that her advocacy work is part of her healing journey.
Shelby Ponace, a survivor and support worker, described being coerced into a tubal ligation in 2018 at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg after being told she would die without it. She recommended the bill's passage, noting that systems protect providers more than patients, and she raised concern that funding cuts to the Survivors Circle are harming survivors who need support after coming forward.
The committee heard no procedural debate, motions, or votes during this meeting.
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