On March 21, 2024, Pam Hrick, LEAF’s Executive Director and General Counsel, appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to discuss Bill S-250, which aims to criminalize forced and coerced sterilization. LEAF strongly supported the bill, recognizing the disproportionate harm forced and coerced sterilization causes to Indigenous, Black, disabled, and intersex women and children.
LEAF emphasized the need for a specific Criminal Code offence to deter healthcare providers from engaging in these practices. LEAF recommended amending the bill to remove the bar on consent for persons under 18, allowing minors who can understand the nature and consequences of the procedure to consent to sterilization, in alignment with existing standards for healthcare consent.
While the bill is a crucial step forward, LEAF also called for broader reforms, including better data collection, reparations for survivors, a formal apology from the Government of Canada to survivors, and systemic changes to combat discrimination in healthcare.
You can read and download the final remarks below or watch the committee proceedings here [12:57].
