The Law in Limbo

• Author: Maureen McTeer
• Pages: 57-59

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– chapter seven –

The Law in Limbo

THE END OF THE ASSISTED HUMAN

REPRODUCTION AGENCY

With key sections of the  Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHR

Act) declared unconstitutional, and no regulations coming from Health

Canada, Assisted Human Reproduction Canada (AHRC) oated along

for a few more months, spending more than  million a year on its

operations in Vancouver. It was not long, however, before AHRC joined

other programs and agencies in a massive governmental eort to balance

the federal budget. As one author wrote at the time:

Now there are ways in which AHRC can legitimately deect blame for

each of these dramatic failings. Action in retaliation to the prohibitions

is ultimately the responsibility of the RCMP, not the AHRC. Secondly,

AHRC could not implement and administer a licensing and inspection

program for controlled activities, because Health Canada never pro-

duced the relevant regulations. . . . From this perspective, other bad

omens come into sharp focus — the delays in setting up AHRC and its

board of directors, the problems with the selection of board members,

the failure to introduce required regulations, and the failure to under-

take the mandated parliamentary review.