Hon. Pamela Wallin: Minister, in Quebec, as you know, the National Assembly’s inter-party committee report on end-of-life care recommended allowing advance requests for medical assistance in dying, or MAID.

I have two questions. First, do you agree with that recommendation? Second, I will ask you this again: Do you commit to reconvening the joint committee this month so that we can study Quebec’s report in a timely way?

Hon. Pamela Wallin: Minister Duclos, as legally required, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying was formed to address serious issues left unresolved in what was known as Bill C-7. The committee has held only three meetings, two of which were organizational. Then, Parliament prorogued and an election followed.

Minister, could you and your cabinet colleagues, including the Prime Minister, commit to reconvening the committee this month as the clock is ticking on the mandatory reporting date for the committee set for May?

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Thank you for being here today, minister. The pandemic has laid bare the problem of inadequate health care surge capacity and insufficient numbers of health care providers across Canada. However, the pandemic only brought to the forefront what we’ve known for decades. Discussions about how to enhance human resources in health care have been under way since I was in medical school in the 1970s. There has been much chat but little effective action.

I have a three-part question. What specific plans are the federal government putting into place so that the chat-to-act gap will be rapidly closed? As part of this plan, would the federal government consider directly investing in post-secondary institutions to increase the numbers of graduates? Is there an action plan to improve the pathway to licensure for internationally trained health care providers?