Health Canada finalizes regulations to better protect Canadians who use reproductive technologies to build their families

From: Health Canada

News release

June 26, 2019                        Ottawa, ON                     Health Canada

Many Canadians turn to assisted human reproduction procedures to help safely build their families, and they expect to be able to do so safely and with peace of mind.

Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, announced three new sets of regulations under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. The new regulations:

  • establish a health and safety framework for third-party donor sperm and ova;
  • identify the categories of expenditures for which donors, surrogates or a person maintaining or transporting in-vitro embryos can be reimbursed; and,
  • establish procedures regarding the administration and enforcement of the Act.

The regulations also include a new directed donation process that offers more flexibility for recipients who wish to use sperm or ova from a donor whom they know, even if the donor might otherwise be ineligible to donate. This approach recognizes the rights of individuals to make informed decisions in using donor sperm or ova to build their families, and recognizes the important role of the treating physician in assessing the risks and informing the recipient.

Minor updates to the existing consent regulations, which set out the requirements for how consent is provided or withdrawn with respect to the use of human reproductive material, were also made and include the introduction of a record retention requirement.

Quotes

“The Government of Canada has strengthened regulations that support the Assisted Human Reproduction Act to better protect Canadians who use reproductive technologies. The new regulations will help protect the health and safety of people who use, or are born of, assisted human reproduction. The regulations also provide Canadians—including couples dealing with infertility, single people, and members of the LGBTQ2 community—more flexibility in building their families.”

The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Minister of Health

Quick facts

  • The regulations partially come into force in June 2019, with all regulations coming into force by the summer of 2020.

  •  The Assisted Human Reproduction Act was introduced in 2004 to help protect Canadians by prohibiting activities that could pose significant health and safety risks, or be considered ethically unacceptable or incompatible with Canadian values.

  • Health Canada consulted with Canadians in developing the new regulations through a Notice of Intent in October 2016 and pre-publication of the proposed regulations in Canada Gazette, Part I, in October 2018. 

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Contacts

Thierry Bélair
Office of Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Minister of Health
(613) 957-0200

Media Relations
Health Canada
(613) 957-2983
hc.media.sc@canada.ca

Public Inquiries:

(613) 957-2991
1-866 225-0709

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