Law Amendments Committee — Report — 20 November 2019 (59th Parliament, 3rd Session)

2019-11-20, 59th Parliament 3rd Session, Law Amendments

New Brunswick — Committees

FIRST REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON LAW AMENDMENTS Third Session 59 Legislative Assemblyth of the Province of New Brunswick November 20, 2019 MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE Hon. Ms. Anderson-Mason, Q.C., Chair Mr. Northrup, Vice-Chair Hon. Mr. Stewart Mr. Fitch Mr. K. Chiasson Mr. Landry Ms. Landry Mr. McKee Ms. Mitton Mr. DeSaulniers

November 20, 2019 To The Honourable The Legislative Assembly of The Province of New Brunswick Mr. Speaker: I have the pleasure to present herewith the First Report of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments for the session. The report is the result of your Committee’s deliberations on Bill 39,

An Act Respecting Proof of Immunization. On behalf of the Committee, I wish to thank those individuals and organizations who appeared before the Committee or provided written submissions. In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to the members of the Committee for their contribution in carrying out our mandate. Your Committee begs leave to make a further report. Respectfully submitted, Hon. Andrea Anderson-Mason, Q.C., MLA Chair of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments

November 20, 2019 To The Honourable The Legislative Assembly of The Province of New Brunswick Mr. Speaker: Your Standing Committee on Law Amendments begs leave to submit their First Report of the session. On June 7, 2019, Bill 39,

An Act Respecting Proof of Immunization, was introduced in the Legislative Assembly by the Honourable Dominic Cardy, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. The purpose of Bill 39 is to remove non-medical exemptions from the mandatory immunization requirements for public school and licensed early learning and child care admissions. The Bill requires students attending public schools and children in licensed early learning and child care facilities to provide either proof of immunization or a medical exemption on a form signed by a medical professional.

On June 11, 2019, by resolution of the House, consideration of the subject matter of Bill 39 was referred to the Standing Committee on Law Amendments. On July 9, 2019, the Committee met and determined that members of the public and interested stakeholders should be invited to provide input and advice to the Committee with respect to the issues raised by Bill 39. Public hearings were held in the Legislative Council Chamber for Bill 39 on August 27, 28 and 29.

The Committee heard from 30 presenters, including the Education and Early Childhood Development Minister, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and the Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate, on the issues surrounding Bill 39. The Committee also received approximately 265 written submissions, mainly in the form of emails, from individuals and organizations in New Brunswick and across North America. On October 18, 2019, the Committee met with officials from the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Health.

Following the meeting, the Committee forwarded questions to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for response. The Committee met again on November 13, 2019, to consider the input received during the consultation process and to formulate a Committee report with recommendations to the House. The Committee wishes to express its appreciation to the presenters who appeared at the public hearings and to those individuals and organizations who provided written submissions. 1

The Committee wishes to note that Bill 39 has since died on the Order and Notice Paper as the Second Session of the 59 Legislative Assembly was prorogued on November 19, 2019.th Nonetheless, the mandate of the Committee to review the subject matter of the Bill remains in effect. The following is a

summary of the input received on the issues raised by Bill 39, with a recommendation to the House. PUBLIC HEARINGS Department of Education and Early Childhood Development The Honorable Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development was the first presenter at the public hearings on Bill 39. He explained the genesis of the Bill and advised the Committee that its purpose is to make immunization mandatory for children attending the public education system, in order to protect immune-compromised children and citizens at large.

He submitted that the removal of the non-medical exemptions to vaccination does not deny the right of parents to choose what they believe is best for their children. The Minister presented his concerns, in the wake of the Saint John measles outbreak, about the increasing influence of the anti-vaccination movement and about the need to maintain high vaccination rates.

He advised that the school system has thus far failed to adequately track vaccination records for children attending the public education system, as required under the Education Act, an issue that came to light during the outbreak, and that increased the need for a discussion and action on the matter. In reference to a study conducted in Ontario, he informed the Committee that education programs targeting vaccine hesitant parents have been inconclusive, further reinforcing the need for mandatory vaccination as the only measure capable of protecting children.

On the question of the constitutionality of the measures advanced by Bill 39, the Minister acknowledged that, if passed, the Bill would most likely be challenged in court, the outcome of which is uncertain. The Minister detailed a proposed

schedule of implementation for the Bill. A new electronic system tracking vaccines would be launched in 2020, allowing for a better picture of the vaccination needs in the province. Schools and healthcare professionals could refer to the system to target parents who may have simply forgotten the vaccination

schedule of their children or have limited access to vaccination. The Bill would then come into force in 2021 to allow healthcare professionals to be adequately prepared. If parents refused to vaccinate their children accordingly, they would then need to provide a medical exemption or provide an alternative to the public school system, such as enrolling their children in a private school or home schooling. According to the Minister, mandatory vaccination is becoming a response to the rise of the anti- vaccination movement. Maine and California have both opted for similar measures in the United 2

States and the issue has been raised in other Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba), although New Brunswick would be the first Canadian jurisdiction to pass such a law. New Brunswick Medical Society A representative of the New Brunswick Medical Society spoke on behalf of physicians in the province. He argued for the need to address vaccine hesitant parents through dialogue to provide answers to their concerns and to stress the importance of vaccination programs.

He advised the Committee that the health advancements as a result of vaccination programs are the most monumental seen in Canada and that the World Health Organization has named vaccine hesitancy as one of the biggest threats to public health. His presentation raised concerns on the ethical considerations of removing non-medical exemptions and on the possible negative consequences of the Bill that could penalize certain individuals.

As a result of these considerations, the New Brunswick Medical Society recommended: that sufficient resources be allocated to support the proper distribution of vaccines, to support parents and students in the school system, and to support the Immunization Record Database to enable more accurate and up-to-date information for patients and healthcare providers; that the efforts to increase rates of vaccination be reinforced; and that a province-wide educational and awareness campaign on the benefits of vaccination be launched.

In addition, with respect to the safety of vaccines, he informed the Committee about the abundance of scientific research related to vaccination, demonstrating their benefits and efficiency.

Chief Medical Officer of Health The Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Province of New Brunswick explained that part of her mandate consists of educating the public on the value of vaccination; implementing the new vaccine registry; responding to and controlling disease outbreaks; supporting public health partners to deliver the immunization program; and providing the science and evidence to help inform government legislation. As such, she advocates for the promotion of immunization and for keeping vaccination rates high.

The Chief Medical Officer gave the opinion that the Public Health Information Solution introduced by the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development is a significant step forward in helping schools and healthcare professionals access up-to-date information about vaccination records. She further noted the importance of maintaining a dialogue with vaccine hesitant parents in order to improve their confidence and support them in getting their children vaccinated.

She also informed the Committee on the effectiveness of vaccines, immunization being one of the most important ways to promote health, and of the significant risks associated with vaccine preventable diseases when compared to the lesser risk of a serious adverse reaction to a vaccine. 3

Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate The Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate presented the results of the Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) Advisory Opinion conducted in relation to Bill 39. The CRIA allows lawmakers to ensure legislative changes advance children’s rights and best interests, and that negative impacts of proposed changes are identified and minimized to the greatest extent possible.

Following a thorough contextual analysis that included an overview of the situation in different jurisdictions, the Advocate advised that the need to improve New Brunswick and Canada’s immunization rates is an important and pressing substantive policy objective. The existing legislative scheme has proven inadequate to meet national and global public health goals in relation to disease prevention. He further indicated that the recent outbreak of measles is a small indication of a much larger public health challenge, where New Brunswick’s performance to date has been lacking.

The Committee was advised by the Advocate that other jurisdictions have adopted a legislative scheme similar to the one proposed in Bill 39, and where such laws have been adopted, they have helped improve immunization rates. Regarding possible constitutional challenges to Bill 39, the Advocate gave the opinion that a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

section 2 argument that the Bill violates an individual’s freedom of conscience and religion would be difficult to establish but, if proven, the infringement would be held justifiable under a

section 1 of the Charter analysis. Similarly, he gave the opinion that a

section 7 argument that the Bill violates an individual’s right to life, liberty and security of the person would likely be rejected, but any infringement found by the courts would also be saved by

section 1. The Advocate recommended moving forward with the proposed Bill, but to also include it within a broader array of legislative and administrative measures that will help advance the legislative intent. These measures are in the areas of public education in relation to vaccine efficacy, improved coordination of vaccine delivery, the establishment of a provincial vaccine registry, better monitoring and reporting of provincial immunization and gap reduction efforts, and the consideration of creating a provincial vaccine adverse effects registry and a compensation mechanism.

New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association Representatives of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association were in favour of Bill 39. Their input focused on the importance of vaccination in order to protect those most vulnerable, immune- compromised individuals. They submitted that vaccines have been proven safe and effective and expl

Document details

Collection	New Brunswick — Committees
Citation	2019-11-20, 59th Parliament 3rd Session, Law Amendments
Type	committee
Volume / chapter	content committees law amendments reports 59 3 LawAmendmentsFirstReport20191120.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	9658aee1999c92f56b068699a1551987a133f9fb

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