Former senator Pamela Wallin says MAID committee was ‘chaotic and exclusionary’

Former senator Pamela Wallin criticized the co-chair of a special joint committee on MAID while testifying at an inquiry into a leaked confidential report, calling him “dismissive” and describing the process as “chaotic and exclusionary.”

“It was the worst that I’ve seen it,” Wallin said, testifying from Saskatchewan on Tuesday about the committee and its leadership. Wallin resigned from the Senate earlier this month after 17 years.

The reason for her virtual appearance at a rules and procedures committee hearing was to voice her concerns about information leaked to the media in June, before a report recommending the government “indefinitely” pause the expansion of MAID for mental illness was finalized, or published.

The government has since said it reached the same conclusion as the committee, and on Tuesday introduced a bill to stop the expansion. If passed, the legislation would ban people who suffer from mental illness alone from accessing MAID.

The report at the centre of Wallin’s concerns has been enveloped in controversy, as has the special joint committee of Senate and House of Commons members assembled to study MAID.

Wallin recounted reading an article published in the media in June about the committee’s recommendation before it had been made public.

“It was very troubling,” she said.

She does not name the co-chair of the committee she takes issue with in her testimony, but clarifies that she is not referring to Senator Yonah Martin, whom she described as “fair and balanced.” The other co-chair was Liberal member of Parliament Dr. Marcus Powlowski.

“The chair was very dismissive of any questions that we were asking about the process in there. I’m not going to repeat conversations or what I heard because these are in-camera meetings, but it was chaotic and exclusionary are the two words I will use,” Wallin said.

This was the second meeting in as many weeks for the rules, procedures and rights of parliament committee, which has been tasked with examining and reporting on the leak.

Powlowski did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, and a member of the rules committee said he “refused” to come.

In a phone interview, he told The Canadian Press he was unavailable.

“I do not think it would be appropriate for me, as an elected member of Parliament, working as an elected member of Parliament, to answer to a committee, which is obviously in this inquiry being motivated by the actions of a couple of senators who obviously have an axe to grind because they’re unhappy with the results of the of the process,” he added.

Powlowski, MP for Thunder Bay—Rainy River, also said the inquiry was “a fairly brazen attempt by certain members of the Senate to undermine the democratic process.”

When the MAID report was released in June, a dissenting opinion penned by Wallin and two other senators, told the government not to accept the recommendation.

They also called the committee’s process “highly irregular and flawed,” saying two-thirds of the witnesses invited to testify were openly opposed to MAID for mental illness.

Wallin said she read a newspaper article on June 16, the day before the report was released, citing anonymous sources disclosing the MAID committee’s recommendation not to allow the end of life procedure on the basis of a mental illness. At least three news organizations published similar stories.

That same day, she raised the issue of the leak with the Speaker of the Senate, who ruled on June 18 that it constituted a prima facie case of privilege. Wallin then moved a motion requesting that the committee examine the issue.

“It breaks trust. It’s disrespectful,” Wallin said Tuesday to the committee.

Responding to Wallin’s testimony, Powlowski said, “I was not the source of any leak. As to the way the committee was run, we were quite careful to do everything exactly according to the rules,” he said.

Powlowski said, as far as he is concerned, “It’s over. It’s done.”

“Certain senators don’t want to admit it’s done, they say, how about we make it next goal wins? How about we make it two out of three?” Powlowski said, with a laugh.

Chair of the rules committee, Senator Peter Harder, said discussions will resume at the next meeting, and touch on the idea of asking IT to trace the origin of the leak, or focus on crafting recommendations for future joint committees to avoid similar issues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2026.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press