The Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies was established by PC 2150, dated 25 October 1989, under Part I of the Inquiries Act and on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The mandate of the commission was "to inquire into and report on current and potential medical and scientific developments related to new reproductive technologies, considering in particular their social, ethical, health, research, legal and economic implications and the public interest, recommending what policies and safeguards should be applied." The chairperson was Patricia Baird., Although the debate about new reproductive technologies dated from a decade or more earlier, by the end of the 1980s the time had clearly come for more extensive public information and discussion on new reproductive technologies and their implications for Canadian society. Calls for public discussion and recommendations for policy development came from many sources including women's, groups, religious groups, legal and medical groups, federal-provincial working groups, academic organizations and organizations of people with his disabilities, as well as in forums such as conferences on new reproductive technologies. Some of thesse organizations formed a coalition to advocate for the appointment of a royal commision; others supported the idea as a constructive way to deal with these complex issues. In response to these developments, on 3 April 1989, the Government of Canada announced its plan to establish a Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies in the Speech from the Throne and appointed it about six months later., The records consist of transcripts of hearings, submissions, consultations with organizations and experts, letters of opinion, background material, research studies, minutes of meetings and related material., This disk was found with the electronic records from the Royal Commission on National Passenger Transportation. This diskette contains the transcript of the Commission proceedings held in the city of Victoria. As a record of this session already exists in the paper holdings, and all the remaining transcripts are paper records, this diskette was destroyed.
