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Two respected board members of a controversial federal agency have unexpectedly quit, raising new questions about a three-year-old organization that has yet to fulfill its key role of policing Canada's growing fertility industry.
The two former directors refused to comment on why they had stepped down, with one citing a "sweeping" gag order they had to sign when they joined Assisted Human Reproduction Canada in 2007.
Outside observers, though, say they were among just a few board members without clear political leanings, or ties to fertility clinics and pharmaceutical companies.
The agency, with an annual budget of about $12-million, has been criticized repeatedly for its lack of action on regulating the fertility business.
"This is a critically important agency," said Jocelyn Downie, an ethicist at Dalhousie University in Halifax. "Are we losing the independent, non-ideological voices? I don't know. But when you look at the profiles, that is a legitimate question to ask ... Why have these people left, and what does it leave us with as a board?"
Health Canada, speaking on behalf of the agency, said yesterday it...