OTTAWA - Three recent resignations from the board of a federal agency meant to police fertility clinics and research have sparked allegations of lack of transparency and calls for an investigation.

NDP health critic Megan Leslie will ask a parliamentary committee next week to examine the situation at Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, after the agency’s board of directors lost its consumer representative, Irene Ryll; policy expert Barbara Slater; and ethicist Francoise Baylis.

In their resignation letters, Ryll and Slater said they had trouble getting details on spending at the agency, which began operations in 2007 and has an annual budget of $10.5 million. Last year it spent only about half that amount because it still awaits enforcement regulations from Health Canada.

“I have encountered difficulties as a board member in receiving satisfactory replies to concerns and questions I have raised which recently included audits and contracts,” Ryll wrote.

Slater wrote, “It appears that board members who are trying to fulfill their responsibilities are seen as obstructionist - I am unable to fulfill the duties entrusted to me in a manner that satisfies my conscience and my integrity.” Assisted Human Reproduction Canada was formed to protect Canadians who turn to procedures such as in-vitro fertilization in order to have families.

The agency will eventually license and oversee heath standards and ethics in the expanding fertility industry, once regulations are in place. Its enabling legislation already prohibits activities such as human cloning and sex-selection.

The agency is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether it has jurisdiction to conduct inspections and enforce standards.

In the meantime, “it’s a free-for-all” at fertility clinics in Canada, says Jocelyn Downie, a bio-ethicist at Dalhousie University.

She said while an effective agency is important for people who must use fertility services, it also matters broadly to Canadians.

“These are ethically charged issues and practices” involving millions of dollars, she said.

Former Nova Scotia Conservative premier Dr. John Hamm, current chair of the board of directors, said the agency had made a commitment to be open and accountable.

“Recently we became aware that we weren’t meeting the test on those transparency issues,” he said.

AHRC will provide more financial information on its website, Hamm pledged, and plans an independent audit of its 2009-10 budget, which he said “will only reassure Canadians.” “The concerns that were expressed publicly - are not held by the remaining members of the board. But there is an issue and it’s about public trust,” Hamm said.

There’s also concern among some that the remaining board members may not represent a cross-section of Canadians’ views.

Leslie said the situation is reminiscent of recent controversy at another federal agency, Rights and Democracy, which critics say has been locked into ideological battles sparked by federal appointments. The federal government also appoints members to the board of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada.

But Hamm said his board will not set policy, just oversee it. Ryll, Baylis and Slater were all “tremendous contributors” and their resignations were a loss, he said.

Josee Bellemare, spokesman for federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, said the minister and Hamm have discussed this issue.

“Dr. Hamm offered his reassurance there is no cause for concern,” Bellemare said in an e-mail to QMI Agency. “These resignations will not affect the integrity of the Board.” Downie said the resignations, however, signal “a need for a deep, independent review.

“The standing committee on health should be calling people in right away.” Christina.spencer@sunmedia.ca