THUNDER BAY – Canadians will have expanded access to medically-assisted dying, if legislation put forward by the minority Liberal government this week is passed. The bill would open the service to those with non-terminal conditions causing “intolerable” suffering, while excluding those suffering exclusively from mental illness.
The government passed legislation allowing physician-assisted dying in 2016, a year after Canada’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that those suffering from incurable illnesses should have access to the procedure, under certain conditions.
But last year, a Quebec Superior Court found the 2016 legislation was too restrictive in limiting access to those with conditions leading to “natural, reasonably foreseeable death.”
The ruling found the restrictions violated rights to life, liberty, and security of the person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and robbed two plaintiffs in the case with degenerative, but not terminal, conditions of a “dignified, peaceful death.”
The court gave the government six months to amend the criminal code to remove the restriction, while Attorney General David Lametti has filed for an extension of four months while the bill will be studied and debated in parliament.
While expanding access, it requires patients to have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” and receive approval from two doctors or nurse practitioners, among other safeguards.
Minister of Health and Thunder Bay MP Patty Hajdu told Tbnewswatch the proposed changes come after years of feedback from patient advocate groups, practitioners, and the disability community that indicate the current legal system is too restrictive.
Hajdu says the restrictions “were there for noble purposes… but proved to be over time more of a barrier than anything else.”
But the proposed legislation is likely to face heated opposition from many disability advocates, along with some religious groups who see medically-assisted dying as an attack on the sanctity of life.
Dozens of disability rights groups called on the Trudeau government to appeal the Quebec Superior Court decision in an open letter last fall, concerned it would set the precedent “that disability-related suffering, largely caused by lack of support and inequality, justifies the termination of a person’s life.”
“I have to say, I understand the anxiety the disability rights community has around the expansion of medical assistance in dying,” Hajdu says. “They’ve obviously fought a tremendously long time to have their equality rights recognized. That was an important deliberation for us as we went through this, and that’s why you see in the preamble of the legislation statements that affirm those equality rights.”
The proposed legislation includes an exclusion for those suffering exclusively from a mental illness, as well as for minors. Lametti has said those exclusions would be up for discussion, and while Hajdu says she believes the exclusions strike the right balance in protecting vulnerable groups, her government’s minority situation means they could be up for debate.
“Look, we’re in a minority government and we’re willing to work with partners on ways to make legislation the best for Canadians,” she says. “So I can’t say at this point we would rule out any amendment.”
The legislation would also allow advance approval of the procedure for those with conditions like dementia, which may cause them to lose capacity for consent. Currently, assisted death must be administered while the patient retains their capacity for consent. The government says that restriction has caused people to end their lives earlier than they would have liked.
The bill still has to pass through readings in the house of commons and undergo study by parliamentary committees. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has previously voiced support for expanding access to medically-assisted dying, making it more likely the bill will find support in the minority parliament.
