Dear allies,
Like many of you, we were shocked last Thursday to see that the first announcements about a Quebec constitution mentioned “protecting Quebecers’ right to medical assistance in dying.” The proposed legislation refers instead to “end-of-life care,” but this initiative raises important questions that we would like to discuss with you.
On this World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, this jam-packed newsletter also introduces you to changes to our citizen network’s board of directors and, of course, we return to the passing of the great Balfour Mount.
We are honored that our statement, delivered by Dr. Patrick Vinay, was chosen to pay tribute to Dr. Mount in numerous media outlets thanks to articles by The Canadian Press, La Presse canadienne, and Postmedia.
We present a complete press review of this media coverage, which highlights the invaluable treasure that is palliative care.
On a personal note, I would like to point out that although my contact with Dr. Mount over the years has been limited to valuable emails, I have always appreciated his unwavering support for our cause.
Living with Dignity is committed to carrying forward his original vision of palliative care, which opposes medical assistance in dying (well expressed in his profile on the McGill Palliative Care page):
“The suffering of people at the end of life has been enough to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide but interestingly, not enough to mandate excellence in palliative care for all Canadians. This is an ongoing need and in my view, a tragedy.”
We will work tirelessly to respond to this courageous call to action.
Thank you for supporting us in this noble task,
Jasmin
Lemieux-Lefebvre
Coordinator
Vivre dans la Dignité Citizen Network
PS This morning, my family and I watched the first episode of the AMI-télé series Tous en chœur (Gregory Charles’ creation of a choir of 15 people with Alzheimer’s disease). It’s a 24-minute gem available online in French on AMI+ that I highly recommend!
“Medical assistance in dying” in a possible Quebec constitution?
As soon as we saw this image on Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette’s
social media accounts last Thursday (with The constitution will protect
Quebecers’ right to die with dignity and to seek medical assistance in dying),
we reacted via our own networks with these words: “Does Quebec
really want to become the first jurisdiction in the world to enshrine medical
assistance in dying, a form of assisted death, in its constitution?”
Upon reviewing the draft 2025 Quebec
Constitutional Act,
we discovered that the wording of the bill was quite different from that
presented in the visual and the official press release. The legislative
proposal aims to amend the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by
adding this section:
“39.2. Every person whose condition so requires
has the right to receive end-of-life care, subject to the specific requirements
set out in the Act respecting end-of-life care (chapter S-32.0001).”
This raises the question: why emphasize medical
assistance in dying in an initial communication on “the right to die with
dignity” in a constitution, when palliative care is also part of the Act
respecting end-of-life care? This seems like a bias that has no place in the
Quebec government.
At a press conference, Minister Jolin-Barrette
even went so far as to say that the bill protects “the right of Quebecers to
die with dignity and to receive medical assistance in dying when their
condition requires it.” This is a surprising statement, because no condition,
even serious or terminal, “requires” medical assistance in dying. We contacted
the minister’s office to ask him to correct this wording. At a time when
palliative care—neglected for far too long in Quebec—is in “catch-up mode,” the
choice of words and political initiatives on end-of-life issues is becoming
more crucial than ever.
Renewal in the governance of Living with Dignity
A message from the Chair of the Board of Directors of Living with Dignity, Mr. Alex King:
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Drs. Paola Diadori and Patrick Vinay, who are leaving our Board of Directors after several years of service. They have contributed greatly to the sound governance of our citizen network. I am also delighted to announce that Dr. Vinay, former president who has been with us since the very beginning of Living with Dignity, will continue to work with us in an advisory role.
We are pleased to welcome a new member to our Board of Directors: Ms. Madeleine Varkay. Her biography is now available on our website:
Madeleine Varkay holds a B.A. in Political
Science and Economics from McGill University and an M.A. in Economic Policy
Management from Columbia University. She built an international career with the World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank, where she developed financing projects to mitigate climate risks in Asia,
helping communities recover from the economic losses caused by natural
disasters.
Upon returning to Canada to care for her
mother, she served as a caregiver for eight years. She consulted with social
service organizations and worked closely with social workers and CLSC nurses.
Throughout her mother’s illness, she coordinated medical care and managed
emergency support with various hospitals in Montreal, as well as with
cardiologists and palliative care specialists.
She is now interested in sharing her experience
and insights with the caregiver network that strives to ensure a dignified end
of life for their loved ones.
As you can imagine, we are very happy to have
such expertise on our board of directors.
Thank you, Paola and Patrick! Welcome,
Madeleine!
Death of Dr. Balfour Mount - Press review
In English
“Today, thanks largely to Dr. Mount,
virtually every large hospital in North America has a palliative care ward. The
field has also evolved to address suffering during any illness, regardless of
prognosis. We also have medical assistance in dying, a development Dr. Mount
vehemently opposed – he was convinced palliative care, when done right, could
ease anyone’s suffering. (…) If we want to truly honour his legacy – and we
should – we must endeavour to make palliative care the norm, to ensure that
every Canadian has “a good death,” when they want and where they want, whether
in hospital, in a hospice, or at home. “
– An excerpt from André Picard’s article in The Globe and Mail
Also :
Canadian Press article, reprinted by CTV News (with a video
interview), the Toronto Star, CityNews, etc.
CBC article, by Matthew Lapierre ·
CBC Radio Noon Quebec program, with Shawn Appel
And two
obituaries :
Montreal Gazette, by Susan Schwartz
Globe and Mail, by Lisa Fitterman
In French
“I had the honor of knowing Dr. Mount.
This deeply humane, loving, gentle man, and world-renowned scientist, is
someone I admire with all my heart.
In the 1990s, surrounded by his wonderful
team—psychologist, nurses, musicologist, volunteers, etc.—he cared for my
mother in her final weeks at the Royal Victoria palliative care unit.
Like the other patients, my mother was cared
for with kindness, smiles, compassion, and diligence. For my sister and me,
time stood still in her room until her last breath. Faced with approaching
death, Dr. Mount said, the present takes on the air of eternity.
Excerpt from Josée Legault’s column in the Journal de Montréal and the
Journal de Québec.
Also:
Text by Katrine Desautels of La Presse canadienne reprinted by La Presse,
L’Actualité, Noovo, etc.
Text
by Mathieu-Robert Sauvé of Journal de Montréal
OCT
2025