Dear allies,
Our last newsletter was sent on March 20th, and since then you have received two press releases (our response to the documentary play Club Sandwich Mayonnaise and our participation in National Palliative Care Week 2026).
As announced, this has been a very busy period, and we are pleased to report our progress on a wide range of issues and to provide a summary of our many actions on the ground.
Over the past few years, we have never experienced such a dynamic period as Quebec increasingly comes to terms with the reality that we must re-examine our collective relationship with medical assistance in dying. The headline of the cover story in the June issue of L’Actualité magazine perfectly captures the sentiment we’re seeing on the ground: (our translation) “The Final Choice — Quebecers Are Champions of Medical Assistance in Dying. For Lack of a Better Option?”
Whether we call it euthanasia, assisted suicide, or medical assistance in dying (MAID), the movement questioning the ethics of assisted dying extends far beyond our borders and is also making its presence felt internationally, particularly in France and the United Kingdom.
This newsletter will include more links than usual; choose the content that interests you most and feel free to share it.
Our first fundraising campaign since January 2025 is approaching, and we’ll be counting on your support more than ever.
Together,
Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre
Coordinator
Living with Dignity citizen network
ADDITION - Joint Letter to the Carney Government
We are
proud to co-sign this letter released yesterday alongside 90 organizations in
the disability and mental health sectors that oppose the expansion of MAiD for
mental illness. Thank you to Inclusion Canada for its leadership on this issue.
Spring 2026 - Actions by Living with Dignity
Attendance
at Thomas De Koninck’s funeral
Full audio of the
April 11th ceremony (with 70 minutes of testimonials!), via Radio-Galilée
Open letter by André Baril published the same day in Le Soleil: Thomas De Koninck, thinker of
dignity (in French).
To read the great philosopher’s most influential book: On Human Dignity (Word or PDF version in French accessible
via the UQAM/UQAV Social Science Classics)
Interprofessional
training day at the Montreal Institute of Palliative Care
A day of discussion
on the theme “Palliative care in the evolving context of cancer treatments: an
interprofessional approach.” Full
program.
Post-performance
discussion following the play Club Sandwich Mayonnaise
A nearly 40-minute
discussion between our coordinator, Dr. David Lussier, Ms. Annabel Soutar
(co-founder of the theater company), and the audience present on April 17th.
After a sold-out run in Montreal, the play will go on tour in the spring of
2027 (some dates have already been announced). Refer to our special page on the play.
3rd
Innov’Aînés Forum of the Coalition for Dignity
Discussion between our coordinator and Ms. Sylvie Bernier at the end of the
panel “Promoting Social Participation Among Seniors: The APIC Project in
Estrie” (3-minute video in French).
Forum Recommendations
National
Palliative Care Week
Work within the Quebec Coalition for Access to Palliative Care to prepare for the 2026 campaign (with press review).
Active participation in the Quebec Palliative Care Association Conference (video of the conclusion of singer Vincent
Vallières’s talk).
Participation
in three book launches
1) “Là où tu vas” (Where You’re Going):
A Journey to the Land of Fading Memory – Futuropolis (in French)
A graphic novel by Etienne Davodeau and Françoise Roy. Carpe Diem—Alzheimer’s
Resource Center—is featured in the pages of this graphic novel!
2) La mort des autres – Editions Somme toute (in French)
Journalist Mélanie Noël’s volunteer experience at the Aube-Lumière hospice
(Sherbrooke)—an experience representative of those lived in other hospices
throughout Quebec.
3) Minerva’s Stork: Philosophy,
Palliative Care Culture, and Society (2nd edition) – Presses de l’Université Laval (in French)
Alongside Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and De Tocqueville, Louis-André Richard
explores our modern relationship with death.
Updates on major issues
Joint
Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) studying the expansion of
medical assistance in dying for mental disorders
The Carney government is expecting the AMAD committee’s
recommendations by the end of June. You can view the 32 briefs and 44 testimonies
submitted.
A very
interesting exchange took place between Bloc Québécois MP Claude DeBellefeuille
and Brian Mishara, director of the Centre for Research and Intervention on
Suicide, Ethical Issues, and End-of-Life Practices, speaking in a personal
capacity, during the 6th meeting of the committee comprising 15 MPs and
senators examining the “eligibility of any person whose sole underlying health
condition is a mental illness .”
Are they being discriminated against by not having access to MAiD ?
A 6-minute excerpt worth your
attention.
Bills in
Alberta, the United Kingdom, and France
Alberta: April 18th – Bill 18 has been passed and will soon
become law.
“Other provinces should follow Alberta’s lead / Bill 18 passed and will soon be
law. More provinces need to follow Alberta’s lead – : An analysis by the Euthanasia
Prevention Coalition”
(in English).
United Kingdom: April 24th – Assisted dying bill in England and
Wales fails in Parliament – “Why has the assisted dying bill failed?” An analysis by the BBC (in English).
France:
May 21st – “The Senate rejects assisted suicide and euthanasia in the second
reading. What now?” – An analysis by Alliance Vita.
Introduction of Bill 595, “Act respecting self-directed personal assistance
for persons with disabilities”
Hats off to
Jonathan Marchand and the entire Coop Assist team for this long-term
effort, and to MNA Joël Arseneau of the Parti Québécois for bringing this bill to the Quebec National
Assembly!
Press Review
Direct
mentions of our citizen network
March 24th
– Why is Alberta proposing to ban
“advance requests” for medical aid in dying – National Post (update: the number of cases of
medical aid in dying administered in the context of advance requests has
reportedly risen to 15).
April 9th –
Medical Assistance in Dying Brought
to the Theater (in French) – Ça me regarde, Radio-Canada Ohdio.
April 9th –
A Date with Death – Le Devoir (in French)
Excerpt (our translation): “Between a meeting with Véronique Hivon, former MP
for Joliette and advocate for medical assistance in dying, and another with
Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre of the group Vivre dans la dignité, the reporter
returns to her father’s bedside (one of the characters brilliantly portrayed by
the excellent Martin-David Peters).”
April 24th
– Segment in French on the play Club Sandwich Mayonnaise during the
program Les Verbomoteurs (at 11:41); and mention of VDD during La brève de la semaine.
May 12th – Ten Years of Euthanasia in Canada
and Quebec (in
French) – Bioethics segment on RCF Radio (France).
Other
articles and videos
April 5th –
Why is Quebec a leader? – La Presse (in French)
A three-part series in which we participated.
April 5th –
Interview with Manuelle Légaré on Tout
le monde en parle
(in French)
Complete press review of the play Club Sandwich Mayonnaise via Qulysis
April 6th –
In France, the Quebec example serves
as a push-back” –
La Presse (in French)
April 27th
– You Can Be Loved Until the End of
Your Life – Le
Devoir (in French)
Excerpt: “Even at the end of his life, even in his diminished state, Dad is
still teaching me powerful lessons.” A letter from Nathalie Girard.
April 30th
– Psychiatry chairs at medical schools
oppose expanding MAID for mental illness – The Globe and Mail
April 30th-
A man dies in slow agony without
palliative care –
L’Express de Drummondville (in French)
May 4th –
Cardus Institute and Palliative Institute survey: Canadians value palliative care but
doubt its accessibility.
May 10th – Medical Assistance in Dying: A
Social Response to Suffering? (in French) – Column by Maria
Mourani in Le Journal de Montréal.
May 17th – Medical assistance in dying for
mental illness: a choice that isn’t really a choice (in French) – Letter in Le
Soleil by Georgia Vrakas, psychologist, university professor, and woman living
with bipolar disorder.
May 19th – Medical Assistance in Dying for
Mental Health Conditions: “These are people who are often unrecognizable
because they suffer so much” (in French) – Comments by Luc Ferrandez regarding homeless individuals
at 6:15 in the radio segment on 98.5 FM, denounced by several voices, including
those of our citizen network and Jonathan Marchand.
May 25th – Ontario
doctor cautioned over MAID complaints can continue practice under supervision,
regulator rules – The Globe and Mail.
Excerpt: “One patient of Dr. James MacLean’s resumed breathing after being
declared dead, and another was assessed for assisted dying outside a Tim
Hortons, probe finds”.
In conclusion
On AMI-télé, the first episode of Season 3 of the excellent Quebec adaptation
of the comedy “Vestiaires,” which brilliantly addresses the issue of medical
assistance in dying for people with disabilities. The segment from 2:12 to 4:15 is now
available on AMI+
(in French).
“Serious lapses in the practice of medical assistance in dying: where are the
sanctions?”
A lecture by Trudo Lemmens, professor and holder of the Scholl Chair in Health
Law and Policy, University of Toronto.
Presented in French on March 21st, 2026, in Montreal (UQAM). Video and slides:
https://collectifmedecins.org/derapages-serieux-dans-la-pratique-de-laide-medicale-a-mourir-ou-sont-les-sanctions
We invite you to an ethical and clinical conversation on MAiD on June 6th in Montréal. This half-day conference with Dr. Cory-Andrew Labrecque and Dr. Catherine Ferrier is for seniors, their families, caregivers, and health professionals.
Register here.
Thank you to Seniors Action Quebec for this initiative!
MAY
2026