After lively Parliamentary debates throughout the week, Bill C-62 was passed Thursday by the Federal MPs. The next step: at the Senate, in one week. In addition to addressing this major political debate, we will share some of our media appearances from recent weeks as well as our weekly press review.
Thank you for your support,
Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre
Coordinator
Living with Dignity
Update on the Progress of Bill C-62
The Federal Bill C-62, which seeks to amend the Criminal Code to provide that persons are not eligible, until March 17, 2027, to receive medical assistance in dying “if their sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness” continues its legislative journey.
The adoption of a motion this week allowed this Bill to be expedited. Note that there was a failed attempt by the Bloc Québécois to add the issue of advance requests to C-62.
We thank psychiatrists Pierre Gagnon and Sonu Gaind who spent Valentine’s evening participating in the only meeting of the Standing Committee on Health studying the Bill.
Passed Thursday in the House of Commons, Bill C-62 will be debated during the last week of February in the Canadian Senate.
We hope for an adoption without amendment by March 1, 2024 due to the scheduled breaks in the Senate’s session. We will be
very vigilant, as many Senators oppose reporting the inclusion of MAiD for mental disorders.
Media Presence of Living with Dignity
There were three media appearances in the recent weeks, that we have not yet had the chance to share with you in our weekly communication.
National Review
Our participation in the American magazine’s article on February 15: An Archbishop Sues the Government of Quebec Over Assisted Suicide Law.
Excerpt:
Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, a coordinator for the nonprofit citizen network Living with Dignity, said he expects that the court will decide whether to grant an immediate stay in “a matter of weeks” but that it will take much longer to rule on the broader religious-freedom issue.
“Is it too much to ask for one euthanasia-free palliative-care home in all of Quebec?” Lemieux-Lefebvre asked.
Le Monde
Mention in the French daily Le Monde on February 7 (paywall): In Canada, the Right to Die with Dignity Has Become Commonplace.
Excerpt: Nearly a decade ago, various religious communities in Canada—Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim—and associations such as Living with Dignity, had opposed the legalization of euthanasia.
Note: Opposition to medical assistance in dying and its expansions is not just a matter of religion, however, quite the contrary. When looking at the current debate in Canada, the vast majority of groups and individuals speaking out against the expansion of medical assistance in dying do so for medical and ethical reasons.
Les Verbomoteurs
Our participation in the program Les Verbomoteurs (Le Verbe médias) on January 26, 2024 (on the evolution of MAiD in the country and ongoing projects):
This weekly program addressed end-of-life issues in three other episodes in 2024:
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– Is euthanasia a courageous choice? (about the end of life of Ms. Mélanie Lachance)
– Freedom of conscience (lawsuit by the Archbishop of Montreal)
Press Review
Medical Assistance in Dying for Mental Illness: Much Work is Still to Be Done (in French) – Open Letter by Georgia Vrakas – Le Soleil
Canada’s assisted dying regime should not be expanded to include children – Open Letter by Ramona Coelho – Aljazeera
The State of Pediatric Palliative Care in Canada – Cardus
For Specialized and Coherent Palliative Care Environments (in French) – Open Letter by Sophie Brouillet – Le Devoir
Often in Restraints in Residential and Long-term Care Centres: “We Want Our Mother to Be Detached, She Is Not an Animal” (in French) – Nicolas Lachance and Sébastien Dubois – TVA Nouvelles
Home Support: A New Accelerated and Paid Training to Recruit 1000 Attendants (in French) – Patrick Bellerose – Journal
de Montréal
It’s too late for the Supreme Court. Ottawa needs to step up and fix MAiD – Open Letter by Trudo Lemmens – Globe and Mail
Below, a panel on medical assistance in dying and mental illness (in English, duration 1h18) organized by the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto with Trudo Lemmens, Sonu Gaind, Kerri Joffe, Orlando Da Silva, and Georgia Vrakas. Alladvocates for the expansion of MAiD for mental disorders who were invited to the panel declined to participate.
FEB
2024