{"id":17696,"date":"2025-11-27T08:08:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T13:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/?p=17696"},"modified":"2025-11-27T08:19:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T13:19:30","slug":"newsletter-nov-27-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/newsletter-nov-27-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigation Report Following the Death of Mr. Normand Meunier – Ceremony in Honour of Dr. Balfour Mount – Documentary Theatre on MAiD"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Dear allies,<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Last Monday, we sent a brief on your behalf to\nthe Commission on Institutions in response to Bill 1, the 2025\nConstitutional Act on Qu\u00e9bec<\/i>. <\/span>We cannot wait to share it with you! The public hearings will begin on\nDecember 4th, and we hope to take part in them. If adopted, Qu\u00e9bec would become\nthe only jurisdiction in the world to enshrine in a foundational text the\n\u201cright to die with dignity\u201d and the right \u201cto receive medical assistance in\ndying.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

We will also soon be launching our campaign\nmarking the 10th anniversary of the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care<\/i>\n(December 10, 2015).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

We are also\nclosely monitoring the impact of <\/span>Bill 2<\/a> on palliative care teams (kudos to Dr. Olivia\nNguyen for her interview in the \u201cTo watch, read or listen\u201d section).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

A demanding\nmonth of December lies ahead.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Thank you\nfor your ongoing support,<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

Jasmin\nLemieux-Lefebvre
\nCoordinator
\nLiving with Dignity citizen network<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Death of Mr. Normand Meunier - Release of the Public Inquiry Report<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Important news released yesterday<\/a>: \u201cThe Coroner\u2019s Office announced\nthe release of the public inquiry report by Coroner Dave Kimpton regarding the\ndeath of Mr. Normand Meunier, which occurred on March 29, 2024. Mr. Meunier\nreceived medical assistance in dying following medical complications from\ninfected pressure ulcers, in the context of sensory loss and significant\nclinical vulnerability.\u201d
\nWe commend the Coroner\u2019s 31 recommendations and the work of M\u00c9MO-Qu\u00e9bec (Moelle\n\u00e9pini\u00e8re et motricit\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec) on this file.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The entire\nreport is worth reading, but we wish to draw your attention to two excerpts\nfrom the summary of M\u00c9MO-Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s submissions (page 29 of the report):<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\u201cMr.\nMeunier\u2019s situation is not an isolated case. Since 2023, M\u00c9MO-Qu\u00e9bec has been\nkeeping a registry of members living with persistent stage 3 or 4 pressure\nulcers. Twenty-five members have written to provincial MNAs and ministers to\nreport the shortcomings observed in prevention and care. Even more concerning is\nthat at least twelve members who requested MAiD were living in situations\ndirectly related to lack of care, primarily linked to pressure-ulcer problems.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The\norganization denounces a dangerous gap between the spirit of the MAiD law and\nrequests arising from lack of care, lamenting society\u2019s failure to ensure a\nmedical assistance \u2018to live.\u2019\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

Update: M\u00c9MO-Qc\nwill launch a class action to prevent further tragedies<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Online Memorial in Honour of<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Dr. Balfour Mount<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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An\ninvitation for December 4th, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (EST). <\/span>To register on Zoom<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\n\n<\/p>

Description: \u201cModerated by Dr Justin Sanders, Director of Palliative Care McGill, McGill\nUniversity, and Dr John Scott, President, Canadian Society of Palliative\nMedicine, with tributes from many international colleagues and friends\nincluding renowned figures in palliative care: Ira Byock, Kathy Foley, Richard\nCruess, Sue Britton, Johanne de Montigny, and many others. <\/span>To read the tributes already\navailable online<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Documentary Theatre on Medical Assistance in Dying<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Club sandwich mayonnaise \u2013 opening April 2026<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In June 2024, we took part in an interview to help prepare this Porte Parole<\/i> theatre production exploring MAiD from a documentary standpoint. Like you, we will discover it on April 8th in Montr\u00e9al, and we hope to participate actively in the dialogues and debates it may generate. If you would also like to attend, tickets are now available for the April 8th to18th, 2026 performances at Usine C: <\/span>https:\/\/bit.ly\/csm-billetterie<\/a>. For groups of 10 people or more, get a 25% discount by booking through Ad\u00e8le Benoit at abenoit@porteparole.org<\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/b> In Qu\u00e9bec, choosing the date and time of one\u2019s death has become an increasingly common reality: medical assistance in dying already accounts for more than 7% of annual deaths. But are we collectively equipped to navigate this new way of dying? On October 5, 2021, Manuelle L\u00e9gar\u00e9 accompanied her father, comedian Pierre L\u00e9gar\u00e9, in his final days\u2014he had chosen medical assistance in dying. With Club sandwich mayonnaise<\/i>, she takes to the stage for the first time, seeking space to understand what she lived through, to ask the questions she did not have time to ask then. Blending personal storytelling and social inquiry, humour and existential vertigo, the play explores the human and ethical dimensions of this profound shift in our relationship to death.

Discussions with the artists and guests after each performance!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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To Watch, Read or Listen<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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1) \u201cA fast track-driven approach goes against practices that take\ntime\u201d: palliative-care physicians fear the impact of Bill 2<\/i>
\nInterview from November 15th with Dr. Olivia Nguyen <\/span>in the Journal de Montr\u00e9al<\/i>\nand TVA Nouvelles<\/a>\n(in French).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

2) Lack of reliable data on palliative care in Qu\u00e9bec: a worrisome\nfinding<\/i>
\n<\/span>Reaction from the Qu\u00e9bec Palliative\nCare Association to the 2024\u20132025 annual activity report of the Commission on\nEnd-of-Life Care<\/a>,\nalso published in the Coop de l\u2019info <\/i>newspapers (in French).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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3) \u201cAs a palliative-care specialist, I have witnessed the human\ntragedy of our end-of-life care crisis\u201d<\/i>
\nAn op-ed by Dr. Rachel Clarke, palliative-care specialist with the UK\u2019s\nNational Health Service (NHS), published on November 10th <\/span>in The Guardian<\/i><\/span><\/a>. We translated it into French for\nyou <\/span>on our LinkedIn page<\/a> (accessible without an account).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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4) Compassion or Abandonment? Canada\u2019s Growing Courtship with Assisted Death Expansion
The latest webinar from the Doctors Say No association<\/a>, presented by Dr. K. Sonu Gaind, professor at the University of Toronto and Chief of Psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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5) Tous en ch\u0153ur<\/i> \u2014 the series featuring individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s disease in a choir guided by Gregory Charles (the finale aired in French Wednesday evening on AMI-tv; <\/span>all eight episodes are now available on amiplus.ca<\/a>)<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

6) Documentary \u201cJ\u2019ai souvenir encore\u201d <\/i>\u2014 France Beaudoin embarks on a personal journey to understand the power of music on Alzheimer\u2019s disease.
<\/span>Airing in French December 2 at 8 p.m. on ICI Radio-Canada T\u00e9l\u00e9 or on demand on TOU.TV<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

7) \u201cWhy Didn\u2019t I Say Something?\u201d A five-minute video produced by the Dying to Meet You project, in which a young Canadian recounts \u201chis experience of losing both of his grandmothers to euthanasia.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dear allies,
\nLast Monday, we sent a brief on your behalf to
\nthe Commission on Institutions in response to Bill 1, the 2025
\nConstitutional Act on Qu\u00e9bec. We cannot wait …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[290,607],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-qui-vive-living-with-dignity-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17696"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17703,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17696\/revisions\/17703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}