{"id":17953,"date":"2025-12-17T14:54:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/?p=17953"},"modified":"2025-12-17T15:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T20:06:09","slug":"pr-dec-17-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/pr-dec-17-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitution of Qu\u00e9bec and Bill 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Right to Die with Dignity and to Receive MAiD\n<\/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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What About Palliative Care?<\/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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Montreal, December 17, 2025<\/span><\/b> \u2013 <\/span><\/b>Last Friday at the National Assembly of Qu\u00e9bec, Living with Dignity <\/i>took part in the public hearings of the Committee on Institutions examining Bill 1, An Act respecting the Constitution of Qu\u00e9bec, 2025<\/i>. Represented by its coordinator, Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, and by Madeleine Varkay, a member of its Board of Directors, the citizen network denounced the proposal to entrench in a constitution \u201cthe protection of the right to die with dignity and to receive medical assistance in dying (MAID).\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The two representatives presented the content of the brief End
\nof Life, Health Care and Dignity<\/a><\/i>, recalling the following points:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span><\/i>Living with Dignity has always opposed equating \u201cdying with dignity\u201d with \u201cmedical assistance in dying,\u201d remaining faithful to the original vision of palliative care (relieving suffering through a multidisciplinary approach, without hastening or postponing death);<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

– its incomprehension regarding the proposal to insert a reference to the Act respecting end-of-life care<\/i> under section 39 of the Qu\u00e9bec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

– end-of-life issues and concepts akin to \u201cend-of-life care\u201d (a term unique to Qu\u00e9bec) do not appear in the constitutions of any member countries of the United Nations;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

– the Act respecting end-of-life care<\/i>, which has been amended over the years, is expected to undergo further changes in the coming years. A constantly evolving law has no place in a constitution;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

– if the notion of care is to be retained in the bill, it should not be limited to end-of-life care, but should include all health care services (as is the case in other countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Finland);<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

– the Government of Qu\u00e9bec is not respecting the spirit of the Act respecting end-of-life care<\/i> in its communications in recent weeks regarding the constitutional project. It obscures palliative care and palliative sedation by speaking only of the right to medical assistance in dying. Yet when the Act came into force ten years ago, on December 10, 2015, legislators promised to
\nmake palliative care \u201cthe priority.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. Madeleine Varkay concluded Living with Dignity<\/i>\u2019s testimony by recalling her extensive experience as a family caregiver (eight years) to her mother, who passed away last May. This concrete account highlighted the lack of communication and the difficulties in accessing adequate palliative care in Qu\u00e9bec. During the exchange period with Members of the National Assembly, she also noted that medical assistance in dying had been proposed to them on several occasions.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The presentation concluded with a remark on dignity\u2014a powerful term that unfortunately does not appear anywhere in the bill:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage you to ensure that the final version of the bill includes and uses the word dignity<\/i> in a way other than to evoke the concept of dying with dignity. The constitution of a young nation like Qu\u00e9bec should, in our view, reflect our collective desire to LIVE with dignity.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The 21-minute hearing is available <\/span>on the website of the National Assembly of Qu\u00e9bec<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>on YouTube<\/a> (to take advantage of translation tools).<\/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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Awareness Campaign \u2013 10 Years After the Coming into Force of the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care<\/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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Ahead\nof this public hearing, Living with Dignity launched a French-language\nawareness campaign focusing on the imbalances created by Quebec\u2019s Act\nrespecting end-of-life care.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\n\n<\/p>

The\ncampaign was built around the following theme:<\/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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The Revolution of the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care
10 Years Later: Imbalances<\/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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From December 1st\nto 10th, a new imbalance was presented each day in a short video shared across\nall social media platforms of the Living with Dignity citizen network (<\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>X<\/span><\/a> & <\/span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a>). The\npublic was invited to explore each of the identified imbalances in greater\ndepth on the page <\/span>vivredignite.org\/10ans-desequilibres<\/span><\/a>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

On December 10th,\nour coordinator, Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, <\/span>gave\nan interview to host Mario Dumont on QUB Radio \/ 99.5 FM Montr\u00e9al<\/span><\/a>,\nwhich was later picked up by the QMI Agency under the headline:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Medical Assistance in Dying: Worrisome \u201cImbalances\u201d in\nthe System
\n<\/span><\/b>A\nYouTube version is available to take advantage of translation tools<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/o:p><\/b><\/span><\/p>

According to the citizen network, the following are 10\nof the imbalances created by the Act:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

    \n
  1. Medical\n assistance in dying: the \u201ccare\u201d that is no longer the exception as\n promised<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. A\n promise to prioritize palliative care, yet ongoing difficulty in measuring\n access and quality<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Expanded\n access to MAID: where will the slippery slope end?<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The\n \u201cright to die with dignity\u201d becoming synonymous with MAiD<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Mental\n disorders and advance requests: the ups and downs of coexistence with\n Canadian law<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Advance\n medical directives: an almost non-existent impact<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Continuous\n palliative sedation: an end-of-life care option that remains poorly\n understood<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Media\n and culture: uneven coverage of end-of-life care<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Grants\n and charitable status: organizations treated differently depending on\n their position on MAiD<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Subtle\n pressures toward an idealized premature death<\/o:p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>

    Two examples of information available in French <\/span>on the thematic\npage<\/span><\/a> that received very little media coverage:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

    \u2013 In 2024, 62% (!) of MAID cases administered to\nindividuals whose natural death was not \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d (known as\n\u201cTrack 2\u201d) originated in Quebec (data from the Medical Assistance in Dying\nin Canada<\/i> report published on November 28, Table C.3);<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

    \u2013 In its most recent report, the Commission on\nEnd-of-Life Care<\/i> refused to share the palliative care data it possessed,\nstating that they \u201care not representative of the real situation.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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

    The citizen network hopes that this campaign will help\nreassess the legacy and evolution of the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, ten\nyears after its coming into force.<\/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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    \u2013 30 \u2013
    <\/o:p><\/span><\/span>

    <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

    To discuss the draft constitution and reflect on the\nmany issues surrounding the 10th anniversary of the Act Respecting End-of-Life\nCare:
    \n
    \nJasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre
    \nCoordinator
    \nLiving with Dignity citizen network
    \n<\/span>    vivredignite.org\/en<\/a><\/span> \/ info@vivredignite.org<\/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<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Right to Die with Dignity and to Receive MAiD<\/p>\n

    What About Palliative Care?<\/p>\n

    Montreal, December 17, 2025 \u2013 Last Friday at the National Assembly of Qu\u00e9bec, Living …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17953","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=17953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17960,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17953\/revisions\/17960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}