{"id":18677,"date":"2026-10-19T16:28:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T20:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/?p=18677"},"modified":"2026-10-19T16:42:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T20:42:59","slug":"newsletter-october-19-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/newsletter-october-19-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippe Couillard\u2019s Concerns About the Evolution of MAiD + Press Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Is the Best Possible Palliative Care Accessible in Quebec?<\/h2>\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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Your Living with Dignity Newsletter<\/h2>\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,<\/span><\/p>\n\n

“I was warned about this by people opposing the law that told me,\n‘We see your motivation is good, but you will see, once you open the door you\nwill not close it and it will open wider.’ And this is what happened.”<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n\n

We were\npleased to hear these words from former Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on\nCBC Radio (see the news story below), knowing that many experts who work\nclosely or indirectly with our citizen network had expressed similar concerns\nbefore the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care was passed in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

On behalf of our current team, a heartfelt\nthank-you to each and every one of them.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n

We\nrecognize that Mr. Couillard is not the only observer concerned about the\nexpansion of access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada over the\nyears.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

You can\ncount on our citizen network to champion the vision of the pioneers of palliative\ncare! I had the opportunity to speak with several of them at the McGill\nInternational Congress on Palliative Care. Thanks to you, our citizen\nengagement is making itself heard.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

We will be\nreaching out to you soon so that we can continue this mission, which is more\nimportant than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Jasmin\nLemieux-Lefebvre
\nCoordinator
\nLiving with Dignity citizen network<\/span><\/p>\t\t\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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Philippe Couillard\u2019s Insightful Remarks on CBC Radio<\/h2>\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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“I’m not sure that I would have again voted for that law with the\nextension that we have seen in the recent years.”
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\n<\/span><\/span>This is one of\nthe quotes from an exceptional interview with Philippe Couillard by Catherine\nCullen on CBC\u2019s The House, which was featured by Radio-Canada\u2019s newsroom: <\/span>https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/phillipe-couillard-worries-about-maid-legalization-9.7376452<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

He had\nalready expressed some reservations in Alain Gravel and Alexandre Sheldon\u2019s\nOhdio podcast series in French, La mort libre (Free Death), in Episode 3, at\n37:14:<\/span><\/p>\n\n

https:\/\/ici.radio-canada.ca\/ohdio\/balados\/13770\/dans-loeil-dalain-gravel\/1264825\/loi-politique-gouvernement-legislation <\/span><\/a>. But this time, he goes much\nfurther.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Listen to\nthe full interview in English on CBC\u2019s The House (8 minutes long, starting at\n9:30): <\/span>https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-64-the-house\/clip\/16242394-fears-patchwork-rules-around-advance-requests-maid <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\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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Is the Best Possible Palliative Care Accessible in Quebec?<\/h2>\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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We invite\nyou to watch <\/span>\ud835\udc14\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc25<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1e<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc2d<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc2d<\/span><\/span>: a beautiful video that helps us\nunderstand the life stories behind palliative care. Available in both French\nand English (32 minutes), it can now be viewed here:<\/span><\/p>\n\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/mSuPCtSk2xk?si=L5bg71FOlMui19Oa <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n

This is an\noutstanding production that would, yes, have benefited from a more balanced distribution\nof speaking time, which would have provided a better understanding of the\ninterdisciplinary nature of palliative care.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Congratulations\nto filmmaker Julien Lombard and Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec West-Central\nMontreal Health and Social Services University Network<\/span> (formerly CIUSSS West-Central Montreal<\/span>) on this\nproduction, which is well worth watching!<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately,\nthis kind of optimal palliative care is not accessible everywhere in Quebec.\nThat is why it is also important to read this article published in Policy\nOptions by Anne-Marie Savard, Ariane Plaisance and Alysse Gaudreault-Beaulieu:<\/span><\/p>\n\n

https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2026\/10\/soins-palliatifs-au-quebec <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n

On this\nsubject, the authors write:<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe still\ndo not know precisely how many people have access to palliative care, who\nreceives it, who is denied access, and what inequalities persist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The article\nexplores possible courses of action, as does the Quebec Coalition for Access to\nPalliative Care, <\/span>which put forward proposals during\nthe recent election campaign<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\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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New Series: Angles morts (Blind Spots)<\/h2>\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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You may\nhave seen the segment on Tout le monde en parle entitled \u201cAngles morts, a dark\ncomedy about medical assistance in dying,\u201d which aired on September 27. A\nlonger version of the title might have been \u201cA dark comedy with medical\nassistance in dying as its starting point.\u201d In fact, this Quebec comedy\navailable on ICI TOU.TV EXTRA has very little to say about MAiD, focusing\ninstead on the misadventures of a group of friends caught up in Montreal\u2019s\ncriminal underworld.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Here is Radio-Canada\u2019s synopsis<\/span><\/a> (in French). MAiD is discussed\nprimarily in the first episode, where it serves as the starting point for the\nstoryline.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The series\nraises several questions about the practice. <\/span>For example:<\/p>\n\n