By Brian Dryden, Canadian Catholic News
[Ottawa – CCN] – The federal government is now conceding that it cannot change the rules surrounding who can ask a doctor to help them kill themselves before a court-imposed deadline of July 11, and is now asking a Quebec court to give the feds until Dec. 18 to make it easier for Canadians to access a state-sanctioned suicide.
The federal government is blaming the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on how Parliament functions these days on why Ottawa is now asking Quebec Superior Court for a second time to extend the deadline to bring Canadian law into line with a 2019 Quebec court ruling that struck down a key aspect of the federal law that originally set up the euthanasia / assisted suicide system in 2016.
In a joint statement released by federal Justice Minister David Lametti and federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu on June 11, the federal ministers said a motion to seek the court extension has been filed with the Quebec court.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented challenges, including the disruption of the current Parliamentary session,” the statement from the ministers said. “A five-month extension of the ruling’s suspension period is needed to provide sufficient time for Parliament to properly consider and enact this proposed legislation, which is of importance to many Canadians and families across the country.”
The proposed changes in Bill C-7 to the existing regulations surrounding what the government calls “Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)” follows in the wake of what is known as the Truchon decision. That 2019 Quebec court decision ruled the restriction that a person’s death must already be “reasonably foreseeable” to qualify for a medically-assisted death was unconstitutional because it was too restrictive.
Both the federal and Quebec governments decided not to appeal that latest court ruling and the federal government said it would change Canadian law to respect the Quebec court decision.
The decision by the federal government not to appeal the Quebec court ruling has been denounced by euthanasia opponents, including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).
The federal government’s proposed Bill C-7 went through First Reading in the House of Commons on Feb. 24, 2020. However, the federal government asked for and was granted a four-month extension of the timeline to comply with the Quebec court ruling soon after that.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Christine Baudouin agreed to the extension request on March 2, giving the federal government until July 11, 2020 to make changes to the national MAiD system. But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the House of Commons for five weeks starting in March and Parliament has been functioning on a limited basis since then.
The federal government’s proposed changes to legislation put forward in Bill C-7 would set up a two-tier system to provide euthanasia to those whose death is reasonably foreseeable and those whose death is not. It would also allow a waiver of final consent for those whose death is reasonably foreseeable but “who may who may lose capacity to consent before MAiD can be provided.” And it specifically states that it excludes “eligibility for individuals suffering solely from mental illness.”
In January, the federal government conducted a brief online survey open to all Canadians to express their views on changes to euthanasia legislation, and has said the proposed changes enjoyed overwhelming support through that the process. Public opinion polls have also consistently shown that a large majority of Canadians support legalized euthanasia / assisted suicide, but critics of euthanasia such as the CCCB dismiss the government’s online survey as being biased, and argue that issues of life and death should not be determined by public opinion polls.
“It is very troubling that the introduction of Bill C-7 was justified on the basis of a highly questionable, biased and rushed online survey, which took place over just two weeks,” a statement from the CCCB released Feb. 26 said, adding that “the questions in this survey were framed in a manner which presupposed agreement with euthanasia and assisted suicide, including its broadening, without giving Canadians who are opposed an equal voice.”
“The Catholic Bishops of Canada with Catholic faithful as well as innumerable other Canadians – religious or otherwise – remain opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide in any form because of their interest in protecting and promoting human life, because it is always wrong to take the life of an innocent person, and because medical science and compassionate care have provided effective ways of easing pain and suffering without having to resort to direct killing,” the CCCB statement said.
In an interview with the Canadian Catholic News on June 1, 2020, Alberta Conservative MP Dane Lloyd urged the federal government to seek an extension of the deadline to make changes to legislation related to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. He said any changes must be thoroughly debated because the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed issues related to how Canadian society looks after the elderly and that may play a significant role in why some Canadians seek to use the existing system.
“We need to know why some people think their only option is an assisted suicide,” he said in a phone interview with the Canadian Catholic News.
Rachel Rappaport, Justice Minister Lametti’s press secretary, said if the court extension is granted, that will give Parliament the time needed to debate the issues surrounding the proposed changes.
“It will provide sufficient time for Parliament to properly consider and enact this important legislation,” she said.
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