(updated Nov. 14)

Canadian Catholic Bishops urge the faithful to contact MPs

By Paul Schratz, Canadian Catholic News

Canada’s Catholic bishops are asking Canadians to contact their MPs and demand changes to the Carney government’s euthanasia expansion legislation, which the Liberals are moving to fast-track when Parliament resumes Monday, Nov. 16.

The 18-page brief follows the Liberals’ announcement that they will seek to limit debate on Bill C-41, the Medical Assistance in Dying Safeguards Act. On Nov. 6, Secretary of State for Seniors Stephanie McLean said the parties had failed to agree on time for second-reading debate and gave notice that the government would move to set a limit when the House resumes.

In the brief, the bishops call for the legislation to be separated into its two key components: the exclusion of mental illness as the sole underlying medical condition for medically-provided death (“MAiD”), and the provision of advance requests for euthanasia.

The bishops say the mental illness exclusion should be passed separately, with the advance-request provisions removed for separate consideration “after adequate study and debate.”

Separating the two measures would allow Parliament to pass the mental illness exclusion “without rushing its examination of the distinct ethical, clinical, and legal questions raised by advance requests for euthanasia,” the bishops said. “There is no principled reason to hold a single vote on these two separate issues.”

Related: Saskatchewan moves to block advance requests for euthanasia – ARTICLE

The CCCB’s appeal is being echoed by bishops across the country, with the appeal being promoted in dioceses including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon.

The brief was approved by the bishops’ Permanent Council for submission to Parliament on Nov. 12. In it, the bishops make legal, medical and ethical arguments against advance requests for MAiD, drawing extensively on clinical research, Canadian case law and international disability-rights recommendations.

They also cite evidence from provincial oversight systems, including a B.C. Ministry of Health oversight report obtained by Canadian Catholic News through a freedom-of-information request. The previously undisclosed report found that more than half of reported MAiD case outcomes required follow-up. It detailed thousands of errors in records, including 353 requiring education about legal requirements or professional standards.

Considering that evidence, “Parliament should not authorize further expansion,” the bishops said. “Identified failures in existing eligibility requirements and safeguards point in the opposite direction.”

The bishops say the federal government should work with provincial authorities and regulators to report publicly on their investigations and corrective measures. They also call for a comprehensive parliamentary review of the experience of jurisdictions already permitting advance requests.

Beyond regulatory and oversight concerns, the bishops maintain that the underlying moral issue is euthanasia itself.

“However, resolving these practical failures would not remove the Catholic Church’s moral objection to euthanasia.”

The CCCB also asks for an opportunity to appear before the parliamentary committee that would examine Bill C-41 if it proceeds to committee study.

The bishops point out their opposition to advance-request euthanasia in principle, arguing that a decision made years earlier cannot substitute for informed consent when a person’s life is ending.

They also call for strengthened conscience protections, including for institutions, noting that Providence Health Care, which operates St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, is a defendant in a lawsuit challenging policies that allow faith-based institutions to decline to provide MAiD.

“Parliament has a responsibility to examine these questions before considering a change with irreversible consequences for people who can no longer give informed consent,” the brief states.

CCCB resources

With a vote at second reading expected shortly, the CCCB is urging Catholics and all Canadians who share its concerns to contact their members of Parliament without delay.

The CCCB has provided resources to help Canadians understand the legislation and make their concerns known.

• Email your Member of Parliament – LINK.
• Write a letter to your Member of Parliament – LINK.
• Download the parish fact sheet – LINK.

Further reading

• CCCB parliamentary brief on Bill C-41 – LINK
• Full text of Bill C-41 – LINK
• Horizons of Hope: A Toolkit for Catholic Parishes on Palliative Care – LINK
• Samaritanus bonus: Letter on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life – LINK (especially sections III and V.1-5)

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