The federal government announced Monday that it wants to hear from the public before it implements proposals to broaden the availability of Medical Aid In Dying (MAID). However, faced with a deadline because of a Quebec Superior court decision released last September, it has imposed a closing date of January 27th for the consultation period.
In her ruling, the Quebec Judge found that the federal government’s MAID law was too restrictive. This is because the 2016 statute limited eligibility for MAID by requiring that the patient’s death must be “reasonably foreseeable.” Justice Christine Beaudoin ruled that it was unconstitutional to limit access to medically assisted death only to people who are nearing the end of their lives. She set a deadline which expires on March 11th for the federal government to enact new legislation, failing which it would become the law of Quebec. In response, the Department of Justice said that the Canadian government agrees with that ruling and is planning to change the law for the entire country.
However, doing so gives rise to a number of competing issues that the government recognizes will cause controversy and division. It therefore has decided to give “Canadians the opportunity to share their views with the government of Canada on this deeply personal and very important issue.”
Citizens can make their views known by answering an online questionnaire. Click HERE to access the questionnaire.
The questionnaire has two categories:
- “Safeguards to protect against misuse or abuse of medical assistance in dying.”
This addresses what measures should be introduced to guard against abuse; for example, family members putting pressure on elderly relatives.
- “Final consent and advance requests for MAID”
This section solicits views on what should be the timing of giving “final consent.” Also, what limits should be placed on “advance requests.”
Image justice.gc.ca
