Aid to Die: Ottawa Requests Four More Months to Respond to Judgment
The federal government is currently considering how to update the provisions of the federal law on physician-assisted dying.
OTTAWA - The federal government is asking for four more months to respond to a Quebec Superior Court judgment on the
medical assistance in dying test of "reasonable foreseeability of natural death".
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti , and The Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu , announced Monday that the
Attorney General of Canada has filed a motion requesting a four-month extension of the Truchon decision rendered by the Superior Court.
The ministers said in a press release that an extension would give Parliament time to consider and adopt the proposed changes,
while saying that Ottawa remains committed to "responding to the court's decision as soon as possible."
The criterion requiring the natural death of the person to be “reasonably foreseeable” was abolished last September by the judgment of the
Superior Court of Quebec. The judge gave the government six months - until March 11 - to change its law.
medical assistance in dying test of "reasonable foreseeability of natural death".
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti , and The Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu , announced Monday that the
Attorney General of Canada has filed a motion requesting a four-month extension of the Truchon decision rendered by the Superior Court.
The ministers said in a press release that an extension would give Parliament time to consider and adopt the proposed changes,
while saying that Ottawa remains committed to "responding to the court's decision as soon as possible."
The criterion requiring the natural death of the person to be “reasonably foreseeable” was abolished last September by the judgment of the
Superior Court of Quebec. The judge gave the government six months - until March 11 - to change its law.
The federal government is therefore currently considering how to update the provisions of the federal law on medical assistance in dying.
In Canada, medical assistance in dying may be requested by a person who suffers from a serious and irremediable health problem, who is in a state
of advanced decline which cannot be reversed and who experiences unbearable physical or mental suffering. and which cannot be mitigated.
"Without this extension, the criterion of" reasonable foreseeability of natural death "in the federal law will no longer apply in Quebec as of March 12,
but will remain in force in other provinces and territories," argued M Lametti and Mrs. Hajdu.
"After having completed its consultations on this important issue, the government fully intends to introduce a
new law on medical assistance in dying in the near future," they added.
In Canada, medical assistance in dying may be requested by a person who suffers from a serious and irremediable health problem, who is in a state
of advanced decline which cannot be reversed and who experiences unbearable physical or mental suffering. and which cannot be mitigated.
"Without this extension, the criterion of" reasonable foreseeability of natural death "in the federal law will no longer apply in Quebec as of March 12,
but will remain in force in other provinces and territories," argued M Lametti and Mrs. Hajdu.
"After having completed its consultations on this important issue, the government fully intends to introduce a
new law on medical assistance in dying in the near future," they added.