Ottawa does not seem in a hurry to conclude the review of the law
(Ottawa) The federal Liberal government does not seem in a hurry to complete a legally required parliamentary review of Canada's medical assistance in dying law, which is already 18 months overdue.
Repeated delays have led some critics to conclude that the government would rather wait for judgments to force its hand, rather than delve into the potentially politically explosive issues that parliamentary scrutiny was supposed to explore.
These issues include whether mature minors or Canadians with only mental illnesses should be eligible for medical assistance in dying and whether people with dementia and other conditions that erode competence should be able to make prior requests for the procedure while they still have the mental capacity to consent.
The review by a joint parliamentary committee of MPs and Senators was scheduled to begin in June 2020,
but the committee was not formed until last spring.
It held only three meetings – two of which were purely organizational – before Parliament's break for the summer and the committee was then dissolved in August due to the call of the federal election.
While all other committees in the House of Commons were quickly reconstituted after the election and resumed their activities, the joint committee on assisted dying has still not been reformed, even though it is theoretically supposed to report in May.
A spokesman for government House Leader Mark Holland said the government looks forward to the committee "being reconstituted in the next session of the House" which will resume on Jan. 31, "so that it can move quickly to do its job in the coming months."
But even if the committee is formed immediately, Senator Pamela Wallin, who was to represent the Canadian Senators Group on the committee, predicts that there is no way it will complete its complex and emotional work in just four months.
"You'd really have to want this to happen for this to happen," she said in an interview,
adding that she didn't feel the government wanted to act quickly.
Wallin said the five senators appointed to the committee last May are all ready to begin, but have received no explanation for the delay in appointing MPs. The 10 MPs who were appointed to the committee last spring were all re-elected
on September 20 and could probably be re-elected without difficulty.
"It's just frustrating for all of us," she said, attributing the delay to the government's "general reluctance" to get ahead of the courts on the issue of access to medical assistance in dying.
"I think it will be in the long run, as it has always been the case on this issue: the courts will take the lead," Wallin predicted.
The government's approach imposes a heavy financial and physical burden on people who are already seriously ill, who are forced to engage in lengthy legal battles to access medical assistance in dying, she said. For people with dementia, who don't have years to devote to legal challenges, "it deprives them of this very, very fundamental choice" to die with dignity.
In addition to issues surrounding mature minors, mental illness and advance requests, the committee is also expected to study a host of related issues, such as the state of palliative care in Canada and the protection of Canadians with disabilities.
When medical assistance in dying was legalized in Canada in 2016, the legislation included a commitment to a five-year parliamentary review of the new law, which limited the procedure to people whose natural death was "reasonably foreseeable."
The Liberals were criticized last year for making changes to the law — in response to a Quebec court ruling that struck down the foreseeable death requirement — without even launching the promised review. But there are no apparent
legal consequences in ignoring these legal commitments or deadlines.
As part of Bill C-7 passed last March, the government promised to finally establish the parliamentary committee within 30 days (a deadline it missed by about a week) and to request a report within a year of its first meeting, which was held in May. It did not take into account a disruption to the work of the committee by an election.
While the committee is supposed to study the issue of expanding access to medical assistance in dying to people with only mental illness, the government has already agreed in Bill C-7 to lift the current ban on this issue in 2023 and has established a separate panel of experts to advise on the rules that should apply in these cases.
These experts proceeded on time and are expected to publish their report by March 17,
according to the office of Justice Minister David Lametti.
Repeated delays have led some critics to conclude that the government would rather wait for judgments to force its hand, rather than delve into the potentially politically explosive issues that parliamentary scrutiny was supposed to explore.
These issues include whether mature minors or Canadians with only mental illnesses should be eligible for medical assistance in dying and whether people with dementia and other conditions that erode competence should be able to make prior requests for the procedure while they still have the mental capacity to consent.
The review by a joint parliamentary committee of MPs and Senators was scheduled to begin in June 2020,
but the committee was not formed until last spring.
It held only three meetings – two of which were purely organizational – before Parliament's break for the summer and the committee was then dissolved in August due to the call of the federal election.
While all other committees in the House of Commons were quickly reconstituted after the election and resumed their activities, the joint committee on assisted dying has still not been reformed, even though it is theoretically supposed to report in May.
A spokesman for government House Leader Mark Holland said the government looks forward to the committee "being reconstituted in the next session of the House" which will resume on Jan. 31, "so that it can move quickly to do its job in the coming months."
But even if the committee is formed immediately, Senator Pamela Wallin, who was to represent the Canadian Senators Group on the committee, predicts that there is no way it will complete its complex and emotional work in just four months.
"You'd really have to want this to happen for this to happen," she said in an interview,
adding that she didn't feel the government wanted to act quickly.
Wallin said the five senators appointed to the committee last May are all ready to begin, but have received no explanation for the delay in appointing MPs. The 10 MPs who were appointed to the committee last spring were all re-elected
on September 20 and could probably be re-elected without difficulty.
"It's just frustrating for all of us," she said, attributing the delay to the government's "general reluctance" to get ahead of the courts on the issue of access to medical assistance in dying.
"I think it will be in the long run, as it has always been the case on this issue: the courts will take the lead," Wallin predicted.
The government's approach imposes a heavy financial and physical burden on people who are already seriously ill, who are forced to engage in lengthy legal battles to access medical assistance in dying, she said. For people with dementia, who don't have years to devote to legal challenges, "it deprives them of this very, very fundamental choice" to die with dignity.
In addition to issues surrounding mature minors, mental illness and advance requests, the committee is also expected to study a host of related issues, such as the state of palliative care in Canada and the protection of Canadians with disabilities.
When medical assistance in dying was legalized in Canada in 2016, the legislation included a commitment to a five-year parliamentary review of the new law, which limited the procedure to people whose natural death was "reasonably foreseeable."
The Liberals were criticized last year for making changes to the law — in response to a Quebec court ruling that struck down the foreseeable death requirement — without even launching the promised review. But there are no apparent
legal consequences in ignoring these legal commitments or deadlines.
As part of Bill C-7 passed last March, the government promised to finally establish the parliamentary committee within 30 days (a deadline it missed by about a week) and to request a report within a year of its first meeting, which was held in May. It did not take into account a disruption to the work of the committee by an election.
While the committee is supposed to study the issue of expanding access to medical assistance in dying to people with only mental illness, the government has already agreed in Bill C-7 to lift the current ban on this issue in 2023 and has established a separate panel of experts to advise on the rules that should apply in these cases.
These experts proceeded on time and are expected to publish their report by March 17,
according to the office of Justice Minister David Lametti.
JOAN BRYDEN
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Medical assistance in dying| Ottawa does not seem in a hurry to conclude the review of the law | The Press (lapresse.ca)
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Medical assistance in dying| Ottawa does not seem in a hurry to conclude the review of the law | The Press (lapresse.ca)
