e-4942 (Justice)

Petition to the Minister of Justice

• In June 2023, Quebec adopted Bill 11 to amend the Act respecting end-of-life care;
• This legislation allows persons suffering from a serious and incurable illness leading to incapacity, such as Alzheimer’s, to make an advance request for medical aid in dying so that they can receive such assistance once they have become incapable;
• Without amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, the Quebec law risks being challenged and becoming unenforceable: health care providers who deliver medical assistance in dying in Quebec will not risk prosecution when the federal government does not authorize advance requests;
• This situation deprives the patients concerned of a dignified end-of-life and presents them with a cruel choice: request medical assistance in dying while they are still able to do so, or never be able to obtain medical assistance in dying and sink into dementia;
• Amending the Criminal Code to authorize advance requests is consistent with the Charter principles of liberty and self-determination, and with the Supreme Court decision Carter v. Canada;
• 83% of Canadians and 88% of Quebeckers are in favour of advance requests; and
• In February 2023, the federal Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended that the government allow advance requests.