e-1854 (Medical assistance in dying)

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled

• The Supreme Court of Canada’s 2015 ruling in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General) established medical assistance in dying as a right for all competent adults who have a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes intolerable and enduring suffering and who clearly consent to the termination of life;
• Bill C-14, passed on June 17, 2016, prohibits advance requests for medical assistance in dying, which would allow eligible individuals to consent to an assisted death through a binding directive that could be honoured after the person loses capacity;
• The ban on advance requests unfairly discriminates against individuals with degenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's or other causes of dementia that erode a person’s capacity, forcing many Canadians to suffer unnecessarily against their will;
• Denying a person fair access to medical assistance in dying on the basis of their medical condition violates their section 7 Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person and their section 15 Charter right to equal treatment under the law; and
• Amending 242.1(3) of the Criminal Code to allow advance requests for assisted dying would be consistent with principles of equality and personal autonomy that are enshrined in the Charter and reflected in the Supreme Court’s decision in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General).