431-00243 (Justice)

Former Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), which came into force on June 17, 2016, amended the Criminal Code to permit medical assistance in dying for capable adults who are on an irreversible decline towards death, and are intolerably suffering from a grievous and irremediable medical condition. The Government believes that Canadians who choose and are eligible for medical assistance in dying should be able to access it without encountering unreasonable barriers relative to their personal circumstances.

Nothing in the Criminal Code compels a medical or nurse practitioner to provide or assist in providing medical assistance in dying. In this regard, the preamble to former Bill C-14 expressly recognized that everyone has freedom of conscience and religion under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that nothing in the legislation affects these fundamental freedoms. In addition, and for greater certainty, subsection 241.2(9) of the Criminal Code explicitly states that nothing in the medical assistance in dying provisions compels an individual to provide or assist in providing medical assistance in dying.

Provinces and territories have jurisdiction over the delivery of health care services and the regulation of health care professionals. This allows them to determine how and where medical assistance in dying can be provided within the parameters of the federal legislation. Federal, provincial and territorial government action must comply with the protections for freedom of conscience and religion enshrined in section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, subject only to reasonable limits that can be justified under section 1 of the Charter.