Canada: Bill C-14
04 August 2020
11 July 2016 / 17 June 2016 / 6 February 2015 / 4 August 2020
On 17 June 2016, Bill C-14 – an Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (Medical Assistance In Dying) – passed in the House of Commons and the Senate and is now law in Canada. The law no allows for physician-assisted accompanied suicide and voluntary euthanasia.
Legislative Summary of Bill C-14 (Link)
Bill C-14 in English and French (Link / PDF)
End of Life Planning Canada (Link)
Right to die Society of Canada (Link)
Dying with Dignity Canada (Link)
CAMAP – Canadian Association of
Medical Assistance in Dying Assessors and Providers (Link)
However, Bill C-14 will be challenged in court because it conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decision: by limiting access to only those patients whose natural deaths are “reasonably foreseeable”, the new law denies rightful access to entire classes of patients who have severe chronic conditions but who are not approaching end of life. (Link)
On 6 February 2015, in a unanimous 9:0 decision Canada’s Supreme Court has struck down the country’s Criminal Code laws prohibiting physician-assisted suicide. The rule didl not come into force for 12 months, extended by another 4 months on application by the government to gain time for drafting legislation. This delay elapsed 6 June 2016. It means it is no longer against the law, under certain circumstances, for a doctor to help someone who is severely ill to end their life.
A brief summary of the case by the BCCLA (Link)
Supreme Court judgment of Carter v. Canada (Link)
Media coverage (Link)
As part of its response to the Carter decision, the Government of Canada has established the External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada. The mandate of the Panel is to engage Canadians and key stakeholders on issues the federal government will need to consider in its response to the Carter ruling.
External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada (Link)
The panel visited DIGNITAS on 7 September 2015 (Link)
The panel learned much from the European experience (Link)
The Panel has published a final report (Link/PDF)
The consultation work of the Panel and the final report is followed up by the PDAM – Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying (Link)
There has been criticism on the Panel being that Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov and Catherine Frazee – two of the three panellists – were witnesses against assisted dying in the Carter v. Canada case. This raises questions as to the independence of the panel, it undermines its credibility and it could lead to a biased final report. (Link)
Furthermore, there has been critique that the survey the panel used was designed to manufacture fear, for example by telling people that “some say” that assisted dying may decrease resources for the disabled and then asking whether people are concerned. Or the question of whether a hypothetical 17-year-old with a full and complete understanding of his or her condition should be able to receive a doctor’s help to die – whilst in fact the Supreme Court decision dealt only with adults, not emancipated minors. (Link); for a full report read: A Methodological Analysis of the Issues Book Survey on Doctor-Assisted Dying (Link/PDF)
The “First Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada” has been published, with information collected from practitioners and pharmacists for the 2019 calendar year on written requests for and cases of MAID across Canada (Link)
