Question Period Note: MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING

Medical Assistance in Dying – Litigation and the Response to Truchon

• Medical assistance in dying is a difficult, complex and deeply personal issue.
• The Government of Canada did not appeal the Québec Superior Court decision in Truchon and Gladu [Truchon], which declared the “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” eligibility requirement to be an unjustifiable limit on section 7 and 15 Charter rights. Québec’s “end of life” criterion was also struck down. The court’s declaration of invalidity was suspended for six months to allow both the federal and Quebec legislatures to respond before the court-imposed deadline of March 11, 2020.
• As the Prime Minister indicated, we are exploring next steps for amending the Criminal Code to respond to the court’s ruling in a way that respects personal autonomy while protecting vulnerable people.

MAID Legislation
Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), received Royal Assent and came into force on June 17, 2016. Bill C-14 created exemptions from otherwise applicable criminal offences (aiding a person to die by suicide and culpable homicide), permitting practitioners to provide medical assistance in dying (MAID) in certain circumstances. The legislation requires a parliamentary review of its provisions to begin June 2020.

Litigation
The plaintiffs in Truchon and Gladu (Québec Superior Court) challenged the “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” (RFND) and “end of life” criteria of the federal and Québec law, respectively, on the grounds that the eligibility requirements infringe sections 7 and 15 of the Charter. The Québec Superior Court rendered its decision on September 11, 2019, striking down the federal and provincial eligibility criteria as an unjustifiable limit on Charter rights. The court suspended its declaration of invalidity for six months (March 11, 2020) to allow both the federal and Quebec legislatures to respond. In October 2019, during the election campaign, the Prime Minister and Attorney General of Canada indicated that Canada would amend the federal law in a way that balances personal autonomy with the protection of vulnerable people.

Monitoring
Regulations (Minister of Health) establishing a MAID monitoring regime came in force on November 30, 2018. A first report is expected in early 2020.

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