Justice committee  Those are significant problems. In the Carter decision, the Supreme Court was targeting that kind of a situation, while the bill under consideration seems to exclude it. This is a considerable limitation, and that is why we invite you to reconsider the issue. Of course, this kind

Justice committee  First of all, you have to understand the meaning of the Quebec legislation. I was very closely involved in that process. The objective of that piece of legislation is to regulate all of end-of-life care. That legislation does not come under criminal law, but under health. It cove

Justice committee  That was not a criterion established in the Carter decision. That criterion was added on. The Carter ruling provided no definition, and the Supreme Court's decision not to go too far on that issue was probably deliberate. The notion of irreversible decline is a new criterion, an

Justice committee  It is clear that the issue lies in the fact that physicians expect the law to define all the situations in detail. However, the more law defines situations, the more it limits them. We have to be careful about that, as well. Given the extreme variety of situations, it is difficul

Justice committee  This issue seems extremely relevant to me. Conscience rights do not fall under criminal law. In medical practice and in professional practice, conscience rights are primarily a matter of medical ethics. The medical community determines how physicians should interact with patients

Justice committee  There may actually be all sorts of reasons, moral or other, to think otherwise, but from a strictly legal standpoint, the bill as it is worded creates a very real problem. I am a practising lawyer and I have clients, including groups of disabled individuals. Some of those groups

Justice committee  Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, good evening. The Barreau du Québec is the first intervenor from a province where legislation already exists on medical assistance in dying. The law has been in effect since December 10, 2015. There have already been dozens of case