Deadline ‘impossible’ for assisted dying bill

• The leaders of both Liberal and Conservative Senate caucuses say they believe the government’s assisted- dying legislation is unconstitutional — and both say it’s impossible for legislation to pass before the Supreme Court’s June 6 deadline.

The Commons voted on report stage of Bill C-14 Monday night and passed it without amendment. They are preparing to vote on third reading Tuesday, which will send the bill to the Senate with less than a week to go before the deadline.

Opponents question whether the bill can pass muster in the likely scenario it is tested in court. They cite an Alberta Court of Appeal decision this month that called the government’s arguments inappropriately inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s Carter decision.

Jim Cowan, the leader of the Senate Liberals, said he predicts people are prepared to sue the government almost immediately if Bill C-14 does pass — “and I have no doubt that those applications would succeed.”

But Sen. Murray Sinclair, a former Manitoba judge, said he sees the bill as constitutional.

“The constitutional rights that are set out in the Charter of our country are subject to such reasonable limitations as the government can justify,” he said. “In this case, there’s a plausible argument we need to respect. I think it’s more than plausible.”

Cowan and the Senate’s Conservative leader, Claude Carignan, both say it looks “impossible” for the Senate to meet the deadline next Monday, especially since many senators intend to propose amendments.