Right-to-die law in 4 months

Liberals promise quick action as Supreme Court grants extension

The Liberal government says it will “move quickly, with care and diligence” to craft new federal laws allowing doctor-assisted suicide, following a Supreme Court of Canada decision Friday that grants lawmakers a four-month reprieve but also supports suffering Canadians who might ask to end their life in the meantime.

The federal government had sought a six-month extension of a landmark 2015 court ruling that would otherwise have decriminalized assisted suicide as of Feb. 6, 2016.

In arguments to the court earlier this week, the government said the additional time was necessary so it could properly study the issue, consult with the provinces – which have responsibility for health care – and prepare comprehensive legislation.

The top court was unanimous in agreeing to a four-month extension, which means that the current law against doctor-assisted suicide will remain on the books until June.

But in a split 5-4 decision, the court also decided to grant the province of Quebec and other individuals (who receive approval from a judge to end their life early) an exemption from the decision.

“The Government of Canada respects the court’s judgment and remains committed to developing a thoughtful, compassionate, and well-informed response to the Supreme Court’s ruling,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said Friday in an emailed statement.

“This extension will provide the time to work closely with (Health) Minister (Jane) Philpott and officials at Health Canada, and in consultation with the provinces and territories, to move quickly, with care and diligence, to develop an approach that protects the most vulnerable among us while respecting the inherent dignity of all Canadians.”

While new legislation is being developed, individual Canadians who want to end their life before it is ready — and who meet specific criteria for doctor-assisted death as laid out by the court in 2015 in what is known as the “Carter” decision — can seek a court order from a judge in the superior court of their province or territory, the Supreme Court says.

“In agreeing that more time is needed, we do not at the same time see any need to unfairly prolong the suffering of those who meet the clear criteria we set out in Carter,” the majority of justices said in the ruling Friday.

“An exemption can mitigate the severe harm that may be occasioned to those adults who have a grievous, intolerable and irremediable medical condition by making a remedy available now pending Parliament’s response.”

Justices Rosalie Silberman Abella, Andromache Karakatsanis, and all three Quebec justices – Richard Wagner, Clément Gascon and Suzanne Côté – were in the majority granting the exemptions to individuals and Quebec.

The minority dissenting justices, in opposing the Quebec and individual exemptions, said they “do not underestimate the agony of those who continue to be denied access to the help that they need to end their suffering.”

“However, neither do we underestimate the complexity of the issues that surround the fundamental question of when it should be lawful to commit acts that would otherwise constitute criminal conduct,” the minority said.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and justices Thomas Cromwell, Michael Moldaver and Russell Brown were the dissenters.

Physician-assisted dying became legal in Quebec on Dec. 10. The Quebec government asked the top court earlier this week to exempt the province and its doctors from criminal liability for as long as the unconstitutional federal law remained.

Benoît Pelletier, a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa and member of the federally appointed panel that advised the government on assisted suicide, believes the justices may have only granted a four-month extension because that would give Parliament until June, the month in which MPs and senators usually adjourn for the summer.

Requiring individuals to get a court order if they want a physician’s help in ending their life sets a “high bar,” he said, and is “quite demanding.”

“Overall, this is a reasonable decision,” said Pelletier, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister in Quebec.

The expert panel Pelletier sat on delivered its report to the federal government a month ago, but the Liberals have still not released it.

Last year, in the unanimous 9-0 Carter decision, the Supreme Court struck down the ban on assisted suicide and ruled the nation’s contentious century-old law against doctor-assisted death was unconstitutional. The court gave Parliament one year to craft a legislative response.

The ruling said that federal criminal laws against assisted suicide deprive grievously ill Canadians of their Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person and that they were unconstitutional.

The top court had suspended its ruling invalidating the laws for one year, to give the government time to align the Criminal Code with its ruling and develop policies to regulate physician-assisted dying.

A special joint Senate-House of Commons committee on physician-assisted dying will begin work on new legislation at once.

It meets Monday for the first time.