Senate sets vote date on assisted dying bill

OTTAWA — Senators have agreed to put a bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying to a final vote by Feb. 17.

That would leave just over a week for the House of Commons to deal with any amendments approved by the Senate before the thrice-extended courtimposed deadline of Feb. 26.

Several senators have signalled they will propose substantial amendments to the bill, intended to bring the law into compliance with a 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling that struck down a provision allowing assisted dying only for those who are nearing the natural ends of their lives.

And that could yet make it impossible to meet the court’s deadline.

An amended version of the bill would have to go back to the House of Commons for MPs to decide whether to accept or reject the amendments before shipping it back to the Senate, where senators would have to decide whether to approve the bill even if some or all of their amendments were rejected.

In theory, the bill could bounce repeatedly back and forth between chambers.

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said Monday the emergence of new COVID-19 variants has raised questions about whether or not existing vaccines will work, calling it “concerning news” that the vaccines developed so far may be less effective against a variant from South Africa.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing that South Africa’s decision on Sunday to suspend its vaccination campaign using the AstraZeneca vaccine is “a reminder that we need to do everything we can to reduce circulation of the virus with proven public health measures.”

He said it was increasingly clear that vaccine manufacturers would need to tweak their existing shots to address the ongoing genetic evolution of the coronavirus, saying booster shots would most likely be necessary.