Right-to-die issue back in front of top judges

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court is once again deliberating whether irremediably ill Canadians with intolerable suffering should be denied their constitutional right to a doctor-assisted death while Parliament takes another six months to figure out how to decriminalize assisted suicide.

The delicate issue returned to the top court Monday, with the federal government seeking a six-month extension of the landmark 2015 court ruling that decriminalizes assisted suicide as of Feb. 6.

“This is all about ensuring that there is a comprehensive scheme in place so that everyone knows the rules,” justice department lawyer Robert Frater told the nine justices Monday. “It’s about clarity and that’s why we need six months — clarity for the vulnerable, clarity for the doctors, clarity for the people considering making this hard choice.”

The court ruled unanimously last Feb. 6 that federal criminal laws against assisted suicide deprive grievously ill Canadians of their charter right to life, liberty and security of the person and were unconstitutional. It suspended invalidating the laws for one year to give the government time to align the Criminal Code with its ruling and, with the provinces, develop policies to regulate physician-assisted dying.

With the deadline 25 days away, there is no reasonable hope the new Liberal government will pass legislation in time. Nor is it expected the provinces, which control health care, will have time to create policy and codify assisted-death procedures.

Only in Quebec, where physician-assisted dying became legal Dec. 10, do terminally ill residents have the legal ability to control the circumstances of their deaths.

The federal government is opposing temporarily allowing sick Canadians outside Quebec to seek a legal-assisted death.