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| Francois Paulette |
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
The chair of Yellowknife's Stanton Territorial Health Authority Elders' Advisory Council, Francois Paulette told CBC news that:
Last week Jorge Barrera from APTN News reported that Robert Falcon Ouellette, the Liberal MP from Winnipeg Centre, said that he will vote against Bill C-14 the bill that will legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Indigenous people are bound by spiritual law, not man-made law.
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| Robert Falcon Ouellette |
According to the APTN report:
CBC reporter, Sonja Koenig reported that Canada's Indigenous community is concerned about legislation that legalizes euthanasia and assisted suicide. Bill C-14 was introduced in the House of Commons on April 14.
Ouellette said the federal government should work around the deadline and delay legalizing assisted death for at least five to 10 years until it’s absolutely clear what sort of impact it would have in all corners of Canadian society.
“I think we need to take more time, especially in light of Attawapiskat,”
“I think there are communities that have this issue and if you allow, all of a sudden, this to occur…it might be very difficult,”
“I am afraid if we open this little door right now we won’t be able to fight that suicide spirit.”
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| Dr Alika Lafontaine |
According to the Koenig report Indigenous leaders have not been consulted. Dr. Alika Lafontaine, the president of the Indigenous Physicians Association said,
so far, there's been no meaningful consultation with Indigenous groups.
Lafontaine says even though the new legislation has been tabled, it isn't too late.
"Even if these regulations are written up, there is still an opportunity to create our own in-house solutions when it comes to medically-assisted dying in our communities."Paulette spoke to the issue at a Dene leadership meeting today in Yellowknife.
Canada's Indigenous communities need to organize in opposition to assisted dying before Bill C-14 becomes law.
Why do we need to wait? We already have the information that was suppressed in the original inquires, to wit: the hastened deaths in Netherlands and Belgium; the social problems arising from the provision of death in those places; the problems with death imposed in Oregon and Washington.
ReplyDeleteThat real world experience was silenced by those with a death-dealing agenda. One euthanasia enthusiast I spoke with said the news clippings - and I had the newspaper reports - were 'myths' and dismissed it all.
Those were multiply attested, law-backed, real world events. And they were explained away as 'myths'! It should be clear that the pro-euthanasia crowd is hiding something.
And that should worry us.