Québec approved euthanasia by advanced request (starting October 30, 2024)

Euthanasia by advanced request is euthanasia for incompetent people.

Alex Schadenberg

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Shuyee Lee and Kwabena Oduro reported for CBC news that Québec's Justice Minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette has asked the Crown's Prosecution Office to not lay charges when a doctor or nurse practitioner kill an incompetent patient who made an advanced request for death, based on the euthanasia law.

Justice Minister, Jolin-Barrette asked the Crown Prosecution Office to not lay charges in these deaths because Criminal law is a federal jurisdiction. Even though Canada's federal government has radically promoted euthanasia, they have not approved euthanasia by advanced request.

Many people are not aware that Canada has two euthanasia laws, the federal law and the Québec law. On June 7, 2023; the Québec National Assembly passed Bill 11 which expanded their euthanasia law by:

• creating an obligation for palliative care homes to offer MAID (in 6 months);
• offering MAID in cases of serious physical disability* (in 9 months); 
• offering MAID by advance request* (in a maximum of 24 months).

Québec Justice Minister, Jolin-Barrette decided to institute euthanasia by advanced request on October 30, 2024. 

The controversy related to the first provision of Bill 11, that being the obligation for palliative care homes to offer MAiD erupted in December 2023.

On December 2, 2023 I published an article about the St Raphael Palliative Care Home and Day Centre, that was founded by the Archdiocese of Montréal, being forced to provide euthanasia. On February 6, 2024 I published an article that the Archdiocese of Montréal was suing the Québec government to prevent euthanasia at St Raphael Palliative Care Home and Day Centre.

Quebec already has the highest euthanasia rate in the world.

CBC Radio Canada published a report on March 9, 2024 stating that Québec had a 17% increase in euthanasia deaths in 2023 with 5,686 reported deaths representing 7.3% of all deaths giving Québec the highest euthanasia rate in the world. The Radio Canada report was based on Quebec euthanasia deaths from January 1 - December 31, 2023.

There are many controversial stories including people in Québec being pressured to "seek" death by euthanasia. Some of the recent stories include:

Katrine Desautels reported for the The Canadian Press on August 14, 2024 that Sébastien Verret (44) is seeking a death by (MAiD) euthanasia based on long covid.

Matt Gilmour reported for CTV news Montreal on July 5, 2024 that Tracy Polewczuk, a woman who lives with Spina Bifida, on two separate occasions was urged to request euthanasia by a medical professional without initiating the request.

Rachel Watts reported for CBC News on April 12, 2024 that a quadriplegic man, Normand Meunier (66) "chose" to die by (MAiD) after developing a severe bedsore at a hospital in Saint-Jérôme, Québec. Meunier experienced a tragic spinal chord injury in 2022.