Québec's Premier, who legalized euthanasia, has second thoughts.

"I'm not sure that I would have again voted for that law with the extension that we have seen in the recent years." Philippe Couillard.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Philippe Couillard

Philippe Couillard, who was the Premier of Québec in 2014 when euthanasia was legalized, stated on a CBC radio program that he is not sure if he would support that law today.

Darren Major reported for CBC News on October 10 that:

The former Québec premier who oversaw passage of Canada's first-ever medically assisted dying law says he now feels conflicted after seeing how far the practice has progressed since then.

Québec legalized euthanasia in 2014, before the Supreme Court of Canada promulgated the Carter decision which struck down Canada's criminal code statutes protecting Canadians from euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Quebéc legalized euthanasia by defining it (killing) as healthcare. Canada's constitution recognizes the provinces as having jurisdiction over healthcare in Canada.

Major reported that Couillard as stating on CBC radio - The House that he sometimes questions his 2014 decision after seeing how euthanasia has expanded in Quebec and Canada since that first law was passed.

"It was clearly reserved for terminal or pre-terminal conditions with a defined, unfortunate road to the end of life. And this is not the case anymore," he told host Catherine Cullen.

"I'm not sure that I would have again voted for that law with the extension that we have seen in the recent years."

Couillard, a former neurosurgeon, emphasized that the intention of Québec's original law was to limit euthanasia to those who with a terminal illness. Major reported:

"I was warned about this by people opposing the law that told me, 'We see your motivation is good, but you will see, once you open the door you will not close it and it will open wider.' And this is what happened," he said.

I had lunch with Couillard in 2014. I explained that euthanasia, in other jurisdictions, such as the Netherlands, was constantly expanding and I stated that, based on the language of the bill, that euthanasia would inevitably expand in Québec.

Major reported further comments by Couillard which indicate his division on the issue.

The poor oversight and expansion of euthanasia began immediately in Quebec.

Amy Hasbrouck, who was the President of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, wrote a report in October 2017 based on the first full year report of euthanasia in Quebec (June 10, 2016 - June 27, 2017). The report indicated that there were 638 reported euthanasia deaths in Quebec during that time-frame.
 

Hasbrouck explained that the Quebec report indicated that 31 euthanasia deaths (5%) were not compliant with the law and in 19 euthanasia deaths, the committee could not decide if those deaths were compliant. 

In June 2023 Quebec passed Bill 11 amending the Québec euthanasia law in the following ways:

• creating an obligation for palliative care homes to offer euthanasia, 
• allowing euthanasia in cases of serious physical disability
• approving euthanasia by advance request.

The Canadian Press reported that Bill 11 "also allows Quebecers to receive euthanasia in places other than hospitals, such as funeral homes and long-term care facilities."

The passage of Bill 11 in June 2023 forced all medical institutions, even those that were religiously affiliated, to provide euthanasia, it extended euthanasia to people with disabilities who are not terminally ill and it enabled pre-requests for euthanasia, thus eliminating the requirement that a person be competent.

The 2024–2025 Report of the Commission on End-of-Life Care on the Québec euthanasia data (April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025) and the most recent data from Québec, indicated that there were 6,268 reported euthanasia deaths in that time-frame representing (7.9%) of all deaths, which was the highest rate in the world.

There were almost a 10 times the number of euthanasia deaths from the first full year of the law until (March 2025).

Based on the language of the euthanasia law, the legal expansions of the law and the normalization of euthanasia, one should not be surprised that euthanasia killings are "out of control" in Quebec.