Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Article: The Canadian government introduces Bill C-41 to expand euthanasia law (Link).
It must be noted that Tamara Jansen (MP) - (Cloverdale - Langley City) gave an excellent speech (Link to speech) on Bill C-41. She was not the only MP to give an excellent speech but her speech was heartfelt and moving.
There is a lot of anxiety related to Bill C-41 since the bill prevents euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria and, at the same time, it permits euthanasia by advance request.
Many Members of Parliament are urging the government to split Bill C-41 to enable separate votes on euthanasia by advance request and preventing euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria. Splitting the bill or the vote is an ethical response to Bill C-41.
Without splitting the vote, Members of Parliament who vote NO on Bill C-41 will feel like they are supporting euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria and voting YES on Bill C-41 would feel likel they are supporting euthanasia by advance request. It appears to be a double edged sword.
The Bill C-41 deception goes further.
Euthanasia by advance request is part of Canada's provincial jurisdiction over advanced directive legislation based on their constitutional power over healthcare.
I have stated in the past that advanced directive legislation is part of provincial healthcare jurisdication. Justice Minister Fraser, in the text of the bill agrees with me and many of the speeches on Bill C-41 reiterated this truth.
This means that the federal government cannot permit euthanasia by advance request without approval by the provinces. Quebec already permits euthanasia by advance request but the other provinces would be required to pass similar legislation.
The provinces need to tell the federal government to stop legislating in their jurisdiction.
Members of Parliament can vote NO on Bill C-41.
The Liberal government is a majority government. If they want to pass Bill C-41, they have the votes to do so. There is no fear that Bill C-41 will be defeated unless the Liberal government orchestrates it and there is not indication that this will happen. There are several good reasons to defeat Bill C-41.
It must be noted that Tamara Jansen (MP) - (Cloverdale - Langley City) gave an excellent speech (Link to speech) on Bill C-41. She was not the only MP to give an excellent speech but her speech was heartfelt and moving.
There is a lot of anxiety related to Bill C-41 since the bill prevents euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria and, at the same time, it permits euthanasia by advance request.
Many Members of Parliament are urging the government to split Bill C-41 to enable separate votes on euthanasia by advance request and preventing euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria. Splitting the bill or the vote is an ethical response to Bill C-41.
Without splitting the vote, Members of Parliament who vote NO on Bill C-41 will feel like they are supporting euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria and voting YES on Bill C-41 would feel likel they are supporting euthanasia by advance request. It appears to be a double edged sword.
The Bill C-41 deception goes further.
Euthanasia by advance request is part of Canada's provincial jurisdiction over advanced directive legislation based on their constitutional power over healthcare.
I have stated in the past that advanced directive legislation is part of provincial healthcare jurisdication. Justice Minister Fraser, in the text of the bill agrees with me and many of the speeches on Bill C-41 reiterated this truth.
This means that the federal government cannot permit euthanasia by advance request without approval by the provinces. Quebec already permits euthanasia by advance request but the other provinces would be required to pass similar legislation.
The provinces need to tell the federal government to stop legislating in their jurisdiction.
Members of Parliament can vote NO on Bill C-41.
The Liberal government is a majority government. If they want to pass Bill C-41, they have the votes to do so. There is no fear that Bill C-41 will be defeated unless the Liberal government orchestrates it and there is not indication that this will happen. There are several good reasons to defeat Bill C-41.
Does Bill C-41 prevent euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria?
C-41 states:
Eligibility for medical assistance in dyingBased on the text of the bill it appears that it prevents euthanasia for mental illness, as a sole criteria but the law lacks effective oversight.
241.2 (1) A person may receive medical assistance in dying, other than on the basis of an advance request, only if they meet all of the following criteria:
(2) Subsection 241.2(2.1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Exclusion
(2.1) A person cannot meet any of the criteria set out in paragraphs (2)(a) to (c) on the basis of a mental illness.
The law only requires that the medical or nurse practitioner be of the opinion that the person meets all of the criteria of the law.
Therefore, if a person, who has a mental illness as a sole criteria, is killed, it would be impossible to prosecute since the medical or nurse practioner only need to be of the opinion that the person, who they killed, met the full criteria of the law.
Does Bill C-41 contain effective oversight for euthanasia by advance request?
Bill C-41 changes Canada's Criminal Code exemption to homicide to enable euthanasia by advance request.
Does Bill C-41 contain effective oversight for euthanasia by advance request?
Bill C-41 changes Canada's Criminal Code exemption to homicide to enable euthanasia by advance request.
Bill C-41 states:
Exemption for medical assistance in dying
227 (1) No medical practitioner or nurse practitioner commits culpable homicide if they provide a person with medical assistance in dying in accordance with section 241.1 or 241.21.
Exemption for person aiding practitionerBill C-41 creates a "repository" for advance requests for euthansia and a need for provincial legislative regimes to oversee killing someone by an advance request. Bill C-41 states:
(2) No person is a party to culpable homicide if they do anything for the purpose of aiding a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner to provide a person with medical assistance in dying in accordance with section 241.2 241.21
241.21 (1) A medical practitioner or nurse practitioner may provide medical assistance in dying on the basis of an advance request to a person who has lost the capacity to consent to receiving such medical assistance in dying only if
(a) the person meets all of the criteria set out in subsection (2);
(b) the medical practitioner or nurse practitioner ensures that the safeguards set out in subsection (3) are complied with;
(c) the criteria set out in subsection (8) in respect of the advance request are met and the request is stored in a repository referred to in subsection (10); and
(d) a provincial legislative regime in relation to advance requests for medical assistance in dying, that includes the rules referred to in subsection (10), is in force in the province in which the medical assistance in dying would be provided.
The requirement for provincial legislation is paramount since advanced directives are the responsibility of the provinces based on their constitutional power over health care. The federal government can't legislate to allow euthanasia by advance request without the provinces participating.
I am very concerned about the concept of a repository. Legally, a person has the right to update their power of attorney for healthcare (personal care) at any time. The law recognizes that the most recent legally signed document replaces any previous legally signed documents.
The repository makes it more difficult for a person to change their request for euthanasia by advance request.
The federal government does not actually have the right to create a repository for advanced directives, only the provinces have this right.
Bill C-41 states under Safeguards — advance request states:
I am very concerned about the concept of a repository. Legally, a person has the right to update their power of attorney for healthcare (personal care) at any time. The law recognizes that the most recent legally signed document replaces any previous legally signed documents.
The repository makes it more difficult for a person to change their request for euthanasia by advance request.
The federal government does not actually have the right to create a repository for advanced directives, only the provinces have this right.
Bill C-41 states under Safeguards — advance request states:
(3) Before a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner provides medical assistance in dying to a person on the basis of an advance request, the medical practitioner or nurse practitioner mustSimilar to other sections of Canada's euthanasia law, there is no effective oversight of the law. The medical or nurse practitioner, who kills the person, only needs to be "of the opinion" that the person meets all of the criteria set out in the law to be legally immune from the act of homicide.
(a) be of the opinion that the person meets all of the criteria set out in subsection (2);
There is much more that can be said but since the legislation lacks effective oversight, there is no further need to discuss the "other" supposed safeguards that are contained within the bill, as they are only ink on paper.
First recommendation: The provinces need to remind the federal govenrment that advance directives are provincial not federal jurisdiction.
Second recommendation: The federal government needs to completely change the law by creating effective oversight of the law. This is essential considering the fact that people are being killed and they can't come back from the dead. There needs to be a before the death oversight committee.
Third recommendation: The Canadian government needs to create a process to provide a complete review of the euthanasia law. Bill C-14, the original bill, that legalized euthanasia in 2016, required that a complete review of the law was to begin in June 2020. This never happened.
Once again, Bill C-41 does not actually create effective oversight of the law and it is essentially concerned with opening new avenues to killing.
Bill C-41 trusts that medical and nurse practitioners, who are willing to kill people, will limit the killing to set criteria. But at the same time the law provides complete legal freedom by enabling them to kill without any prospect of oversight or recourse by legal means.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition welcomes and hopes that Bill C-41 will prevent euthanasia for mental illness alone but we question how the federal government can usurp the rights of the provinces by attempting to institute euthanasia by advance request.
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