Dear Justice Minister Lametti,
I call on you to respond to Quebec Superior Court Justice Baudouin's ruling in Truchon v. Canada on the unconstitutional "reasonably foreseeable" clause from Bill C-14, Canada's assisted dying law.
As you know, Justice Baudouin concluded that the "reasonably foreseeable" criterion imposes unnecessary, unbearable suffering on some patients who wish to access medical assistance in dying (MAID), and unfairly discriminates against them on the basis of their particular medical conditions.
This ruling has struck down this clause in Canada's Bill C-14, and is set to come into effect on March 11, 2020, if the legislation is not amended by the federal government before that date. I urge your government to remove this harmful rule from the law before March and to make sure it applies not just in Quebec, but also across Canada.
To date, this unfair and discriminatory requirement has prevented many Canadians with degenerative illnesses to exercise their right to a peaceful and dignified death. Others have starved and dehydrated themselves to fulfill this requirement, while a handful have died tragically by suicide because they felt they had no other choice. I believe this is extremely unfair — and not reflective of the spirit of our federal assisted dying law.
By delaying any further, you are effectively denying suffering people — whose eligibility doesn't meet the flawed requirements due to the nature of their particular illness — their constitutional right to choice.
Now is the time to take action to fix Canada's assisted dying law and ensure that sick and suffering people have fair access to their right to a peaceful death. I urge you to not wait any further to implement Justice Baudouin's ruling, and fulfill the commitment made by your government during the 2019 federal election to improve access for those seeking an assisted death.
Sincerely,
I call on you to respond to Quebec Superior Court Justice Baudouin's ruling in Truchon v. Canada on the unconstitutional "reasonably foreseeable" clause from Bill C-14, Canada's assisted dying law.
As you know, Justice Baudouin concluded that the "reasonably foreseeable" criterion imposes unnecessary, unbearable suffering on some patients who wish to access medical assistance in dying (MAID), and unfairly discriminates against them on the basis of their particular medical conditions.
This ruling has struck down this clause in Canada's Bill C-14, and is set to come into effect on March 11, 2020, if the legislation is not amended by the federal government before that date. I urge your government to remove this harmful rule from the law before March and to make sure it applies not just in Quebec, but also across Canada.
To date, this unfair and discriminatory requirement has prevented many Canadians with degenerative illnesses to exercise their right to a peaceful and dignified death. Others have starved and dehydrated themselves to fulfill this requirement, while a handful have died tragically by suicide because they felt they had no other choice. I believe this is extremely unfair — and not reflective of the spirit of our federal assisted dying law.
By delaying any further, you are effectively denying suffering people — whose eligibility doesn't meet the flawed requirements due to the nature of their particular illness — their constitutional right to choice.
Now is the time to take action to fix Canada's assisted dying law and ensure that sick and suffering people have fair access to their right to a peaceful death. I urge you to not wait any further to implement Justice Baudouin's ruling, and fulfill the commitment made by your government during the 2019 federal election to improve access for those seeking an assisted death.
Sincerely,
