Bill on assisted dying passes in the House of Commons

The federal government’s controversial bill on assisted dying has easily passed in the House of Commons, by a vote of 186-137.

Bill C-14 will now head to the senate, and undergo the scrutiny of the senators, many of whom have publicly called for amendments. The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) calls the vote “deeply disappointing” and looks forward to amendments made at the senate level.

Josh Paterson, Executive Director of the BCCLA says the bill has serious flaws that need to be addressed and calls the bill unconstitutional.

“As expert after expert pointed out, and as several courts have now ruled, the Supreme Court guaranteed that people with extremely serious terminal and non-terminal conditions, who are suffering intolerably, have the right to physician assistance in dying,” Paterson said. “This law will take hard-won constitutional rights away from people who have serious illnesses that aren’t terminal, and trap them in unimaginable agony.”

In 2015, a Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruling struck down the law against physician-assisted suicide, calling it unconstitutional. The ruling was suspended for 12 months, allowing the Federal government, provincial governments and medical regulatory bodies to draft new laws and policies around physician-assisted suicide.

In April, the federal government tabled framework for the legislation with the hopes of having it in place by June 6. The current criminal code prohibition on medical assistance in dying will remain in place until this date, or until the legislation is passed in Parliament and comes into effect.