Discussion · Government Orders
Yves Perron Bloc Québécois
“I disagree with this bill. We need to change the law to allow advance requests for medical assistance in dying. This bill might violate the Constitution, and sick people should not have to go to court to get their rights. The government should ask the Supreme Court if this bill is constitutional before passing it.”
“Mr. Speaker, I could not disagree more. It would be reckless to not take care of these vulnerable people. We do agree on one thing, and that is on this very point. I will quote a paragraph from one of the reports of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying: While most of the details relating to advance requests fall to the provinces and territories since they are primarily responsible for healthcare, the Criminal Code would still need to be amended to allow advance requests, and the committee supports amending the Criminal Code in that manner. The committee seemed to agree. I do not think that is what my colleague meant earlier. I know these are sensitive issues. I would like to go back to my previous comments about political courage. What I mean by that is that we need to be proactive so that people are not forced to sue. Why should we not collectively decide that the government should seek an opinion from the Supreme Court? If the bill passes in its current form, will it be constitutional? We in the Bloc do not think so.”
Mr. Speaker, I could not disagree more. It would be reckless to not take care of these vulnerable people. We do agree on one thing, and that is on this very point. I will quote a paragraph from one of the reports of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying: While most of the details relating to advance requests fall to the provinces and territories since they are primarily responsible for healthcare, the Criminal Code would still need to be amended to allow advance requests, and the committee supports amending the Criminal Code in that manner. The committee seemed to agree. I do not think that is what my colleague meant earlier. I know these are sensitive issues. I would like to go back to my previous comments about political courage. What I mean by that is that we need to be proactive so that people are not forced to sue. Why should we not collectively decide that the government should seek an opinion from the Supreme Court? If the bill passes in its current form, will it be constitutional? We in the Bloc do not think so.