Expansion of medical assistance in death | The Senate extends the debate

Joan Bryden
The Canadian Press

They on Thursday approved an amendment to Bill C-7 asking the government to collect such data.

The amendment reflects the fear that blacks, racists and indigenous peoples, who are already at the bottom of the health care system and face systemic discrimination, will be dragged into a situation where they end their lives prematurely due to poverty and lack of health services. ‘Help.

Senator Mobina Zafar, a member of the Independent Senators Group that proposed the amendment, said there was no racial analysis when drafting the bill.

“One in four are excluded from data collection,” she told the Senate.

His amendment was widely supported and approved by a unanimous vote, with the exception of Senator Mark Gold, a government spokesman in the Senate.

Senator Kim Pete, another member of the Independent Senators Group, stressed that the amendment does not guarantee that no one will choose auxiliary death because of unequal access to health care, housing and social support and income.

But “who is using Bill C-7 (defined medical assistance at the time of death) and under what circumstances the government should at least give answers,” she said.

Om^{To me} Pate said the government needs to provide more information about who has access to auxiliary deaths, including income, whether they are institutionalized and whether they have access to other avenues to alleviate their suffering. Suffering and social and financial assistance.

The senators decided to continue the debate Thursday evening on a bill that would extend access to the dead with the help of doctors.

The extension marks the end of the debate and the Senate ‘s decision to submit the bill to a final vote by next Wednesday.

This timetable is intended to meet the three-time adjournment deadline imposed by the court to bring federal law in line with the decision of the Quebec Superior Court. The most recent deadline given to the government is February 26. – In two weeks.

Justice Kristin Boudouin ruled in September 2019 that federal law and natural death, which only involve medical assistance in the death of people suffering from unbearable suffering, are “reasonably se reasonable”.

Senators have already passed several important amendments to the bill, including allowing people who fear losing their mental capacity to make an advance request for medical help to die. Another amendment sets an 18-month deadline for the government-proposed ban on those suffering from mental illness rather than physical illness.

If the amended bill is passed by senators, it must be returned to the House of Commons, which decides whether to accept or reject the changes. He will then have to return to the Senate, which will decide whether to accept the Commons ruling.