Passage of Bill C-7 | Access to medical assistance in dying has expanded

Lena Dib
The Canadian Press

Senators approved Bill C-7 in the version proposed by elected officials in the House of Commons.

It therefore becomes law C-7 before the March 26 deadline imposed by the Quebec Superior Court.

On Wednesday afternoon, the final Senate debate ended with the intervention of Conservative Senator Dan Platt, who opposed the principle of dying with the help of doctors from the outset.

“I’m in immense pain today,” said Senator Platt.

“We will continue to fight for you who are weak,” the senator said before the vote, with 60 votes in favor, 25 against and five withdrawals.

For his first time in the Senate, the C-7 was amended. Elected members of the Commons approved some amendments and rejected others.

By agreeing to comply with the will of the Commons, many senators declared the law incomplete.

Independent Senator Renee Dupuis believes this is better than any other example.

“Failure to accept the message that came to us will lead to a stalemate, including the March 26 deadline next week, which will cause the loss of all those living outside Quebec, whose suffering is unbearable, death is unbearable, access to help die,” said Senator Dupeis.

Therefore, in its final version, C-7 natural death was only “reasonably sereviable” and had the right to seek medical help in death.

The law prescribes two avenues of eligibility for this assistance: one allows those close to death to obtain medical assistance in the event of death, and the other imposes more regulatory standards on persons who are not.

MPs expect the aid to be available to those suffering from mental illness within 24 months.

The C-7 was drafted in response to a Quebec court ruling that ruled federal law on medical assistance in unconstitutional death. At the request of Justices Christine Boudouin, Jean Trochan and Nicole Gladu, the notion that “death is a reasonable death” was invalid.

Justice Boudouin first gave the federal government six months to change its law; The deadline was extended four times, first due to the federal election in the fall of 2019, and then due to the epidemic that occurred from the spring of 2020, when the senators finally sent the text back to the Commons by pasting the amendments.