The bill expanding medical assistance in dying is expected to be tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday, leaving MPs less than three weeks to study it and seek expert advice with a view to passing it before the summer. .
In early May, the opposition parties had united their voices to urge the Legault government to table its legislative piece as soon as possible to extend the scope of medical aid in dying to unfit people, such as those suffering from Alzheimer’s.
The legislation is expected to be tabled on Wednesday. But time is running out for the adoption of the law before the elections since the parliamentary session will end on June 10.
Minister Christian Dubé judges the “reasonable time frame for us to study the bill, have consultations, and thus have it adopted by the end of the parliamentary session”, specifies his cabinet.
Advance request
Solidarity MP Vincent Marissal wants people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia to be allowed to submit an advance request for medical assistance in dying, as recommended by the report of the cross-party commission on the evolution of the Law concerning care end of life. Currently, only people with an incurable and irreversible disease who are able to give their consent can benefit from medical assistance in dying.
But he would have liked the CAQ government to table the bill long before. The elected representative of Rosemont is impatient to see the content.
“We asked for it, we want it, there are people who are waiting for it for real, terrible human cases, people who need it, so it’s sure that chops will follow chops, we asked for it, but if it doesn’t make sense, obviously we’re not going to adopt something that doesn’t make sense, especially not quickly like that, ”warns Mr. Marissal.
Even if the cross-party commission held consultations for a year, the solidarity judge that certain groups must still be heard before the parliamentarians vote on the text.
Liberal Monsef Derraji criticizes the government of François Legault for not having prioritized the right files. Bill 28 on the state of health emergency could very well have been shelved in order to make way for the bill on expanded medical assistance in dying.
“It’s an extremely important subject that deserves a debate, it’s not a project that should be done in a hurry,” he insists.
Free vote?
For the time being, it is already certain that Liberal and solidarity MPs will be able to vote freely on the bill expanding medical assistance in dying, that is to say without taking into account the traditional party line.
The CAQ and the Parti Québécois are waiting for the tabling of the legislative text before taking a position on this subject.
In 2014, around 20 elected Liberals voted against the first bill on medical aid in dying, even though their government and their leader were in favour.
– With the collaboration of Patrick Bellerose
