Minister Christian Dubé considers it possible to adopt the bill expanding medical assistance in dying before the summer, but he needs the cooperation of the opposition.
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Liberals, Parti Québécois and Solidarity joined together last week to urge the Legault government to table its legislative project as soon as possible to extend the scope of medical aid in dying to unfit people, such as those suffering from Alzheimer’s. This is what the report of the cross-partisan commission on the evolution of the law concerning end-of-life care recommends.
Hounded Thursday by Liberal MP David Birnbaum, the Minister of Health assured that the file “is on the top of the pile” in his office. In preparation, the bill is about to be tabled in the ministerial committees, then in the Council of Ministers of the CAQ, he added.
“He is following the procedure as quickly as possible. And the commitment that I made, moreover, I repeat it in front of everyone today, it will be tabled and with a consensus of the opposition, we are even able to vote for it before the end of the session. So, I tell you, we are doing everything we can at the moment to be able to table and vote on the bill, ”insisted Christian Dubé.
But time is running out since the parliamentary session will end on June 10. The Minister of Health is also piloting three other bills which are still under study in parliamentary committee.
Transpartisan work has concluded that people with Alzheimer’s or dementia should be allowed to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying.
Currently, under the End-of-Life Care Act, only people with an incurable and irreversible illness who are capable of giving their consent can benefit from medical assistance in dying.
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