Federal Health Minister Mark Holland said Ottawa will not challenge Quebec’s law allowing advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAID).
Instead, the federal government will launch a national consultation on the issue next month, with a report expected to be published in March 2025.
Last year, the state passed a law amending its assisted dying law, but there was a delay in accepting advance requests due to changes to the criminal code.
But last week, Quebec announced it would begin accepting advance applications for MAID in cases where consent cannot be obtained at a later date due to a disease such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Quebec will accept these requests starting October 30th.
The federal government has repeatedly expressed concerns about Quebec moving forward with criminal law reform.
On Monday, Holland said he has lived with Alzheimer’s disease for 15 years, ever since his grandmother was diagnosed with the disease when he was a boy.
“This is a very sensitive issue, and I think there are very few people who haven’t been touched by it,” Holland said.
“As a family, I can tell you that the early stages of Alzheimer’s were still a really fun time for me as a child, because I was still able to spend time with my grandmother, and as the disease progressed, Eventually, my grandmother became bedridden…and that was very painful for our family, so I think we need time to talk about those issues.”
Holland said criminal charges for assisted dying are overseen by provincial law enforcement, and reiterated that advance applications are still considered a crime under Canada’s Criminal Code.
Quebec announced it had instructed its public prosecutor’s office not to bring charges against doctors who process such requests. Online guidelines for patients and doctors.
On Thursday, Quebec’s Seniors Minister Sonia Bélanger said the province is conducting a “rigorous” assessment of how the new rules will be applied and intends to proceed without Ottawa.
“In the case of MAID, we have never waited for the federal government,” she told reporters in Quebec City.
