This story was updated Feb. 25.
OTTAWA—A Bill C-7 Senate amendment that would open the door to mentally-ill Canadians obtaining legally-sanctioned euthanasia is back in the House of Commons as the federal government received a one-month extension to pass the legislation.
The government received a fourth, and possibly final, extension Thursday from Quebec Superior Court, which in 2019 ruled the requirement that death be reasonably foreseeable before obtaining assisted suicide was too restrictive and unconstitutional.
The court had imposed a deadline of Feb. 26 to pass the legislation, but the government filed a motion for a one-month extension to bring the law in line with that court’s 2019 Truchon ruling.
Justice Martin Sheehan gave the government until March 26 to pass the law, saying “it is appropriate to grant a final extension” given how close the government is.
The Commons is debating the Senate’s proposed changes to Bill C-7 in the hope of getting Royal Assent for Bill C-7 through the Senate by the end of February.
The 2019 Quebec court ruling said the need for a person’s death to already be reasonably foreseeable before they could use the MAiD system was too restrictive and unconstitutional.
In a Feb. 19 statement, Justice Minister David Lametti and Health Minister Patty Hajdu said, “We have been working very hard over the last year on responding to this important court ruling, and remain committed to doing so as quickly as possible.
“Amending Canada’s MAID law has been a lengthy and complex process. After months of review in both the House of Commons and the Senate, we are now at a critical stage,” the statement from Lametti and Hajdu said.
“While we are seeking this extension as a prudent step, we hope Parliamentarians will work together to pass the Bill by February 26,” the statement continued.
“As we approach Royal Assent, we remain committed to responding to the court ruling and working with our Parliamentary colleagues on advancing the Bill through the last stages of the legislative process.”
The Senate voted to amend the bill after deciding the mentally ill were being discriminated against, a decision that stunned some opponents of MAiD.
The bill is stalled in the Commons, where the Conservatives object to several aspects of the proposed law.
Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition said, “As bad as Bill C-7 was, the Senate expanded the bill to include people with mental illness.”
While the minority Liberal federal government has had the support of the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois for the bill, the Opposition Conservatives have for the most part been opposed and are demanding that the government not rush debate on such an important matter.
“Senate amendments to Bill C-7 expanded MAiD beyond what was debated by Members of the House of Commons,” said a joint statement by Conservative justice critic Rob Moore and House leader Gerard Deltell.
“The Liberals must ensure Bill C-7 receives thorough legislative review and comprehensive debate in the House of Commons so that members can scrutinize the impacts of these amendments on Canadians,” they said.
A petition from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition calling on Parliament to “reject euthanasia for mental illness and incompetent people” can be viewed here.
