Federal Justice Minister hoping to get assisted death bill to House of Commons ASAP
OTTAWA (660 NEWS) – The federal justice minister says he hasn’t ruled out asking the courts for an extension on updating the laws for assisted death in Canada.
The Trudeau government is working to comply with a superior court of Quebec ruling that it is unconstitutional to allow only Canadians who are already near death to seek medical help to end their lives.
The feds have until Mar. 11 to change the laws, and Justice Minister David Lametti says he hopes to have a bill before parliament as soon as possible.
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“We’ll see what level of consensus exists in the House of Commons. Once my colleagues are in a position to see a bill then they’ll be able to tell us how they feel,” said Lametti.
The changes would expand the number of people eligible for assisted death.
The government is seeking Canadians’ advice on the issue, and an online questionnaire has already received more than 200,000 responses.
Medically-assisted dying was made legal four years ago, after a landmark ruling from the supreme court which found the prohibition of the practice was unconstitutional.
