Bill C-14 has even created divides among rank-and-file Liberals.
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“It’s an historic day”, Health Minister Jane Philpott said immediately following the vote, thanking MPs for passing a bill she said “will essentially transform end-of-life care options for Canadians”. Without that change “Bill C-14 will be constitutionally dead on arrival”, said Shanaaz Gokool, CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada.
“Time and time, this government has limited debate and tried to strong arm a flawed bill through”, said NDP Murray Rankin, whose amendment to broaden the bill’s scope had been defeated Monday.
“However, this is a big step”.
Conservatives voting for Bill C-14 included Cathy McLeod, Scott Reid, Karen Vecchio, Michael Chong, David Tilson, Bruce Stanton, Peter Kent, Dan Albas, Larry Maguire, Pat Kelly, Ron Liepert, and Len Webber.
Having won the approval of the House, the bill now heads into choppier waters in the Senate, where many senators are pushing for amendments.
In one recent case, Ontario Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan granted a man’s wishes to die saying it was clear the patient, known as A.B., was experiencing “enduring and intolerable suffering caused by” his medical condition.
Tonight’s voting takes place before the backdrop of the rapidly approaching June 6 deadline, established by the Supreme Court after it struck down Criminal Code provisions on assisted suicide a year ago. The ruling establishes assistance in dying as a right for competent adult Canadians who are suffering intolerably from a “grievous and irremediable condition” and who clearly consent to the termination of life.
The Liberal bill restricts that to only those patients with a terminal or incurable illness whose death is “reasonably foreseeable”.
The Liberal government’s assisted dying bill is expected to be given third and final reading in the House of Commons Tuesday, after clearing report stage Monday night without any amendments approved.
“How many court decisions will it take before the Liberals finally admit they have made mistakes?”
“People who won that hard-fought victory in Carter are going to be back in the Supreme Court in a few months”.
“There won’t be the ability to apply to a court for an individual exemption”.
She said C-14 “strikes a balance between eligibility and safeguards”.
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The bill received support from a small group of Conservatives, roughly a dozen, including Peter Kent and Michael Chong, while most opposed it. A small handful of Liberals stood against the bill, including Rob Oliphant, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, and Robert-Falcon Ouellette. But she did not refer to the opposition of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities in Canada. “Now, it’s up to representatives in the Senate to show the courage required to correct this injustice”.
