Quebec will authorize advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAID) without waiting for Ottawa to amend its Criminal Code.
The provisions of the Act to amend the Act respecting end-of-life care and other legislative provisions concerning advance requests for medical assistance in dying will come into force on Oct. 30, 2024, Sonia Bélanger, Minister responsible for Seniors and delegate for Health, and Simon Jolin-Barrette, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Quebec, announced on Saturday.
“In accordance with the act, a person diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness leading to incapacity to consent to care will be able to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying,” their news release stated.
The new version of Quebec’s law on MAID was adopted on June 7, 2023, and will allow advance requests for people suffering from a serious and incurable illness, such as Alzheimer’s.
Jolin-Barrette asked the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) “to take into account the broad consensus in Quebec on the issue of advance requests for medical assistance in dying and to ensure that the conditions set out in the Act concerning end-of-life care are respected when deciding whether or not to lay criminal charges.”
Following the minister’s new direction, the DCPC announced on Saturday morning his intention to issue an instruction to criminal and penal prosecutors.
“This instruction will state that it would not be in the public interest to authorize the filing of criminal proceedings in connection with a death that occurred in the context of medical assistance in dying, or to allow a private prosecution to proceed, if an analysis of all the evidence confirms that the care was provided in accordance with the wishes regarding care expressed in a free and informed manner, taking into account the conditions set out in the Act respecting end-of-life care (R.R.S.Q., c. S-32.0001),” reads a DPCP news release.
The instruction will also stipulate that any file involving a death that occurred in the context of medical assistance in dying that could be submitted to the DPCP must be brought to the personal attention of the director so that he or she can determine the appropriate decision-making process.
Last February, Quebec ministers called on the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to prevent health professionals who administer MAID as part of an advance request from committing a criminal offence.
“There is a broad consensus in Quebec on the issue of advance requests for medical assistance in dying,” said Jolin-Barrette. “The government is taking the necessary steps to ensure that the collective choices of the Quebec nation are respected and that the provisions of the Act respecting end-of-life care, duly passed by the Quebec National Assembly, come into force.”
“Our Act respecting end-of-life care contains strict guidelines and provides a rigorous framework for people who wish to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying (…) Quebec is still a leader in this field by taking the necessary steps to ensure that patients’ right to die with dignity is respected,” said Bélanger.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 7, 2024.