Quebec opens euthanasia debate

The Quebec government will hold roving public consultations on the question of euthanasia, Health Minister Yves Bolduc announced Thursday following a request from the opposition Parti Québécois.

The national assembly's standing committee on health and social services will first hear from experts on the issue and prepare a consultation document.

Bolduc acknowledged the issue of euthanasia is complex.

"There are many elements that we must reflect on, including the definition of terms, end-of-life care and, equally, how we accompany these people," Bolduc said. "We all have the same intention — that is to say, that people can die with dignity."

Calling for a provincewide consultation, PQ Leader Pauline Marois said it is time for a non-partisan debate on the issue.

With assisted suicide already permitted under certain circumstances in some U.S. states and European countries, a debate on the delicate question is inevitable in Quebec, Marois said.

"We have recently seen many associations pronounce themselves on the question or the need to have a debate," Marois said.

She pointed to the province’s Federation of Medical Specialists and the Federation of General Practitioners, as well as the Association of Feminine Education and Social Action, which have debated the issue.

The province’s Council for the Rights of the Sick has said the focus should be on improving end-of-life care for the ill.

Though legalizing euthanasia would require changes to the Criminal Code of Canada, Marois said Quebec could pressure Ottawa on the issue if there is a provincewide consensus on the question.

At the federal level, the Bloc Québécois is supporting a bill that would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, but a second reading of Bill C-384 isn’t expected until the new year.