Updates

In early January 2016, the first legal case of physician-assisted death was reported to have taken place in the province of Quebec. This is following provincial legalization of euthanasia in December 2015 allowing consenting adults at the end of life with a terminal illness and suffering from constant and unbearable pain, to be given “medical aid in dying”. Terminal patients wishing to receive physician-assisted death in all other Canadian provinces and territories must wait four months for official federal legislation. While the Supreme Court of Canada overturned a ban on physician-assisted death in February 2016, the federal government was not able to make the one-year deadline to draft appropriate legislation. During the allotted four-month extension, exemptions will be allowed for Quebec residents in accordance with their provincial law. Anyone outside of Quebec wishing to exercise their right to die with medical help may apply for individual exemptions based on criteria set out by the February 2015 ruling. This is the first time the Supreme Court has been asked to grant individual exemptions of this kind.