OTTAWA – Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Vice-President and General Legal Counsel Don Hutchinson, along with others, has signed a statement requesting that Bill 52, the bill introduced by the Government of Quebec to legalize euthanasia in the province, be withdrawn.
“As explained in the statement, we don’t believe that physician killing of patients should even be considered as part of Canada’s comprehensive medical care,” explains Hutchinson. “Palliative care – yes. Pain management – yes. Physical, psychological, emotional and family support – yes. But not the taking of patients’ lives by people we trust with our health and well-being. To do so would flip the life saving and protecting ethos of Canada’s medical and legal traditions on their heads.”
Of great concern is the subversion and euphemisms employed by the Government of Quebec in their attempt to pass this legislation. As expressed in the joint statement:
Unfortunately, the bill’s true intent is hidden from public view. The accurate term “euthanasia” has been replaced by the confusing euphemism “medical aid in dying.” This language is designed to circumvent the Criminal Code of Canada, by creating the legal fiction that in Quebec “medical aid in dying” is not killing but a form of health care, and thus a matter of provincial jurisdiction immune from federal law.
“Euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in Canada,” explains EFC Legal Counsel Faye Sonier. “In a thinly veiled attempt to circumvent federal law, and existing Supreme Court of Canada decisions that affirm the constitutionality of the federal prohibition on these behaviours, the government of Quebec introduced its legislation to permit euthanasia under the guise of ‘health care.’ Under our constitution, criminal law is federal jurisdiction, and health care is provincial jurisdiction. The Government of Quebec is trying to work around our nation’s most important Canadian legal document – our constitution.”
“Let’s not forget,” continues Hutchinson, “when this issue was introduced to Members of Parliament for consideration, legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide were clearly and resoundingly condemned. Bloc Quebecois’ MP Francine Lalonde’s Bill C-384 was introduced in 2008 with the express intent of legalizing the practices and it was defeated by a vote of 228 to 59 in the House of Commons.”
“So despite our constitution, rulings of the Supreme Court of Canada, and the clear will of the people expressed by our federally elected representatives, the Government of Quebec is pushing forward with this legislation,” says Sonier.
“We’re concerned about the impact on our laws and our medical system,” concludes Hutchinson. “And we’re vitally concerned with how such an initiative will impact some of Canada’s most vulnerable citizens. In the small number of countries where these practices have been legalized there are well documented reports of people being euthanized without their consent, not that one can consent to being murdered. The so-called safeguards are failing in every one of those jurisdictions. People report that they are afraid to leave loved ones alone in the hospital. Is that really what we want for Canadians?”
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The joint statement is available here: A joint statement to withdraw Bill 52, a bill to legalize euthanasia.
For more information or an interview contact:
Candace Maynard, Media Relations
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
(613) 233-9868 x322
MediaRelations@theEFC.ca