Local assisted-dying advocate frustrated with federal delay on legislation

HALIFAX – A recent supreme court decision has left a local advocate for assisted-dying frustrated after a four month extension was granted for the government to draft new legislation.

The government was seeking a six-month extension but the court ruled 5-4 in favour of a four month one instead, pushing the deadline for new legislation to June 6 instead of Feb. 6.

Sheila Sperry of Dying with Dignity’s Nova Scotia chapter said it shouldn’t take this long to come up with a new bill for something that’s not a new issue in Canada.

“They knew this was coming and one of the problems is that health is a provincial regulation, and so the provinces could have been doing this all along, they didn’t have to wait for the feds to do anything,” Sperry said.

Sperry said the delays mean that ill people seeking relief are left in pain while waiting for more bureaucracy to take place.

“We’re not expecting a stampede of people screaming ‘I want to die, I want to die,'” she said with a laugh. “People don’t want to die except under excruciating circumstances.”

Those seeking assisted dying have the opportunity to apply to the courts if they live outside of Quebec, which is the only province that allows it, which Sperry said leads to more burdens for those who are seriously ill.

“These are people who are dying and now they have to make application to a judge to get permission to request this.”

A Federal Justice Department laywer told the Canadian Press on Monday that the country’s patchwork of regional governments will also make it more difficult to meet June’s deadline.

Joanne Clineberg said provinces and territories that have already looked into doctor-assisted suicide have much simpler systems in place.

It will be a “very big challenge” to decide which aspects are best dealt with at the federal or provincial level, according to Clineberg, because while healthcare is a provincial responsibility, the federal government is responsible for the Criminal Code.

MP’s and Senators on the assisted-dying committee are expected to hear from the public, experts and stakeholders over the next month with the hope of reporting back to Parliament by the end of next month.