The BC Humanist Association today submitted its brief to the parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing and proposing amendments to the government's draft medical assistance in dying bill. The brief contains a list of amendments to the bill that would restore the "patient-centred approach" promoted by the Special Joint Committee's report.
The bill has been widely criticized for failing to meet the criteria established by the Supreme Court ruling that struck down Canada's ban on physician-assisted dying. The Court has given Parliament until June 6 before its ruling comes into effect.
Specifically, the BCHA calls for
- Enshrining medical assistance in dying in the Canada Health Act to ensure the principles of universality and accessibility are upheld.
- Removing overly broad eligibility restrictions that would limit access to the terminally ill and adults.
- Adding provisions to allow for advance requests and annual, public reports on assisted dying requests.
Read the BCHA's full brief. The brief references the PDF of the bill.
The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is accepting briefs of no more than three pages until Monday, May 2, 2016 at 5 PM EDT. To submit a brief, email the Committee Clerk, Mike MacPherson, at [email protected]
Dying With Dignity Canada has also created updated tools to email your MP and to email your senators calling for similar amendments.