Next March, it will be a year since my mother died. She left us peacefully, at the age of 80, on the day and time of her choosing. It was a Saturday morning. Ten days earlier, he had been diagnosed with a serious and irremediable illness. She had requested medical assistance in dying because she was in pain. She was evaluated by several doctors. A worker met her. My mother was able to give her free and informed consent.
My mother was born in France. If she had not immigrated to Quebec, she would not have been able to make this choice. In France, the debate is still at the stage of “assisted suicide” and “euthanasia”. His adopted country allowed him to die with dignity and end his suffering in a humane way.
Quebec held a calm debate on medical assistance in dying. He is now ready to move forward with advance requests for medical assistance in dying. Quebec is therefore asking Ottawa to modify the Canadian Criminal Code accordingly. The Trudeau government did not follow up. The Bloc Québécois therefore took up this matter and tabled an amendment.
I do not always agree with the positions taken by the provinces, including those led by conservative governments. But I respect their field of jurisdiction and the decisions of their legislative assemblies. In the name of this principle, I am even ready to defend them publicly, including when I disagree on the merits. It’s in the DNA of every federalist conservative.
My vision of Canadian federalism assumes that the solutions do not all come from civil servants in Ottawa. Programs do not have to be wall-to-wall across the country. We are a large country, with geographical, economic, historical and cultural specificities.
Even the centralizing Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, which happily encroaches on provincial jurisdiction, takes note of this on occasion. As proof, he backed down on the carbon tax and granted a tax holiday on heating oil which primarily benefits the Atlantic provinces. And when he does not realize it himself, he is reminded of it by the courts, as was recently the case for the decree on the use of single plastic or the Law on environmental impact assessment.
If Alberta or Saskatchewan want to adopt a regulation so that parents are informed of the change of gender of their children, that is their prerogative. Ottawa does not manage schools. If there is a dispute, let the courts decide.
It’s the same thing for law 21 on secularism in Quebec. Whether or not federal elected officials agree with its principle does not matter. They must recognize Quebec’s right to legislate, and if not, let the courts decide. If the province wants to use the notwithstanding clause, that’s their right too, because it’s in the Constitution.
But is it up to patients to drag the government (again) to court to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying while they are still capable of making a free and informed choice according to the principle of the law on assistance? medical to die?
Ideologically, the Conservative Party of Canada believes in respecting provincial jurisdiction. It is on this basic postulate that many of the conservatives’ positions are based. On this, and on individual responsibility. But when it comes to a question of conscience, as was the case with the Bloc Québécois amendment, there is no party line within the Conservative Party. This is what the result of this vote showed on Tuesday evening.
Eight Conservative MPs from Quebec, one from Alberta and one from Ontario voted for the Bloc motion which aims to support the advance request requested by Quebec.
We cannot say the same thing about other Quebec elected officials in Ottawa. Alexandre Boulerice, of the New Democratic Party (NDP), was not present during the vote. However, he was present at the subsequent vote. We are far from the “Sherbrooke NDP declaration of 2005”, which states that “unity is not necessarily uniformity”.
Liberal elected officials from Quebec all voted against, with the government.
If the other provinces did not request this change and if this exception only applied to Quebec, it would not have meant the end of the country. On the contrary, it would have shown that our federalism works and that we respect the fact that we are not all at the same stage on this issue in Canada.
That Canada needs more time is understandable. In the meantime, Ottawa should still respect the opening to advance requests requested by Quebec. He is not the one who manages the hospitals. Quebec’s federal elected officials had to defend Quebec’s request. The federal Liberals from Quebec and the only NDP MP preferred to say no. We will remember it.