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Blog post by Augustin Hamilton (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: aijiro/Adobe Stock

The Quebec government will allow advance requests for euthanasia for people with serious illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, starting this autumn, even though Ottawa has not changed the Criminal Code in this regard.

On 7 June 2023, Quebec passed a law authorising advance requests. Since then, it has asked Ottawa on several occasions to change the Criminal Code, but Ottawa still hasn't done so and doesn't appear to be doing so. Despite this, the Quebec government is still preparing to authorise doctors to apply advance requests. Léa Fortin, the media relations officer for the Seniors Minister, Sonia Bélanger, said: "We're going to be ready, we're going to move forward. What we want is for [the federal government] to change its Criminal Code, but if it doesn't, we'll work on our options in parallel," reports La Presse.

According to Léa Fortin, there is a broad consensus in Quebec on advance requests for euthanasia: "There is a consensus in Quebec. It's a transparent process, with patients, parliamentarians and professionals all agreeing to go ahead with MAiD". Not me, certainly. The Quebec government will be making announcements this autumn.

According to Patrick Taillon, constitutionalist and law professor at Université de Laval, Quebec can move forward on the issue of advance requests, reports La Presse :

"Who files the charges? It's the State of Quebec. And if the Quebec State says, by way of a directive, [...] when it respects our laws, we never file charges, then there won't be a problem," he explains.

The constitutionalist asserts that "Ottawa could not prosecute doctors" in Quebec who administer MAiD as part of an advance request.

Québec solidaire MPs Ruba Ghazal and Christine Labrie even wrote a letter arguing that Quebec could ignore Ottawa, as it did in 2015 with its first euthanasia law.

Like in 2015? At that time, the Carter decision decriminalising euthanasia had just been handed down and Ottawa had not yet passed legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada had given Ottawa one year to do so, suspending the application of its ruling. So Quebec was in breach of the Criminal Code when it passed its euthanasia law. And Ottawa did nothing, letting Quebec kill its citizens before it had even given the go - a deplorable precedent of inaction on the part of the federal government. Because I don't think Ottawa has no means of dealing with a province that doesn't comply with its Criminal Code. What the Quebec government is really counting on is undoubtedly, once again, Ottawa's inaction on an issue on which Ottawa itself is more than willing to move forward.

We can be sure that some other provinces will follow Quebec's example if Ottawa does not intervene.