News

Friday July 23, 2010


Canadian Politicians Seek Positive Alternatives to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

By Patrick B. Craine

OTTAWA, Ontario, July 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Following the sound defeat of a bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada’s Parliament this spring, dozens of the country’s MPs – representing all parties – have come together to address the root causes that lead some of Canada’s vulnerable to desire their own deaths.

“It’s not enough simply to oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia,” said Harold Albrecht (Kitchener-Conestoga), the Conservative co-chair of a new Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care (PCPCC). “We have to go deeper than that and ask why people are even considering it. … How can we improve the palliative care in our country so that the question won’t even need to be asked?”

The committee was announced in April, and already boasts a membership of 40 MPs, representing every political party in Canada. They are conducting hearings and public consultations to seek ways to protect and care for Canada’s vulnerable, and are focusing their efforts on four major pillars: palliative care, suicide prevention, elder abuse, and disability issues.

The committee began receiving submissions in May, and held their first consultations in June. They plan to gather information throughout the summer and fall with the aim of presenting a report on their findings to the government and MPs by the end of December, including specific recommendations on how to address the issues they uncover.

After the overwhelming April defeat of Bill C-384, which sought to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, Albrecht said a number of MPs began to ask how they could present a positive alternative. “Can we or should we be doing something in a positive perspective to address the root causes of this?” they asked, in Albrecht’s words.

They decided to begin with a study of the reasons why people would want to die or commit suicide. “It really boils down to, in the end, a lack of hope, a lack of meaning and purpose for their future,” Albrecht suggested.

The committee’s work is crucial to him, he said, “because I believe in the value of life.”

In addition to Albrecht, the committee is co-chaired by Michelle Simson (Scarborough Southwest) of the Liberal Party, and Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh) of the NDP. The other three founding members are: Frank Valeriote (Guelph, Lib), Kelly Block (Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, CPC), and Lois Brown (Newmarket-Aurora, CPC).

Alex Schadenberg, an advocate for people with disabilities and executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said the committee “is creating great hope for Canadians who truly want the best possible care. If we want a just society, we’ll be looking at how we care for people first.”

“It’s better for us to become committed to caring for everybody, rather than killing people,” he added.

Schadenberg exhorted all people of good will to add their voices at the consultations. “If you have something to say, if you as an individual or as a leader of a group believe that there are legitimate concerns, or legitimate positive things that should be brought to this committee, do it,” he said. “This is an opportunity like few others.”

Information about the committee and upcoming public consultations is available on the committee’s new website. Larry Miller (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, CPC) will be hosting a consultation on Monday, July 26 in Owen Sound, and Pat Davidson (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC) is scheduled to lead one in Sarnia on August 10.


For more information, or to make a written submission, contact:

George Dienesch, Committee Assistant

Justice Building Suite 402

House of Commons,

Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Phone: (613) 992-4633

Fax: (613) 992-9932

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