QUEBEC CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Despite the practice being illegal at the federal level, Quebec says it plans to go ahead with taking euthanasia requests in advance.
In an October 24 post on X, Sonia Bélanger, the Quebec minister responsible for seniors, announced that the province would be moving forward with taking “advance requests” for euthanasia, called “Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD),” regardless of the policy’s violation of the Criminal Code of Canada.
As it stands, in order for a person to be killed by euthanasia in Canada, they must provide “consent” at the time of the procedure. So-called “advance requests” would allow a person to approve their killing at a future date, meaning the procedure would be carried out even if they are incapable of consenting, due to diminished mental capacity or other factors, when the pre-approved death date comes.
“Quebec has full jurisdiction to legislate in the area of health care,” Bélanger wrote in French. “The advance request for MAiD is a consensus in Quebec.”
Le Québec a pleinement compétence pour légiférer en matière de soins de santé. La demande anticipée d’AMM fait consensus au Québec. C’est une réelle préoccupation pour les Québécois et le 30 octobre, nous respecterons leurs choix en allant de l’avant.https://t.co/plZ26k39tx
— Sonia Bélanger (@SBelangerCAQ) October 24, 2024
“This is a real concern for Quebecers and on October 30, we will respect their choices by moving forward,” Bélanger continued.
In September, the province announced they would soon be taking advance requests for MAiD after the June 2023 passing of Bill 11.
In Canada, there are two euthanasia laws, those passed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government and those passed solely in the province of Quebec. The 2023 passing of Bill 11 in Quebec expanded MAiD to those with serious physical disability, mandated that hospices offer the procedure and allowed euthanasia by advance request.
The decision to enact the legislation came after senior ministers from the provincial government said they would not “wait any longer” for Canada’s federal Criminal Code to be amended to allow the change.
While the Trudeau government has clarified that advance requests are illegal, recent comments imply Quebec will be allowed to proceed with its plan without interference.
“The Criminal Code has not changed. It is still illegal in this country under the Criminal Code to enact advance requests,” federal Health Minister Mark Holland said during an October 28 press conference before adding that he “can’t direct” how a province administers its “judicial system” and that is is “extremely important to say that we have a spirit of cooperation here, that the issue that Quebec raises is a legitimate and fair issue.”
Holland also said that the federal government will launch a countrywide consultation regarding the practice of advance requests in November, with a report due in March 2025.
Quebec, a notoriously liberal province, has the highest rate of MAiD in Canada. The province saw a 17 percent increase in euthanasia deaths in 2023 compared to 2022, with the program claiming the lives of 5,686 people. The high figure represents a staggering 7.3 percent of all deaths in the province, putting Quebec at the top of the list worldwide.
MAiD is not just on the rise in Quebec but throughout Canada as well. Since legalizing the deadly practice at the federal level in 2016, Trudeau’s Liberal government has continued to expanded who can qualify for death. In 2021, the Trudeau government passed a bill that permitted the killing of those who are not terminally ill, but who suffer solely from chronic disease. The government has also attempted to expand the practice to those suffering solely from mental illness, but have delayed until 2027 after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces.
Overall, the number of Canadians killed by lethal injection since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.