Assisted-death committee warned about Canada's jurisdictional patchwork

Canada's patchwork of federal, provincial andterritorial governments will be a challenge for the senators and MPstasked with forging a response to the Supreme Court's ruling ondoctor-assisted death.

That's just one of the warnings delivered Monday to the committeeof lawmakers that has been assembled by the federal Liberalgovernment to wrestle with the divisive question of how or even ifto legislate the right to die.

The Canadian landscape differs from other jurisdictions that havealready explored the issue of doctor-assisted death, JusticeDepartment lawyer Joanne Klineberg testified.

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Here, the practice and delivery of health care is regulated andpoliced by the provinces and territories, while criminal law isunder federal jurisdiction, Klineberg said.

"In all the other places, it is one level of government thatmakes all the decisions and really administers the regime,"Klineberg told the committee during Monday's inaugural hearing.

"I think a very big challenge will be deciding which are theaspects of a physician-assisted dying regime that are best dealtwith at the federal criminal level and which are the elements thatare best dealt with at the provincial level."

Doctor-assisted dying report made public

9 years ago

Duration 7:26

Benot Pelletier, one of three panelists tasked by the last government to study doctor-assisted dying, discusses the right to die and his panel's findings

Also Monday, a three-member panel commissioned by the previousConservative government releasedits final report afterconsulting with 73 experts in five countries and 92 representativesfrom 46 Canadian organizations.

"We are convinced that implementing a safe and thoughtfulphysician-assisted dying framework with equitable access foreligible Canadians will require substantial co-operation between allCanadian jurisdictions," the report said.

"We are aware that the provinces and territories of Canada haveworked hard towards establishing a framework. Medical regulatorshave also been diligent in their preparations."

Implementation will require expertise from multiple sectors, thereport noted.

Another major hurdle from a policy perspective will be how toachieve consensus on the conditions under which a person should beeligible for a physician-assisted death, Klineberg said.

Over the next month, the MPs and senators on the committee areexpected to hear from the public, experts and stakeholders with thegoal of reporting back with legislative suggestions by Feb. 26.

There's no time to waste, acknowledged Sen. James Cowan, a memberof the Senate Liberal caucus.

"We obviously have a very limited time frame to do anything,"Cowan said.

"It seems to me that it is important that we decide early onwhat are the key issues we want to address. We can't sort of startfrom scratch and assume nobody has ever looked at this before."

The Supreme Court decision last February recognized the right ofconsenting adults enduring intolerable physical or mental sufferingto end their lives with a doctor's help.

The court suspended its decision for a year to allow Parliamentand provincial legislatures to respond, should they choose, bybringing in legislation consistent with the constitutionalparameters laid out in the ruling.

On Friday, the court gave the federal government four additionalmonths to produce a new law, but also allowed an exemption foranyone who wants to ask a judge to end their life sooner.

The Liberal government had argued it needed the original deadlineextended by six months in order to have time to craft a proper law.

Conservative MP and committee member Mark Warawa said he wishesthere was more time to explore the issue, but said the committeewould work hard within the established time frame.