Beyond The Commons

Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Who will advocate for euthanasia?

by Aaron Wherry on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 10:00am - 7 Comments

Neither the government nor the official opposition seem interested in pursuing the recommendations of yesterday’s Royal Society report.

But despite the ambitious proposals, there are no signs Ottawa wants to have a debate. “We have no plans to propose any reforms to this area of the law,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said. And the opposition echoed that reluctance: “We don’t want to go down that road,” NDP MP Jack Harris said.

Of the 57 MPs who supported Francine Lalonde’s motion last year, most, owing to the Bloc’s collapse, were defeated this spring. In all, by my count, 10 members who voted for C-384 at second reading remain in the House: Mauril Belanger, Olivia Chow, Denis Coderre, Jean Crowder, Libby Davies, Megan Leslie, John McCallum, Maria Mourani, Massimo Pacetti and Louis Plamondon.

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  • OriginalEmily1

    Get religion out of govt, treat Canadians as adults, and decriminalize this.

    Put standard protections in place, and move on.

    • PnZ

      Who said anything about religion?

      • OriginalEmily1

        Religion is the only reason it’s forbidden.

  • Anonymous

    I get how this can’t be a policy of a political party.  I’m saddened by the practical fact, but I’m not blind to it.  So, obviously it is something deserving of a free vote in parliament.  The question to ask is, “Will the political party refuse to allow a free vote on the subject?”  And then of course the question is to ask all your local candidates how they would vote under a free vote in the House of Commons.

    Hey, stuff like this could actually make an MP almost, kind of relevant!

  • James

    Eventually Assisted Suicide should become legal due to historical
    development

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