Summary of the government's bill on medical assistance in dying

Have you been following the news about the future law in Canada that will allow physician-assisted dying? Have you perhaps been wondering what the government is going to propose for the new law? I'm keeping an eye on it so that I can determine whether my clients will be able to give instructions for assisted dying in their Advance Health Care Directives (no determination on that as yet).

I recently came across an excellent analysis of the bill that's currently being proposed by the government, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know the details of who will be able to access physician-assisted dying, and what circumstances must exist to make it available. The article is simply a summary of the facts, with some helpful commentary, of the terms of the proposed bill. It's not an editorial and it won't try to persuade you to either support or oppose the idea of physician-assisted dying.

Click here to read a summary of the proposal made by Canada's justice minister on April 16, 2016 (Bill C-14). The summary was prepared by the law firm of McInnes Cooper.