Senators extend sitting hours as court deadline for MAID bill looms - Action News
Home WebMail Monday, November 11, 2024, 04:49 AM | Calgary | -1.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Politics

Senators extend sitting hours as court deadline for MAID bill looms

Senators will be burning the midnight oil tonight as they continue debating and proposing amendments to a bill that would expand access to medical assistance in dying.
Senators will be working late tonight to debate proposed legislation on medical assistance in dying. (Shaun Best/Reuters)

Senators will be burning the midnight oil tonight as they continue debating and proposing amendments to a bill that would expand access to medical assistance in dying.

The extended hours are part of the Senate's drive to wrap up final debate and put the bill to a final vote by next Wednesday.

The schedule is intended to give the government time to meet the thrice-extended court-imposed deadline of Feb. 26 for bringing the law into compliance with a 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling.

That ruling struck down a provision that allows access to assisted dying only for people sufferingintolerablywhose natural deaths are reasonably foreseeable.

Senators already haveapproved several substantial amendments tothe bill, including one that would allow people who fear losing mental capacity to make advance requests for assisted death and another that would impose an 18-month time limit on the bill's proposed ban on assisted dying for people suffering solely from mental illnesses.

If senators approve an amended bill, it will have to go back to the House of Commons to decide whether to accept or reject the changes, and then back to the Senate to decide whether to accept the Commons' verdict.

Add some good to your morning and evening.

Your weekly guide to what you need to know about federal politics and the minority Liberal government. Get the latest news and sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.

...

The next issue of Minority Report will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in theSubscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.