Quebec to authorize early requests for MAID, won't wait for Ottawa to change law

Quebec says that starting this fall it will authorize early requests for medical assistance in dying from certain patients before their condition renders them incapable of giving consent.

The province has been calling on the federal government to modify the Criminal Code to allow people to make such requests, but Quebec says it won't wait any longer.

Quebec adopted a law in June 2023 permitting people with serious and incurable illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, to ask for MAID while they have the capacity to provide consent, with the procedure being carried out after their condition has worsened.

The province previously said it would wait until the Criminal Code is amended so that health-care workers are not committing a crime if they end the life of someone no longer able to give consent.

A spokesperson for Quebec Seniors Minister Sonia Bélanger says that despite multiple requests by Quebec to change the Criminal Code, the federal government refuses to do so.

The office of federal Health Minister Mark Holland says the federal government "continues to collaborate with Quebec on this matter."

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2024.