Expanding medical aid in dying is ‘at the top of the pile,’ Dubé says

The National Assembly has 11 more working days to pass legislation before a recess that will lead into an election.

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QUEBEC — Health Minister Christian Dubé expects to table and pass a bill in the coming weeks expanding medical aid in dying to people with diseases like Alzheimer’s.

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“It’s a file that is really at the top of the pile on my desk,” Dubé said Thursday in the legislature in response to a question from Liberal MNA David Birnbaum. “I asked the legislative team to prepare the bill.”

The National Assembly sits for 11 more days before the summer recess and a general election in October.

Last Thursday, MNAs who were on a special committee on end-of-life care put pressure on the government, saying it was “a minute to midnight.”

Along with author Sandra Demontigny, who has a hereditary form of Alzheimer’s, they called on Dubé to table a bill to expand access to medical aid in dying, allowing those with neurodegenerative diseases to consent to it in advance and appoint a third party to ensure their wishes are carried out.

The bill is being prepared and is almost ready to be sent to various committees and the cabinet, Dubé said.

“It will be tabled with opposition consensus. We’ll even be able to vote before the end of the session.”

Dubé is currently shepherding three health bills through the approval process — Bill 11 on family doctors, Bill 19 on health information and Bill 28 on the health emergency.