Palliative care must be an integral part of any legislation on assisted dying

While an amendment to the preamble added a commitment to 'working with provinces, territories and civil society to facilitate access to palliative and end-of-life care,' this falls far short of a commitment to funding palliative care services or the establishment of a national strategy on end of life care.

Depending on their location, fewer than 16 per cent to 30 per cent of Canadians have access to hospice palliative care. Yet, an estimated 90 per cent of Canadians would benefit from such care at the end of their lives.

Opinion

BY KATHERINE ARNUP

June 6, 2016

OTTAWA—In 1967, then justice minister Pierre Trudeau’s declaration that “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation” shocked many Canadians who feared the impact of legalizing “taboo” practices. The legislation, Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69), overturned prohibi...

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