Ensure Your Voice is Heard by November 1, 2015 on Physician Assisted Suicide/Death

As the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Canadians should have a right to physician assisted suicide/death, the Federal government is required to create the legal means by which assisted suicide/death will be accessed.  In this regard the Federal government struck a panel of experts to provide it with recommendations on the process for enacting legal access to assisted suicide/death.  While Inclusion Alberta remains opposed to physician assisted suicide/death because of the risk it presents to individuals with developmental disabilities, this will become legal under the law. Our energies now need to focus on safeguarding the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and others who are vulnerable.  This need to safeguard those who are vulnerable is actually consistent with the findings of the Supreme Court.

The deadline for Canadians to participate in the Federal Panel on Physician Assisted Suicide online consultation is November 1st, 2015.  We encourage everyone to participate.  

Information on the Panel can be found at  http://www.ep-ce.ca/home/ and the survey itself can be found at http://www.ep-ce.ca/issue-book/

This survey is very user friendly, we encourage you to sharing this with anyone else you feel is interested and of course as immediately and as possible. It is critically important that your voice is heard on this as we need to ensure individuals with developmental disabilities are protected and their lives not threatened given their vulnerabilities.

For more information you can read the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) position on safeguarding individuals with developmental disabilities, which Inclusion Alberta has endorsed.  Information on CACL’s position can be found here: Who is Vulnerable:  http://www.cacl.ca/node/2517/

Proposed Policy Framework:  http://www.cacl.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/CACL%20AS%20Policy%20Framework.pdf

Proposal to Regulate Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia in Canada:  http://www.cacl.ca/action/campaigns/protecting-choice-safeguarding-inclusion#sthash.WdajQvXJ.dpuf

Federal Criminal Code amendments by David Baker and Gilbert Sharpe, endorsed by CACL:   http://www.cacl.ca/action/campaigns/protecting-choice-safeguarding-inclusion#sthash.WdajQvXJ.dpuf