Drugs for doctor-assisted death will be free in Ontario

Announcement comes as court-ordered deadline passes for federal government to pass a new law.

Thestar.com
June 6, 2016
By Rob Ferguson

Ontarians who choose a medically assisted death will get the drugs for free now that the practice is legal, Health Minister Eric Hoskins said Monday as federal legislation on assisted dying remained in limbo.

But the uncertainty surrounding Bill C-14 - now under consideration by the Senate - prompted the province to advise patients and doctors get legal approval before taking the penultimate step.

Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur said it’s important to ensure cases meet the criteria set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in a landmark 2015 decision striking down the ban on assisted dying.

“While not required by the Supreme Court, we encourage patients and health-care providers to seek further clarity about how the Supreme Court’s decision applies to their particular circumstances by bringing an application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice,” she and Hoskins said in a joint statement.

Meilleur later told reporters such applications can be heard in “a timely manner.”

In Ottawa, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott said guidelines from the provinces on assisted dying don’t provide enough clarity and protection for health-care providers in the absence of legislation, The Canadian Press reported.

The Supreme Court tossed out the assisted dying ban last year as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically the right to life, liberty and security of the person.

It set Monday as the deadline for the federal government to have legislation in place governing the practice nationwide, leaving provincial governments to fill the gap.

To qualify for physician-assisted death, citizens must have “grievous and irremediable” health conditions that cause intolerable suffering on an enduring basis, the Supreme Court ruled.

But the federal government bill restricts assisted dying to competent adults over 18 with a terminal or incurable illness whose death is “reasonably foreseeable.”

Critics have raised concerns the bill falls short of the court’s intentions and Liberal promises by failing people who are suffering intolerably with non-terminal diseases or conditions.

Hoskins - who, like his federal counterpart, is a doctor - encouraged senators and MPs to pass the legislation “as expeditiously as possible.”

He noted Ontario physicians and patients can proceed with “appropriate medical assistance” under strictures set out by the provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons.

“It’s really up to the health care provider together with a pharmacist to make specific decisions in the context of the guidelines,” Hoskins said.

Aside from the Supreme Court criteria, the regulatory body for Ontario’s doctors stresses that cases must involve intolerable physical or psychological conditions and that “physicians must use their professional judgment to assess an individual’s suitability.”

The province will also establish a referral service so that doctors who are “unwilling or unable” to help patients die can refer them to doctors who will perform the service, Hoskins said.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she is concerned the delayed federal legislation will cause hardships, particularly with the Ontario recommendation patients going to court for approval.

“Not only is it a financial barrier, but the clock is ticking for many of these folk. The whole point of this kind of process ... is to put them out of their pain and to give them a chance to die with dignity.”

Ontario is doing the best it can for the “short period of time” he expects to pass before federal legislation is in place, Hoskins said.