More Canadians will be able to access medical assistance in dying (MAiD) as a new law went into effect this week after the senate accepted a revised version of Bill C-7.
The bill revised the country’s assisted dying regime, a response to a 2019 Quebec Superior Court decision that struck down as unconstitutional part of the federal government’s previous MAiD law which stated only individuals whose natural deaths were “reasonably foreseeable” could be eligible for the procedure.
The revised law paves the way for “intolerably suffering” people who are not near their natural end of their lives to have access to MAiD.
The law is to eventually include people suffering from mental illnesses.
Representatives of the Delta Hospice Society made a presentation to the Standing Senate Committee for Legal and Constitutional Affairs last month asking it to intercede with the situation regarding the Delta Hospice facility, saying what is needed is a mechanism whereby palliative care societies and facilities can continue to exist “euthanasia-free.”
Board president Angelina Ireland in February noted they asked the senate for an amendment for “safe spaces for the dying.”
Their statement, in part, noted that the introduction of MAiD has had the unintended consequence of creating a political movement which threatens to decimate the 50-year-old medical discipline of palliative care.
“Our not-for-profit society has a constitution, purpose, and a membership that does not include MAiD as part of our ethos. We follow the philosophy of every international palliative care organization in the world, including the World Health Organization, that MAiD is not part of palliative care. We declined to provide MAiD because it is not part of the provision of hospice palliative care.
“Shockingly, the Fraser Health Authority unilaterally cancelled our Service Agreement and parlayed that into a default in our land lease which they granted to us 10 years ago. The manufactured lease default permits Fraser Health to confiscate $9.5 million of our assets without compensation. Our solid community work of 30 years is about to be stolen from us.”
The statement also noted, “With the introduction of MAiD legislation, we are sure it was not the Government’s intention to destroy authentic palliative care facilities like our hospice and replace them with MAiD Centres, but that is what has happened here.”
In February 2020, Fraser Health provided 365 days' notice to end the service agreement with the society without cause.
The board had reversed a decision by the previous board to allow MAiD, putting it at odds with the province and FHA, which mandated that publicly-funded hospices that don’t have religious affiliations provide it to those who request the procedure.
In a media release issued Feb. 26, 2021, the FHA stated: “On Feb. 25, in accordance with the lease between Fraser Health and the Delta Hospice Society, we issued a notice of breach of lease to the Society, as the Society is no longer using the Irene Thomas Hospice site, the Harold and Veronica Savage Centre for Supportive Care site and surrounding lands for publicly funded health care services.”
The health region also stated, “As a result, Fraser Health expects to terminate the lease and will take exclusive possession of the lands and buildings with effect from 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 29, 2021. We are hoping to take possession of the lands and buildings prior to March 29 if the Delta Hospice Society is agreeable.”
The City of Delta has asked to assume the lease of the supportive care centre.
