Professor Trudo Lemmens:

On the suggestion that there are no punishments, so there is no problem, other jurisdictions that struggle with euthanasia practices have documented how difficult it is to prosecute physicians. I will share with the committee an analysis by Belgian specialists who examined the only criminal law case in Belgium. It involved the prosecution of three physicians. They found that, on the basis of the court documents, there were serious problems with the issue of care, but the jury decided that the doctors were not guilty. I would not say that, since there are no criminal convictions, there are no problems.

The Canadian law is vague, so it is difficult to find a precise violation of criminal law. Regarding Dr. Michel Bureau in Quebec, an eligibility violation under Quebec law remains an eligibility violation and indicates a problem with the eligibility criteria being disrespected. The coroner in Ontario has found that there were cases where the law was not followed. In Quebec, a number of issues were identified. For example, Dr. Bureau states that advanced age is not a basis for medical assistance in dying - you should not be receiving that assistance just because you are old. This creates tensions with the criminal law provisions. Dr. Bureau also warns doctors in Quebec that they should not engage in physician shopping for a second assessment so that they can get an approval. All of this indicates that even the few more stringent monitoring bodies that exist are finding issues.

I suggest that members examine the case of Mr. Alan Nichols in Quebec, where the family complained to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP. This happened under the first law when it was still restricted to reasonably foreseeable natural death. The RCMP did not know what to do with the complaint, so told the family that it was about medical practice and they should go to the Quebec College of Physicians. The college told the family that, unless the RCMP – the federal police – investigated, the college would not investigate as a professional violation of practice. The buck was being passed from one institution to another because they did not know how to deal with cases.

Saying that having no prosecutions means things are fine is a weak argument and does not hold up.