In a rare show of unanimity, Canadian opposition and government Members of Parliament passed a motion Wednesday (May 28) for a cross-country strategy on palliative and end-of-life care.
Proposed by Official Opposition NDP MP Charlie Angus, the bill was only opposed by one MP in Wednesday’s vote and calls on the government to establish a “Pan-Canadian Palliative and End-of-life Care Strategy by working with provinces and territories on a flexible, integrated model of palliative care.”
Angus described the non-binding motion as “the common sense solution staring Canada’s political parties in the face.” He also made a point of distancing himself and his motion from what he called the “hot button, black and white” issue of assisted suicide.
“Before we go down the road saying, ‘Well, if you’re depressed or if you’ve got an incurable illness, you should be able to die,’ let’s talk about how to help families actually live out those final years with dignity,” he told reporters in March.
Canada’s Health Minister Rona Ambrose says she supports the call for a palliative care strategy, but is not promising to launch a formal effort to create such a strategy, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper.
More information:
Text of Charlie Angus palliative care motion – here
CBC News – Palliative care strategy call backed by House of Commons – here
Globe and Mail – NDP palliative-care motion gets through Commons, now up to Tories to respond – here
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