Analysis: Supreme Court on doctor assisted suicide

The Supreme Court ruling last week allowing for doctor-assisted suicides was a major change in Canadian policy. Although the current federal government had argued to maintain the legal status quo under the Canadian Criminal code making such acts illegal, the court ruled that under certain specific conditions, the Criminal Code  sections dealing with the issue, ran counter to provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court struck down the particular Criminal Code sections.

The decision however does not end the issue, rather, it merely begins a new and complicated legal discussion right across the country.

Lorne Sossin, (PhD, JSD) is a Professor and the Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto

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Professor Sossin points out that this decision by the highest court in Canada, now means the federal government can either work to enact new legislation which accommodates the new ruling, or they may do nothing at all.  In the latter case, the Criminal Code sections dealing with assisted suicide simply become null and void.

Because of the complicated relationship between federal and provincial powers, laws, and the individual provinces health care institutions and colleges, Dean Sossin says there could well be a patchwork and varied implementation of rules and procedures regarding doctor assisted suicides.

He notes this will be further amplified by the vast nature of the land where such a “service” may not be available due to the somewhat remote nature of rural communities, or personal beliefs of some doctors.

Dean Sossin points out

an important detail has been left out of most discussions on this major ruling, and that is that the court awarded full costs to the appellants.

He says this is a rare occurrence and could indicate that the Supreme Court is sending a signal that it wants to make the High Court more accessible to those who would otherwise not pursue a case due to the exhorbitant costs involved.