Close X
Sunday, September 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canadians suffering at the end of their lives need top court's help, lawyer says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Oct, 2014 10:35 AM

    OTTAWA - A lawyer set to argue at the Supreme Court of Canada this week for the right to assisted suicide says it would be a travesty if politicians simply ignore the issue.

    Grace Pastine of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says suffering Canadians are asking for the top court's help to change the current laws.

    Should the Supreme Court agree that today's rules violate the Constitution, it could give Parliament time to write new laws.

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday he has no intention of reopening the debate, noting that it has been before Parliament in the past.

    Several bills that would allow for assisted suicide have come before the House of Commons over the last two decades but none has ever made it very far.

    Still, Harper says the government is watching the case with great interest.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Emily Carr's artistic works to star in exhibit in London next month

    Emily Carr's artistic works to star in exhibit in London next month
    VICTORIA - Emily Carr's brooding, post-impressionistic paintings of West Coast aboriginal villages and British Columbia's dark rain forests will soon appear in the same English art gallery that holds collections by masters like Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Rubens.

    Emily Carr's artistic works to star in exhibit in London next month

    Manitoba government says it's making progress on some inquest recommendations

    Manitoba government says it's making progress on some inquest recommendations
    WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government says it's making progress on an inquiry report into the murder of a five-year-old girl, but some of the recommendations may take years to implement.

    Manitoba government says it's making progress on some inquest recommendations

    German witness on the stand as Magnotta first-degree murder trial enters Day 7

    German witness on the stand as Magnotta first-degree murder trial enters Day 7
    MONTREAL - The jury in Luka Rocco Magnotta's first-degree murder trial is hearing from the man the accused stayed with after arriving in Berlin in 2012.

    German witness on the stand as Magnotta first-degree murder trial enters Day 7

    IBM's Watson making the move from 'Jeopardy!' to Canadian animal hospitals

    IBM's Watson making the move from 'Jeopardy!' to Canadian animal hospitals
    TORONTO - Canadian pet owners may soon be seeing a new presence at their local vet clinic one they may be inclined to call Dr. Watson.

    IBM's Watson making the move from 'Jeopardy!' to Canadian animal hospitals

    Canadian Ebola vaccine license holder moving ahead with safety trials

    Canadian Ebola vaccine license holder moving ahead with safety trials
    TORONTO - With talk turning to the idea that Ebola vaccines and drugs may be needed to quell the West African outbreak, the tiny U.S. company that holds the licence for a Canadian-made vaccine says it is working as fast as it can to get that option tested and ready for use.

    Canadian Ebola vaccine license holder moving ahead with safety trials

    Peladeau will put his Quebecor shares in a blind trust if he becomes PQ leader

    Peladeau will put his Quebecor shares in a blind trust if he becomes PQ leader
    QUEBEC - Pierre Karl Peladeau is rejecting calls that he sell his controlling stake in Quebecor Inc. as he ponders a bid for the leadership of the Parti Quebecois.

    Peladeau will put his Quebecor shares in a blind trust if he becomes PQ leader