Close X
Friday, November 15, 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

    Activists Rally Against Climate Change In B.C.

    Activists Rally Against Climate Change In B.C.
    VANCOUVER - Hundreds marched through downtown Vancouver on Sunday in support of a United Nations meeting that hopes to stifle climate change.

    Activists Rally Against Climate Change In B.C.

    New Brunswick Voters Go To The Polls

    New Brunswick Voters Go To The Polls
    FREDERICTON - After a 32-day election campaign fought largely on jobs, voters in New Brunswick decide Monday between a Liberal plan to turn the economy around through government stimulus or a Progressive Conservative promise to allow greater development of the province's natural resources.

    New Brunswick Voters Go To The Polls

    Why Winnipeg? How Canada's National Lab Became An Ebola Research Powerhouse

    Why Winnipeg? How Canada's National Lab Became An Ebola Research Powerhouse
    When Dr. Frank Plummer talks about the first experimental Ebola drug used in an outbreak, he pronounces it "Zed Map." "I do it consciously," says Plummer, who retired this year after serving for nearly 14 years as the head of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

    Why Winnipeg? How Canada's National Lab Became An Ebola Research Powerhouse

    Fight To Stop Huge Ontario Wind Farm In Court

    Fight To Stop Huge Ontario Wind Farm In Court
    The first court phase of a legal fight aimed at scuttling what would be one of Ontario's largest wind-energy developments kicks off Monday with a farm family trying to force an immediate stop to its construction.

    Fight To Stop Huge Ontario Wind Farm In Court

    Alberta To Review Fatal Cougar Shooting

    Alberta To Review Fatal Cougar Shooting
    Alberta's justice minister has ordered a review into the shooting of a cougar near a Calgary hospital. Jonathan Denis says he's no expert on how the situation should have been handled, but he says he is asking for a full review of the matter.

    Alberta To Review Fatal Cougar Shooting

    Canadians In Global Climate Protest In New York City; Want Harper At Un Summit

    Canadians In Global Climate Protest In New York City; Want Harper At Un Summit
    NEW YORK - Dozens of Canadians are among the thousands of demonstrators marching through New York City to demand action on climate change.

    Canadians In Global Climate Protest In New York City; Want Harper At Un Summit