Medical Assistance in Dying: Langlois Represents Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC) and the Association québécoise pour le droit de mourir dans la dignité (AQDMD)

Sean Griffin, a partner in the litigation group at Langlois Lawyers, and Véronique Roy, a lawyer in the group, were mandated by DWDC and the AQDMD to intervene in support of applicants Nicole Gladu and Jean Truchon, in connection with their Motion for a declaratory judgment filed before the Quebec Superior Court on June 20, 2017. 

The applicants sought medical assistance in dying but their requests were denied. Their motion seeks to strike the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code and Quebec’s Act respecting End-of-Life Care as unconstitutional, particularly in light of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Carter v. Canada (A.G.), [2015] 1 S.C.R. 331. 

In Carter, the Court concluded that the State cannot prohibit medical assistance in dying “insofar as it deprives a competent adult of such assistance where (1) the person affected clearly consents to the termination of life; and (2) the person has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.” 

The applicants’ position, which DWDC and the AQDMD support, is that the contested legislative provisions are at odds with the Supreme Court’s conclusions in Carter and unjustly violate the applicants’ rights and freedoms.