SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

Hon. Arif Virani

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
  • Liberal
  • Parkdale—High Park
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 64%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • Feb/13/24 10:26:27 a.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's remarks and his hard work on the special joint committee. I have several points to raise. The first one is that the bill addresses mental illness as the sole condition. The act requires that we deal with the issue before March 17, 2024. I have a lot of respect for my colleague across the aisle. He mentioned that Canadians from coast to coast agree on the issue of advance requests. Although Quebec has expressed its willingness, I do not believe that all Canadians agree; that is the second point. Obviously, if we want to extend medical assistance in dying to advance requests, we need to do so responsibly and with caution, as we did with all of the other issues, in other words, with all of the health experts, namely health ministers, psychiatrists, doctors and nurses. We need to proceed with caution, making sure to respect individual rights. We also need to strike a balance between individual rights and the protection of vulnerable persons. That is how we have been doing things since 2016, and that is how we will continue in the future. Once again, it is important to note that the Criminal Code applies to the entire country. It is important to have clear information for all Canadians, so that everyone understands their rights and the criminal rules that apply across Canada. Criminal law must be consistent from one province to another. That said, political discussions with Quebec are ongoing because this conversation needs to be had. However, we need to proceed carefully, cautiously and prudently.
266 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • Feb/13/24 10:20:59 a.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to give a two-part answer to that question. First, the Province of Quebec itself has said that it is not prepared to provide medical assistance in dying to people whose only medical condition is a mental disorder. Second, my colleague mentioned advance requests. That is another issue. I have tremendous respect for the crucial work that has already been done in Quebec on advance requests. However, Canada has only one Criminal Code, and there is a very good reason for that. Canadians deserve to have consistent standards and clarity about what is criminal and what is not criminal across the country. There is no quick way to safely allow an exception for Quebec on this issue at this time. The conversation does not end here, though. We are committed to working with Quebec to determine the next step. We have taken a cautious approach to medical assistance in dying from day one back in 2016. We will continue to proceed with caution on this issue for the whole country.
175 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border