Charter Statements: Medical Assistance in Dying (Bill C-14, as Assented to on June 17, 2016)

The Minister has reviewed Bill C-14 for compliance with the Constitution, including the Charter in accordance with her obligations under section 4.1 of the Department of Justice Act. This review is included consideration of, amongst other thing, the objectives and features of the Bill as described above in PArt 1, the social science evidence and legislative, governmental and consultative reports referred to in Part 1, the evidence of other jurisdictions' approaches to and experiences with medical assistance in dying discussed in Part 2 and 3, and the views and findings of the courts in Carter, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

The following non-exhaustive list of potential impacts on the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the charter is presented to assist in informing the public and Parliamentary debate, and consequently better enable dialogue between Parliament and the courts. In addition, the Minister of Justice tabled an addendum to this Legislative Background in the House of Commons and published it on the Department of Justice website. This Part of the Legislative Background should, therefore, be read together with the Addendum, which provides an explanation of the government's position on the constitutionality of the new legislation, as well as the rationale for the approach in Bill C-14.