CBC Canada reported on January 18, 2014:
Francine Lalonde, the former Quebec MP who tried unsuccessfully to have a right-to-die bill passed by Parliament, has died of bone cancer, the Bloc Québécois announced today. The 73 year-old died shortly after the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear an appeal about whether the prohibition against assisted suicide is constitutional.
Lalonde, an 18-year veteran of the House of Commons, opted not to run in the last general election due to the recurrence of her disease. She was one of the few federal politicians willing to take on the controversial assisted suicide issue and although her party supported her, most of her fellow MPs did not. In 2009 and again in 2010 she introduced two private member’s bills allowing legally assisted suicide for someone who is seriously ill. Both bills were defeated.
Gilles Duceppe, former leader of the Bloc Québécois, told Radio-Canada Friday that Lalonde was determined to lead the fight to die with dignity, which she proved until the very end, he said. He also said Lalonde was proud of Veronique Hivon, the Quebec politician who has managed to take an assisted suicide bill as far as committee stage in the Quebec national assembly, which means it has passed two readings.
A (French) tribute to Francine Lalonde. The English translation here.