Update from DWD Canada:
No Vote Before Two Week Recess
Quebec stumbles right at the finish line.
It was all going so very well….until it wasn’t. Quebec was poised on the threshold of a historic moment: the introduction of Bill 52. A Bill which, when passed, would for the first time in history allow Canadians to legally request medical aid in dying. A Bill which asked for better access to Palliative Care. In other words, a Bill which would provide end-of-life choice.Last week the Parti Quebecoise announced they would be tabling a budget on Thursday February 20, 2014. Once a budget is introduced, it becomes the priority piece of legislation. No other bill can take precedence. The PQs believed that Bill 52 would still have ample time to be passed this week. They were wrong. By the time all Members of the National Assembly had exercised their right to speak, the clock had run out.
Today is the last day before a two week recess. And then? If the opposition parties vote against the budget an election is likely to be called. Meantime Bill 52 will languish until it can be reintroduced in subsequent sessions of the legislature.