News and Resources Archive
Highlights from the launch of the Vulnerable Persons Standard in the National Press Theatre, Ottawa | March 1, 2016
Document Archive
These resources have been prepared by the Vulnerable Persons Secretariat & VPS Advisors.
| Download the VPS Media Advisory (PDF)
| Download a sample letter to Parliamentarians
| Concerns with Expanding Access to Medical Assistance in Dying: A Review of Evidence, prepared by Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS)
| Report on Assessing Vulnerability in a system for physician-assisted death in Canada - Canadian Association for Community Living
| Federal External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada
| Report of the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying
| The parameters of a Charter compliant response to Carter v. Canada - Dianne Pothier, Professor Emeritus, Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University
| Download Media Release: Physician-Assisted Death: Legal expert says Parliament cannot choose access over constitutionally-protected rights of vulnerable persons
| A Call to Parliamentarians from the National Disability Rights Community to Pass Bill C-14 - Opening Remarks, by Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.)
| Open Letter: A Call to Parliamentarians from the National Disability Rights Community “To Pass Bill C-14 to Ensure Constitutional Rights of Vulnerable Persons”
| Post D-Day (June 6, 2016): What happens, effective June 7, 2016, if no legislation has been passed by the federal Parliament to amend the Criminal Code respecting medical assistance in dying? - Dianne Pothier, Professor Emeritus, Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University
| Philip B. Berger MD; Stephen W. Hwang, MD, MPH, FRCPC; Catherine Ho, MD, FRCPC, CSCN Diplomat (EMG), Dip. Sports Med (CASEM); Renata Leong, M.D.,CM, MHSc, CCFP, FCFP; Fok-Han Leung, MD CCFP MHSc; Robert J. Sargeant MD, PhD, FRCPC – The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights
| Canadian Association for Community Living – Medical Assistance in Dying: A Private Request, a Public System: Proposed Amendments to Bill C-14
| Harvey Max Chochinov, MD – Recommended Amendments to Bill C-14
| Catherine Ferrier, MD – Brief submitted to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights
| Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.) – Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
| Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.) – Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights
| Will Johnston, MD – C-14 First Reading offers no substantive control, amendments suggested
| Physicians’ Alliance against Euthanasia – Brief submitted to the Standing Committee on Justice
| Dianne Pothier – Submissions to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Re consideration of Bill C-14
| Download the Jean Vanier Media Advisory (PDF)
| Download Jean Vanier and Hollee Card's Letter to Canadians on Fragility (PDF)
Media Archive (Commentaries)
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of CACL, Advocate urges government to "hold the line" on assisted suicide eligibility, The Guardian, April 25, 2016
Sabrina Tavernise, U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High, New York Times, April 22, 2016
David Baker, Assisted Dying Legislation, CBC News, April 14, 2016
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of CACL, Key players in the right-to-die decision and debate, CBC News, April 14, 2016
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of CACL, Federal assisted-death law dismays Victoria experts, Times Colonist, April 14, 2016
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, The puzzle of physician-hastened death, The Toronto Star, April 10, 2016
Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.), Physician-assisted death: finding the right balance, Halifax Chronicle Herald, April 7, 2016
Daniel Leblanc, Canadians want restrictions on doctor-assisted dying, poll suggests, The Globe and Mail, April 7, 2016
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, Advanced Directives For Assisted-Dying Is A Dangerous Step, Huffington Post, April 6, 2016
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, Protecting, caring for the mentally ill, Winnipeg Free Press, March 22, 2016
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, Too quick to ask for early death?, Winnipeg Free Press, March 16, 2016
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, We must speak for those who can't, Winnipeg Free Press, March 11, 2016
Deborah Gyapong, Alliance issues Vulnerable Persons' Standard to advise government on physician-assisted death, The Catholic Register, March 9, 2016
Dr. Catherine Ferrier, Physician-Assisted Death, The Roy Green Show, March 6, 2016
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of CACL, interview on talk radio show Viewpoints, CJAD 800AM, March 5, 2016
Legal options for physician-assisted dying, CBC Metro Morning, March 3, 2016
Petition calls for exclusion of mental illness from conditions for doctor-assisted dying, CTV News, March 2, 2016
Group wants safeguards built into assisted-dying laws to protect 'vulnerable' persons, CTV News, March 1, 2016
Laura Stone, Doctors urge Ottawa to provide more clarity on assisted dying law, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 29, 2016
Andrew Coyne, Canada is making suicide a public service. Have we lost our way as a society?, National Post, Feb. 29, 2016
Thomas Walkom, Parliamentary report takes a too-casual approach to doctor-assisted death, The Toronto Star, Feb. 28, 2016
David Baker and Trudo Lemmens, Assisted dying report goes beyond scope, ignores evidence, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 27, 2016
Trudeau government should move cautiously on right-to-die: Editorial, The Toronto Star, Feb. 26, 2016
Margaret Wente, Should right to die law apply to mentally ill people?, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 23, 2016
Margaret Wente, What's so difficult about the right to die?, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 23, 2016
André Picard, A dignified death for dementia patients: Who makes that call?, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 16, 2016
Media Archive (News)
Dr. Catherine Ferrier, Advance Request for Euthanasia?, Impact Ethics, June 10, 2016
Dianne Pothier, Assisted Dying Bill Not Perfect, But Far Better Than Alternatives, The Huffington Post, June 9, 2016
Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.), The Last Chapter, Ottawa Life, June 8, 2016
Mary J. Shariff, More Questions on Assisted Dying, Winnipeg Free Press, June 8, 2016
John Sikkema & Derek Ross, The Carter decision: Start of a dialogue, or final word?, Policy Options, June 7, 2016
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of CACL, and James Hicks, National Coordinator of Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Bill C-14 Respects And Protects Our Most Vulnerable, The Huffington Post, June 7, 2016
Dr. Harvey Chochinov, Without C-14 on the books, Canada will have the most open death hastening culture in the world, The Hill Times, June 7, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, Senator Murray Sinclair's Call for Senatorial and Legal Restraint Should Inspire All of Us, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, June 6, 2016
Catherine Frazee, Supreme Court now permits some Canadians to approach death on their own terms: who should those Canadians be?, The Hill Times, June 6, 2016
National Disability Rights Community, Missing C-14’s June 6 deadline puts vulnerable people at risk, says coalition, The Catholic Register, June 1, 2016
Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.), CTV National News - Physician-Assisted Death Segment (Starts at 6 min), CTV News, June 1, 2016
Michael Bach, Executive Vice-President of CACL, Canada's 'right to die' debate, Al Jazeera: The Stream, June 1, 2016
Ravi Malhotra & Caroline Lieffers, Malhotra and Lieffers: Assisted dying? Let's talk about accessible living first, Ottawa Citizen, May 5, 2016
Dianne Pothier, Doctor-assisted death bill falls well within top court’s ruling, IRPP, April 29, 2016
Thomas McMorrow, Parliament has the power to draw the lines it chooses when it comes to the legislation on physician-assisted death, Policy Options Magazine, April 22, 2016
Dr. Will Johnston, The Deadly Problems Surrounding Bill C-14, Huffington Post, April 22, 2016
Elizabeth King, Real heroes are the ones fighting for life, Toronto Star, April 21, 2016
Dr. Catherine Ferrier, Ferrier: Assisted dying bill safeguards no one's right to life, Ottawa Citizen, April 14, 2016
Dr. Harvey Chochinov, Assisted-dying law will be just the first step on a difficult road, The Globe and Mail, April 14, 2016
Dr. Catherine Ferrier, Opinion: New federal assisted-dying law fails to protect vulnerable persons from death, Montreal Gazette, April 14, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, New Bill Medical Assistance in Dying Balances Competing Charter Rights; Prior Review Still Needed, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, April 14, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, Canadians Support a More Prudent Approach to Medical-Aid-in-Dying than Parliamentary Committee, and Rightly So, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, April 10, 2016
Catherine Frazee, OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.), The Vulnerable: Who Are They?, Canadian Virtual Hospice
Senator Betty Unger, Euthanasia Legislation Must Comply with Charter to Protect the Vulnerable, April 7, 2016
Jacques Frémont, Some Thoughts Concerning Parliament's Legislative Leeway in a Post-Carter Era, Social Science Research Network, April 6, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, Joint Parliamentary Committee Assisted Dying Report Goes Beyond Scope, Ignores Evidence, University of Toronto - Faculty of Law, April 5, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, Balancing Access to Physician Assisted Dying with Protecting the Vulnerable, University of Toronto - Faculty of Law, April 1, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, Balancing Access to Physician Assisted Dying with Protecting the Vulnerable, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, April 1, 2016
Trudo Lemmens, Dangers of a Lax Assisted Death Regime, Impact Ethics, March 3, 2016
Donna Thomson, Balancing Love, Vulnerability and the Right to a Doctor Assisted Death, The Caregivers' Living Room, March 3, 2016
Al Etmanski, When Einstein's Scared I'm Scared, Al Etmanski, March 3, 2016
VPS E-Newsletters Archive
These e-newsletters have been prepared by the Vulnerable Persons Secretariat. Click to download.
| Refusal to Study the Implications of Advanced Directives an Inexplicable Error of Judgment, May 18, 2016
| Experts Underscore Role for Palliative Care as Safeguard for Vulnerable Persons, May 10, 2016
| Bill C-14 & the Vulnerable Persons Standard: A Promising Start, but Some Distance Still to Go, April 26, 2016
| Constitutional Expert Cautions Against Missing Court Deadline for Law on Physician-Assisted Death, April 22, 2016
| Bill C-14 Reflects Some Important Progress Toward the Protection of Vulnerable Persons, April 15, 2016
| Growing Support for the Vulnerable Persons Standard Reflects the Diversity of Canadian Society, April 13, 2016
| Prominent Physicians Make the Case for Arm's Length Prior Review, April 11, 2016
| New Research Report on the Assessment of Vulnerability Presents Extensive Evidence in Support of VPS Safeguards, April 8, 2016
| Vulnerable Persons Standard is Sound Public Policy, Evidence-Based, Say Leading Policy Educators, April 6, 2016
| The Vulnerable Persons Standard: A Balanced Approach to Physician-Assisted Death, April 4, 2016
| The Vulnerable Persons Standard: "The Canadian Way", April 1, 2016
| Vulnerability is about All of Us, to Think Otherwise, is 'Magical Thinking', March 29, 2016
| National Disability Organizations Call on Parliamentarians to Implement the Vulnerable Persons Standard, March 23, 2016
| Professor Emeritus, Schulich School of Law, Releases Legal Opinion in Support of Vulnerable Persons Standard, March 21, 2016
| Christian Legal Fellowship Endorses the Vulnerable Persons Standard, March 17, 2016
| Over 35 National and Provincial Organizations Now Endorsing the Vulnerable Persons Standard, March 15, 2016
| Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians Join Vulnerable Persons Standard Call to Parliamentarians, March 10, 2016
| Canadian Council of Imams Endorses the Vulnerable Persons Standard, March 8, 2016