Medical assistance in dying: Quebec association fears impact of Dubé’s Bill 2
Posted October 30, 2025 7:34 am.
Last Updated October 30, 2025 7:36 am.
Oct. 30, 2025, marks the first anniversary of the authorization of advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Quebec. The Association québécoise pour le droit de mourir dans la dignité (AQDMD) fears the impact of the Legault government’s new law that links a portion of physicians’ compensation to performance indicators, noting that the advance request process is “long” and “complex.”
“Many physicians who provide medical assistance in dying are worried. Those who would have liked to get involved will put it aside because it takes time. It’s a long process. You can’t do it in 15 minutes, it’s as simple as that,” said AQDMD President Dr. Georges L’Espérance in an interview with The Canadian Press.
He denounced Bill 2, introduced by Health Minister Christian Dubé, which was passed under closure on Saturday morning. “They want to validate doctors’ performance based on the volume of patients they see, which is completely absurd,” he says.
Dr. L’Espérance adds that he regularly receives calls from patients who are unable to find a doctor or nurse to assist them with the process because of the time it takes.
For the past year, people with a serious and incurable illness, such as Alzheimer’s, have been able to make an advance request to receive MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) when they are no longer able to consent.
As of Oct. 16, 1,676 advance MAID requests had been submitted, and 1,511 had been approved.
In its press release, the AQDMD (Quebec Association of Medical Doctors) states that the advance request form is “complex for patients” and that “the process is demanding and extremely time-consuming for healthcare professionals, which limits access to this right, particularly in certain regions.”
The AQDMD also criticizes the “lack of enforceability” of advance directives for MAID.
“Reaching the clinical manifestations indicated on the form is not sufficient to demonstrate intolerable suffering, an essential condition for the administration of MAID. Evaluators must determine that the patient is truly suffering, even if the patient is unable to express this. However, the AQDMD points out that in incapacitated individuals with dementia, suffering may exist without being perceived, which complicates their assessment,” explains the association’s press release.
It should be noted that after adopting its bill to authorize advance directives for MAID, the Quebec government urged the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to prevent healthcare professionals administering them from committing a criminal offence.
However, Quebec ultimately decided to proceed without waiting for Ottawa to act.
“We have instructed the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions to protect physicians and nurse practitioners (NPs) from potential prosecution. Quebec continues to be a leader in this area by taking the necessary steps to uphold patients’ right to die with dignity,” stated the office of Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette in a written statement sent to The Canadian Press on Wednesday.
For its part, the AQDMD still hopes the federal government will amend the Criminal Code to allow advance directives to be issued in all Canadian provinces.
“There are still physicians and NPs who may be apprehensive because of the possibility of prosecution,” added Dr. L’Espérance.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
