OTTAWA - The two cabinet ministers at the centre of the assisted-dying debate are saying thanks but no thanks to a proposed Senate amendment that would make it easier for Canadians to get medical help to end their lives.
Health Minister Jane Philpott and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould say they are OK with most of the seven amendments the Senate has proposed to their controversial assisted-death bill, known as C-14.
Not surprisingly, however, they are standing firm on the legislation's central pillar: that only those who are near death should qualify for medical assistance in dying.
The Senate did away with that requirement during two weeks of lengthy debate in the upper house before passing the amended bill late Wednesday by a vote of 64-12, with one abstention.
Some senators, including government representative Peter Harder, voted for it rather than risk having the bill defeated altogether. Another version of the legislation must now go through the Commons again before returning to the upper chamber.
Philpott says the government hopes the Senate will ultimately agree that it's essential that a federal law be put in place as soon as possible.
