Amendments to legislation introduced today in the Manitoba Legislature will clarify the Fatality Inquiries Act and the Vital Statistics Act after Canada legalized medical assistance in dying earlier this year.

“Manitoba’s laws must comply with changes to federal legislation; in this case, to reflect an individual’s right to choose medical assistance in dying,” said Justice Minister Heather Stefanson.  “This change would remove the legal requirement for a medical examiner to become involved when a death that would otherwise be considered a natural death occurs with medical assistance, showing appropriate respect for an individual’s end-of-life choice.” 

Once passed, the amendments would clarify that a death resulting from a procedure that complies with the Criminal Code is not a suicide or homicide for the purposes of these two acts.  The province would also have the authority to create regulations related to collecting and sharing aggregated information about medical assistance in dying.