OTTAWA — The Harper government is finally set to announce its long-promised public consultation process on the explosive issue of doctor-assisted dying.
As part of the consultation process to be announced this afternoon, The Canadian Press has learned the government is creating a panel of experts to conduct roundtable discussions.
The government has been dragging its feet on the issue since last February when the Supreme Court threw out the law prohibiting medically assisted death.
The top court gave the government 12 months to craft a new law that recognizes the right of clearly consenting adults who are enduring intolerable physical or mental suffering to seek medical help to end their lives.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay last month signalled that the Conservative government, if re-elected this fall, would ask the court to extend the deadline, citing time constraints caused by the election.
However, some legal experts have doubted the court would grant an extension since the government has done little to advance the file since February; it's been promising since March that public consultations would be launched "very soon."
