OTTAWA – The debate in Canada on physician-assisted death has gone on for a generation. With the federal government facing a court-imposed June deadline to produce a law on the practice and legislation expected as early as next week, here’s a brief chronology of the debate, in Canada and around the world:

1993: In the case of Sue Rodriguez, a B.C. resident diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, the Supreme Court of Canada upholds by a 5-4 margin the Criminal Code ban on assisted suicide. The dissenters include then-justice Beverley McLachlin, who becomes chief justice in 2000. The year after the decision, Rodriguez took her own life with the help of a doctor.

1991-2010:The House of Commons and its committees debate six private member’s bills seeking to decriminalize assisted suicide. None pass.

1994: The state of Oregon, as a result of a citizens’ initiative, alters its laws to permit medical aid in dying for a person suffering from a terminal disease.

1995: The Senate issues a report on assisted suicide and euthanasia with a majority expressing concerns about the risk of abuse under a permissive regime and the need for respect for life. A minority support an exemption to the prohibition in some circumstances.

1997: Colombia allows assisted suicide after a decision of the constitutional court.

2002: The Netherlands Parliament establishes a regulatory regime for assisted dying.

2011: The Royal Society of Canada publishes a report on end-of-life decision-making and recommends that the Criminal Code be modified to permit assistance in dying in some circumstances.

2011: The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association files a suit challenging the Criminal Code ban on behalf of several patients.

2012: The Quebec National Assembly’s select committee on dying with dignity issues a report recommending amendments to legislation to recognize medical aid in dying.

2012: A British Columbia judge rules in favour of the civil liberties association, declaring the assisted death ban unconstitutional.

2013: A majority of the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturns the lower court ruling, saying the judge was bound by the Rodriguez decision.

2014: Quebec adopts an assisted-death law, effective in December 2015.

2015: The Supreme Court of Canada reverses the court of appeal and its own Rodriguez decision to declare the assisted death ban unconstitutional, approving physician-assisted death for “a competent adult person who (1) clearly consents to the termination of life and (2) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.” The court gives the federal government a year to change the law.

January 2016: The Supreme Court gives the government a four-month extension — until June 6 — to change the law.

April 2016: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is confident the government can meet the June deadline.