Quebec right-to-die bill on chopping block as provincial election looms

QUEBEC – Quebec’s right-to-die legislation risks dying on the order paper with a provincial election looming.

The Parti Quebecois government says it has the support of the Coalition for Quebec’s Future, which was ready to vote today on Bill 52 before the legislature breaks for at least two weeks.

But the Opposition Liberals insist they want more time and their leader Philippe Couillard has refused to budge on the question of the time allotted to speak and will revisit the issue after the break.

The bill risks not surviving if it is not passed before the dissolution of the legislature, expected after the break.

Negotiations have intensified with widespread speculation the PQ will call an election in the coming weeks that would set a provincial vote for April.

Four years in the making, the bill has all-party support and has passed all hurdles, including two years worth of public hearings.

But in the case of a rare free vote, the Liberals don’t want to limit the speaking time for its members, whatever the electoral agenda of the PQ government may be.