Liberals vote to legalize assisted suicide, Trudeau’s position unclear

MONTREAL – Federal Liberals have voted in favour of legalizing assisted suicide.

Delegates to the party’s national convention have passed a motion urging that voluntary, medically assisted death be decriminalized after a public consultation process.

The consultations would be designed to recommend the criteria for allowing terminally ill Canadians to choose to end their lives, with help from a medical professional, and an oversight system to protect the vulnerable.

The resolution was jointly proposed by the party’s women’s and youth commissions and passed easily with just a show of hands.

The resolution is not binding on Leader Justin Trudeau, who has avoided staking out a position on the politically explosive issue.

During a speech to delegates on Saturday, Trudeau said the resolution challenges Liberals “to expand our idea of what it means to be a free citizen in a modern democracy” but did not say whether he supported it.