This week’s Supreme Court hearing on euthanasia was about life and death, of course, but it is equally about a powerful clash of institutions.

By Peter Stockland October 16, 2014

1 minute read

This week’s Supreme Court hearing on euthanasia was about life and death, of course, but it is equally about a powerful clash of institutions.

While the so-called Carter case was argued on the merits of discovering in the Canadian constitution a right to what might be called concierge service suicide, the heart of the discussion was really the balance of power between the courts and Canada’s Parliament.

All constitutional cases, by their nature, engage that balance in differing ways, particularly when they involve the sections of the Charter of Rights dealing with security of the person and equality rights. Yet Wednesday’s forensic test match on euthanasia touched a tipping point that may have been brushed against only 26 years ago in the Morgentaler case on abortion; perhaps not even then.

At least two elements make the Carter case so noteworthy in that regard.

You'll also enjoy...

God Promises More

Wally Buono defines success in the Canadian Football League. He is the winningest head coach in league history. He has won five Grey Cups as a coach, two more as a player. But the current head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations for the B.C. Lions is also a devout Christian who says true success is God changing your heart.

‘Inclusion’ to the Exclusion of Religious Freedom

In fact, as lawyer Albertos Polizogopoulos told me in an interview following the recent Ontario Appeal Court decision in the Trinity Western University case, what we should be concerned about is the implacable use of “inclusion” to exclude Canadians from their Charter Rights around religious freedom...

Last Call for Overhaul

Legal changes around drinking and driving (supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving) passed in 2018 criminalize Canadians who've done nothing wrong, say some defence lawyers in Ontario. Convivium publisher Peter Stockland sees this as part of a larger trend of groups that initially come into existence to gain a given end soon end up making their continued existence the reason they continue to exist.