Nelson: Danielle Smith drives stake through Albertans' liberty Rules around medical assistance in dying are today’s Big Sister reality |
Share this Story : Edmonton Journal Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr
Nelson: Danielle Smith drives stake through Albertans' liberty
Rules around medical assistance in dying are today’s Big Sister reality
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Danielle Smith once railed about the state pressuring Albertans into taking a vaccine, even one billed as a lifesaver. Today, as premier, she intends to tell us when we’re allowed to die.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters.
Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account.
Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
Support local journalism.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters.
Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account.
Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
Support local journalism.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
Enjoy additional articles per month.
Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
Enjoy additional articles per month
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
That’s what power does to a person.
It’s why anyone claiming to be a libertarian who subsequently chooses a political career is either fooling themself or intends to do exactly that to the rest of us.
The two are mutually exclusive. How can you stand for individual liberty and the right to make your own choices and accept the consequences, but then follow a career where, if successful, you pass laws telling everyone else what to do?
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
There was an error, please provide a valid email address.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
It is self-delusion tied at the hip with hypocrisy.
That’s why the recent move by Smith’s government to severely curtail an individual’s right to die stands in stark contrast to her past support for Albertans who refused COVID vaccinations despite massive government pressure. These people were, in Smith’s expressed view, the “most discriminated against group” in her lifetime.
If wanting to risk their own health — perhaps their own lives — by not being jabbed, it was their right to do so.
That was then. This is now.
All that previous backing for Albertans to take control of our own lives, even if it results in death, is a thing of the past. Her government’s proposed Bill 18 — the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act — which severely limits rules around medical assistance in dying, is today’s Big Sister reality.
Such assistance will now be prohibited for those unlikely to die of natural causes within 12 months, for those whose only underlying medical condition is a mental illness and for individuals without the mental ability to make their own health-care decisions.
In tandem, advance requests — pre-approvals for future assisted dying before that individual loses capacity to provide informed consent — will also be prohibited.
So, if you fear living out your days as an Alzheimer’s patient and try to prevent this in advance by making arrangements to terminate your life once you lose capacity, you can’t. And once dementia sets in, you’re still blocked, because now you don’t have the mental capacity required.
Meanwhile, lots of people suffer dreadful pain, whose lives ahead are nothing but continual torment, yet are still judged more than a year away from death. They, too, are now prevented from seeking an end to such abject suffering.
Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery, point man on the proposed new law, believes the government is on the right side of history. One wonders what history he means — the one where the Church owned people’s lives and where the Kingdom of Heaven could only be obtained after relentless suffering?
OILERS MAILBAG: At what point does McDavid abandon this sinking ship? Sports
OILERS MAILBAG: At what point does McDavid abandon this sinking ship?
Three provinces join Premier Danielle Smith's call for the federal government to make judicial reforms Local News
Three provinces join Premier Danielle Smith's call for the federal government to make judicial reforms
Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});
Knoblauch hits bullseye, reveals how Oilers can beat anybody, instead of just beating themselves Cult of Hockey
Knoblauch hits bullseye, reveals how Oilers can beat anybody, instead of just beating themselves
Former Alberta premier Kenney to take on separatist advocate in two debates Politics
Former Alberta premier Kenney to take on separatist advocate in two debates
Lorne Gunter: Judicial reform needed to counter courts’ progressive bias Columnists
Lorne Gunter: Judicial reform needed to counter courts’ progressive bias
Seems more like an extreme episode of Survivor than any expression of care, love or respect.
Maybe that strain of religiosity still thrives within the UCP ranks, and that’s why it is taking this heavy-handed route.
Or perhaps it’s another grab for powers usually held by Ottawa, as in wanting to replace the Canada Pension Plan or the Mounties. If so, it is another example of politics running roughshod over the wishes of regular people. Libertarians would be appalled.
If Smith continues this route, it comes with a hefty price tag.
Preventing a dignified and welcome end to some Albertans’ lives and, instead, making us linger in pain and misery means her government is morally responsible for paying the resulting bill.
We already have major challenges with rising health care and care home costs. With a huge swath of baby boomers now entering their 70s and 80s, such costs will explode.
In curtailing individuals’ right to pick their own escape route, the government can’t then shirk the accompanying tab.
So, don’t be surprised if Bill 18 is later scrapped. Not because of compassion or a return to individual liberty, but because the UCP is too scared to increase taxes to pay for the result.
Chris Nelson is a weekly columnist.
Share this Story : Edmonton Journal Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.