As Ottawa prepares to rewrite Canada’s euthanasia law, palliative care doctors and hospice operators are urging lawmakers to acknowledge that palliative care and medically induced death are separate and distinct things.

Despite the vast knowledge already gathered surrounding palliative care, gaining even greater insight is never a bad thing and is the premise behind a new research hub at Hamilton’s McMaster University to advance education and service delivery.

OTTAWA -- The Catholic Church is doubling down on its efforts to encourage increased government and societal support for palliative care as the best way to help Canadians experience a “dignified natural death” as a barrage of Canadian court decisions continue to chip away at the safeguards surrounding assisted suicide in the country.

OTTAWA -- Health Canada’s five-year Action Plan on Palliative Care announced Aug. 20 is a “lacklustre” effort that fails to commit enough resources, says Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu.

As both a Catholic teacher and founding member of Dementia Advocacy Canada, Matt Dineen wants to visit parishes to explain what they should do to be dementia-ready and — perhaps more important — why they should do it.

As the saying goes, no news is good news.

OTTAWA – Despite granting privileges to a palliative care physician who supports Canada’s euthanasia law, the Catholic identity of Elisabeth Bruyère Hospital is not threatened, said Ottawa’s archbishop.

OTTAWA – Euthanasia opponents welcomed news that Canada’s new Attorney General David Lametti says the Liberal government has no plans to expand access to assisted suicide in the near future.

Britain’s Royal College of Physicians has adopted a neutral position on assisted suicide until they hear back from British doctors on whether they favour changing United Kingdom laws against doctors helping their patients commit suicide.

OTTAWA – The Liberal government has promised to study three new reports on the possible expansion of the euthanasia law to include minors and those who suffer from mental disorders, but advocacy groups warn the government will likely expand the law after the 2019 election.

Ontario’s palliative care doctors are warning that the government is not ready for “an imminent spike in the number of people facing end-of-life.”

EDMONTON – Citing the needs of fragile patients, Covenant Health has clarified how assessments are done in its facilities for patients who want to end their lives under provisions of Canada’s assisted suicide and euthanasia law.

OTTAWA – Palliative care advocates are applauding a new national framework document that has adopted an international definition of palliative care that excludes euthanasia and assisted suicide as elements of patient care. 

OTTAWA – Changes may be coming to the controversial Canada Summer Jobs attestation requirement, concluded a delegation from the Catholic Women’s League after a series of meetings on Parliament Hill.

The title of family caregiver implies the act of giving care to loved ones with acute or chronic health issues. What it fails to convey is the importance of caregivers receiving care themselves — and that’s a  problem, according to a new study.