The CCLA has been granted leave to intervene before the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. B.F. This appeal is about the legal distinction between the offences of murder and aiding suicide. The CCLA intends to make two submissions. First, the Court must ensure Parliament’s intention to keep these two offences separate is upheld. Second, the Court should not adopt an interpretation of aiding suicide that would, in effect, make aiding suicide equivalent to murder. That would result in anyone who aids suicide facing life imprisonment and the unique stigma that attaches to a murder conviction, even if their actions do not warrant it. For example, a medical practitioner who assists a suicide, but does not comply with a rule of the medical assistance in dying regime.
The CCLA is grateful to Frank Addario and James Foy of Addario Law Group LLP for their excellent pro bono representation in this matter. We are also grateful to Catherine Ouellet of Gowling WLG LLP for their pro bono agent services.
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
For the Media
For further comments, please contact us at media@ccla.org.
English (Canada) 
Français du Canada