HAY RIVER - Opposition is being expressed in the NWT to a Quebec MP's proposed legislation that would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Sylvia Boyer, a member of the Catholic Women's League at Hay River's Assumption Church, holds ready-to-send letters opposing a Quebec MP's proposed bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

An Oct. 13 public meeting in Hay River on the contentious and emotional issue attracted a dozen people.

"I think it's totally wrong because we don't have the right to take anybody's life," said Sylvia Boyer, a member of the Catholic Women's League (CWL) at Assumption Church.

Boyer – who organized the meeting sponsored by the CWL – said the proposed legislation would particularly jeopardize vulnerable people, such as the chronically ill, the disabled and the elderly.

Instead, she believes those people should receive good social, spiritual and emotional support with the best pain management and palliative care.

Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde has presented a private member's bill in the House of Commons that would amend the Criminal Code to permit euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Bill C-384 is Lalonde's third attempt to amend the law.

Boyer said, while the private member's bill is unlikely to pass the House of Commons, people should speak out against it just in case.

"We can't just sit back and be idle and expect someone else to take action," she said.

Shirley Hancock, a CWL member who attended the public meeting, said she hopes the bill is not passed.

"It's a big concern, that's definitely for sure," she said.

Hancock also encourages other people to voice their opposition.

People at the meeting were provided with form letters to sign and send to a number of federal politicians, including the prime minister, the minister of health, the minister of justice and Dennis Bevington, the MP for the Western Arctic.

Boyer said the form letters would also be made available to people attending services at Assumption Church.

She hopes a couple of hundred letters in all would be sent from Hay River residents.

Joan Langevin, the CWL president for the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, said letters and postcards opposing the bill have also been sent from Yellowknife and Fort Smith.

"It's pretty much across Canada with the Catholic Women's League," Langevin said.

Bevington said the proposed bill will be voted on late this month or early in November after two hours of debate.

"I don't support this bill," he said.

The MP explained a private member's bill is not the appropriate way to deal with such a serious issue involving values and ethics.

Bevington said he doesn't support moving towards a system that gives up on people no matter what their age.

However, he suggested the existing system should be analyzed and that might lead to changes that offer more protection for people and more freedom of choice.

"I'm willing to have that debate," he said.

Bevington pointed to a recent media report stating the majority of doctors in Quebec have already been involved in some form of euthanasia.

"You can't go on forever with laws that are not being upheld and are not working," he said.

The MP said he has received hundreds of letters from constituents about the proposed bill.

"I have not had any in favour of it," he said, although he said he has talked to some constituents who do support euthanasia and assisted suicide.