Provencher MP Ted Falk says he voted against a bill on assisted dying which was approved last week in the House of Commons. Falk explains he did so because the legislation did not include enough safeguards for those who do not want to participate in such a procedure.

"As much as I fought hard to get the bill to have stronger safeguards, I fought hard to get the conscience rights protections for health care workers, including physicians, but also for institutions like personal care homes and hospitals,

that they wouldn't have to provide this service if they don't want to, I fought hard for that and was disappointed it wasn't included and so, at the end of the day, when the final vote came to the House I did vote against the bill."

Falk notes he is pleased the Senate convinced the government to add a section to the bill that makes sure individuals who are considering assisted dying shall be informed of all the options to relieve their suffering.

"That was something that I had lobbied for at committee. I brought that forward and the committee didn't accept it. We put it forward in the House at the report stage of the bill and the House didn't accept it. So, when it got to the Senate, the senate said, no, that is important that individuals who are considering physician-assisted suicide should have been informed about all the options, including palliative care, which could relieve the suffering that a lot of these individuals are really concerned about."

Falk says there is a general sense in Parliament that, because the bill was rushed through to accommodate a Supreme Court deadline, it will need some fine tuning in the future and some of that may happen through court challenges.