Cheap beer and wine sorbet keep this La Tuque resident sedated while she waits for her turn for the needle. (Photo: Morgan, CC BY 2.0)
Montreal—A Quebec court upheld Canada’s first physician-assisted suicide law last week, and with it, the emerging trend of visitors coming to the province for the sole purpose of dying.
“Visiting Quebec has always been a bit suicidal,” motel owner Eglantine Thivierge observed. “The corrupt construction industry has made certain of that, with crumbling bridges and buildings made out of concrete with the strength of papier-mâché. But decriminalizing suicide has brought in the tourists like nothing else.”
Opponents had requested an injunction to the the law before Ottawa could amend Canada’s Criminal Code, but the Quebec Court of Appeal of ruled against it.
“I think this is a victory for all Québécois,” suggested Ignace Grivois. “Not all of us are happy living here, and while the terrible health care system made it simple to remain ill for years, death was not a guarantee until now.”