End-of-life care

The Act respecting end-of-life care was passed on June 5, 2014 and came into force on December 10, 2015.

This Act sets out an overall, integrated vision of palliative and end-of-life care. It ensures that persons at the end of life can have access to quality care and support to suit their situation in the final stage of life, particularly by preventing and relieving suffering. The Act follows the recommendations of the Select Committee on Dying with Dignity.

The Act has two components:

1. The rights of persons at the end of life, and the organization and framework of end-of-life care, which includes: 
   • palliative care including continuous palliative sedation;
   • medical aid in dying
2. Recognition of the primacy of freely and clearly expressed wishes with respect to care, in particular by establishing an advance medical directives regime.  

For further information, visit the Portail santé mieux-être.

This Act also includes specific regulations involving various institutions or palliative care hospices to which the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal (CIUSSS West-Central Montreal) is affiliated.

End-of-life care involves, first and foremost, respect for the person and preservation of his or her dignity. To this end, it is essential that the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal respect the person’s choices, his or her consent to treatment and the expression of the persons wishes with respect to the person’s end of life.

For information on advance directives, please visit the Clinical Ethics Service webpage.