Justice committee  In British Columbia, we have the provincial sales tax on legal fees, so that 7% of all legal fees is a provincial sales tax to the province. It was brought in ostensibly to fund legal aid. It now just goes into the general revenues. Last year British Columbia raised about $160 million on the provincial sales tax on legal fees and they contribute around $80 million to $90 million to legal aid, so every year they are putting about 80% or 90% into general revenues from the provincial sales tax.

Justice committee  The simple fact is that every participant in the criminal justice system is talking about access to justice and making changes, so the rules committees of various courthouses, certainly in British Columbia, are revising the rules. They're revising the forms. They're simplifying the process, but it doesn't matter.

Justice committee  Let's take a very simple situation. A young individual with a family has developed an addiction problem, for whatever reason, and he has started stealing from his employer. He's going to be charged with theft. He may or may not make bail. Let's say he makes bail. His mental health will deteriorate.

Justice committee  I will just add to that. One of the...I'm going to say “problems” but it may not be the right word. However, the fact of the matter is that criminal law is a federal jurisdiction but it's administered provincially. Let's take an example of an individual who is charged with murder, and he's convicted.

Justice committee  Can I just address your first point about funding women in domestic...? In British Columbia, if there's no risk of jail, which there wouldn't likely be for a first offender in a domestic assault situation where there are no serious injuries, that male won't get legal aid. The woman is unlikely to get legal aid in the domestic if there's a related family situation, so both individuals are going to be floundering within the justice system.

Justice committee  Thank you very much, honourable chair and honourable members. It's a pleasure to be before you today. Thank you very much for the invitation to the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers. It's a pleasure to appear before you today and to assist you with respect to this very important topic.

Justice committee  I mean, that's a possibility. Or there's a possibility of requiring that medical practitioners follow a standard of care, and if they don't, they then could be liable for criminal negligence causing death.

Justice committee  Yes, that's—

Justice committee  That would be entirely consistent, because it would be an objective standard. By the way, criminal negligence causing death carries a maximum of life. It just does not have a minimum sentence of life, nor does it have a 25-year parole ineligibility period. So there are other ways of dealing with it.

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  No, not necessarily. The point is, we're dealing with this legislation and how this legislation deals with an exemption for what is otherwise first-degree murder. When one appreciates what the mental state is for first-degree murder and one appreciates the way the legislation is presently constructed, it is my view that somebody who has simply made an objective error could be convicted of murder.

Justice committee  It's outside of my area of expertise. Usually, when somebody is charged with murder, some of these other matters tend to become less significant. However, clearly, I appreciate from the perspective of the medical insurance association that the extent and scope of any form of liability for making an error in judgment around what are essentially very complex safeguards is, I think, a very legitimate concern, yes.

Justice committee  It arises a lot in common law and it has arisen over the years with consent in sexual offences. There's a case called Pappajohn, which permitted a defence to an allegation of sexual assault if a person had an honest but mistaken belief in consent. Legislation dealt with that and has significantly altered that framework.

Justice committee  Thank you for this opportunity. As this committee appreciates, from hearing the many presentations, medical assistance in dying is and will likely remain a subject that deeply divides people, based on ethical, moral, and religious beliefs. It is because of this that those medical and nurse practitioners who choose to provide medical assistance in dying—and I emphasize the word “choose”, because it's their choice—will, not surprisingly, find their actions carefully scrutinized to ensure compliance with the law.