Christians, Jews and Muslims call for palliative care strategy for Canada
The Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), has signed a joint interfaith letter released as an op-ed in The Hill Times, a weekly newspaper covering government and federal politics on Parliament Hill. The other signatories are: Mr. Bruce Clemenger, President, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC); Mr. Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA); and Imam Sikander Hashmi, Canadian Council of Imams.
In their letter, the religious leaders call for a “well-funded, national initiative to improve palliative care access and quality” in Canada. “An important first step,” they note, “is for parliamentarians to vote for Bill C-277, introduced by MP Marilyn Gladu, which calls for the development of a pan-Canadian palliative care strategy.” The interfaith letter also points out that “those approaching the final stage of life are, unquestionably, among our most vulnerable. While much of the conversation around end-of-life issues in Canada has focused on what is often referred to as ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’, far too little attention has been paid to palliative care.”