11:15am ET | Sheila Noyes, Board Member of Dying With Dignity Canada and past President

12:15pm ET | Ted Cheskey Manager of bird conservation programs, Nature Canada

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GUEST – Sheila Noyes, Board Member of Dying With Dignity Canada and past President

TOPIC – Dying with Dignity

INFO – An expert judicial panel appointed by the government of Quebec released their report this morning. This report moves the province one step closer to legalized medical aid-in-dying by June of 2013.

Last March, as part of a comprehensive report on Dying With Dignity, the all-party committee of the Quebec National Assembly issued their full report (click here for English version), including recommendations to legalize medically-assisted dying for individuals suffering greatly at end-of-life.

The government then appointed three expert lawyers to a judicial panel to make recommendations on how to proceed with implementing the recommendations from the all-party report.

At issue is the fact that the right to medically-assisted dying is currently prohibited by the Criminal Code which is Federal Legislation and thus cannot be amended by any province. However, while the law is set at a federal level, it is up to the provinces to administer the law. It is by changing how Quebec carries out this mandate that the province will enable doctors to provide medically-assisted dying.

See the full story on their blog: dyingwithdignity.ca

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GUEST – Ted Cheskey Manager of bird conservation programs, Nature Canada

TOPIC – Nature Canada Dismayed by Decision to Grant Green Light for Ostrander Point Wind Power Facility

INFO – 21 December, 2012 7:23:32 AM EST – Nature Canada issued a statement in response to announcement from the Province of Ontario that a 9-turbine wind generation facility has been approved at Ostrander Point in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Here it is:

We are dismayed by Minister Bradley’s decision to approve a wind energy project on publicly owned Crown land within one of the most significant areas of bird and bat migration in Ontario.

Ostrander Point is in the heart of the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area, and is well-known for its significance to migrating and breeding birds. A wind energy plant at this location poses a high and permanent risk to birds and other animals, plant life, animal life and the natural environment. It is particularly shocking that an announcement of this significance would be made as Ontarians turn their attention to family and friends for the holidays. The public now has 15 days during this holiday period to submit a formal request for appeal.

While we support the government’s intention to expand the use of clean and renewable sources of energy through the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, it must not come at the expense of protecting wildlife and intact ecosystems to enhance landscape resilience. Protecting wild species and wild spaces is vital if we are to buffer the effects of climate change and provide options for wildlife as they cope with our changing climate.

We strongly believe there are sound, science-based reasons for rejecting a wind power facility inside this Important Bird Area, and we intend to press for a reversal of this unfortunate decision during the current appeal period.