British Columbia Court of Appeal

Introduction:

The Government of Canada appealed the decision of Madame Justice Smith in Carter v. Canada, by which the criminal prohibition of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia was struck down in June, 2012.  The appeal was heard by a panel of three judges of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in March, 2013.  The hearing was webcast in a pilot project, and the videos of the hearing are available at the British Columbia Court of Appeal Webcast Pilot Project. 

• Daily Hearing Schedule
• Factums (Written Arguments)

For the convenience of researchers, what follows are notes and transcriptions made from the videos that concern parts of the argument or discussion particularly relevant to freedom of conscience issues. 

Readers can locate the corresponding section of the videos on the BC Court of Appeal Webcast Pilot Project by referring to the time stamps. 

• The red time stamp refers to the time stamp located at the lower right corner of the video display. 
• The black time stamp refers to the time on the sliding elapsed time bar at the bottom of the video display that appears when the cursor is moused over the bottom of the display.

Judges

• Chief Justice Lance Finch
• Madame Justice Newbury
• Madame Justice Saunders