Former Conservative MP Steven Fletcher, whose personal story as a quadriplegic made him a compelling champion of assisted dying during his time in Parliament, says the federal government’s new bill on the issue is a step in the right direction, but expects it won’t be the final word on the question.

He said the bill is “a good first step,” and likes that it will be reviewed in five years.

The federal Liberals introduced bill C-14 last Thursday, in a bid to meet the Supreme Court’s deadline of June 6 to institute a federal framework for assisted dying in order to comply with the Carter v. Canada ruling.

Fletcher’s own private member’s bills on assisted dying never made it through the previous Parliament, but he had recently contributed passionate testimony to the special joint Parliamentary committee studying how to implement the law.

Fletcher was a Manitoba MP until he was defeated in the last fall election, and is now running for the provincial Tories there. He became a quadriplegic after surviving a car crash with a moose in 1996. He was hospitalized hospital for months, living with tubes running into his collapsed lungs.

“When I was in the hospital 20 years ago, breath by breath, I was aware that they didn’t — I never made a request, I knew they’d never follow through with it — but I was terrified I was going to drown,” he said.

Fletcher has repeatedly written and talked about the importance of individuals having agency in matters related to their own deaths, citing his own suffering.

“If we can do something at the federal level that brings more peace of mind, and reduces terror, I think it’s positive.”

“This bill does it.”

He said Parliament’s special joint committee report, released in February, was a “very thoughtful report when it came out.” Fletcher says he was impressed when Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould “reached out to me on a one-on-one basis to get my views” on the matter before drafting the bill, which he said was appropriate because “it’s not a partisan issue — it’s a profound issue.”

Fletcher said no matter what the government does, it will be challenged through the courts. On limiting minors from the process, for example — something his own bill did — he said that “no government is going to touch that,” but nonetheless expects it will be challenged in the future.

The legislation also does not deal with advanced directives, which would allow prior consent in cases where a person might lose their competency or ability to consent. The government did, though, announce plans to appoint one or more independent bodies to study those issues.

He said the new bill is in the spirit of his own, and close to what the Supreme Court said, except that the new legislation is sets time limits on eligibility, based on a person’s trajectory for death.

“There are numerous tragic situations where people could deal with terrible living situations from disease or accident…that are not going to die but could live for decades.”

Changes to the law will happen incrementally, he said.

“I suspect it will be living legislation, as it will change over time, as we get more empirical evidence, and as attitudes change in Canada.”

“We don’t do things by revolution in Canada.”

Still, he called the bill a “paradigm shift.”

“It’s a huge shift, even from two years ago when no one in Parliament wanted to talk about it.”

Fletcher chided Parliamentarians for not wanting to deal with it in the first place and said the government shouldn’t have left it to the Supreme Court to decide on. He reminded MPs that they don’t have life-time jobs and should tackle difficult subjects, even when they’re politically sensitive.

He said he’s greatful that in his time as an MP was able to introduce his own legislation on assisted dying.

“It was the right thing to do,” he said.

“It turns out to be on the right side of history, and here we are.”