The death of Alan Nichols took several months to make it into the mainstream news. And as of this writing, it is still a blank spot. His case should have been big news because of what it indicates for the future of this country and the safety of our most vulnerable.

OTTAWA - A Catholic psychiatrist is applauding a position paper by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) which says the mentally ill should remain ineligible for assisted suicide even though he believes such efforts are doomed to fail.

MONTREAL - Euthanasia is now technically legal in Quebec following a Dec. 9 decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal. But whether that remains permanent is still a matter before the courts.

Finally, a victory for common sense. Justice Michel Pinsonnault of Quebec Superior Court sounded a rare voice of reason when he ruled that Quebec������Ƶapp so-called “medical aid in dying” legislation is no more than a euphemism for euthanasia. As they say, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck . . .