A Quebec government committee says the province could consider not prosecuting some cases of assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Quebec could take a cue from British Columbia, said Liberal member of the national assembly Geoff Kelley, who is chairing the committee studying the issue.

"We can certainly look more carefully at what British Columbia did.… because after Sue Rodriguez, they were much more selective in the kind of cases they would prosecute," said Kelly.

Rodriguez unsuccessfully fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to make assisted suicide legal. The Victoria woman, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, committed suicide with the help of an anonymous doctor in 1994.

"It's still a grey area because it's not legal," added Kelley. "It's still something that, generally speaking, the Criminal Code says you can't do, but the administration of justice remains a provincial responsibility. So that's one of the many options we could look at."

Public hearings planned

Starting in August, the committee will hold public consultations in 11 Quebec communities.

The committee has already heard from a number of experts on the issue in February and March.

"There are no easy answers," said Kelley. "I listened to all 32 experts who came before the committee and every time I thought I had it right, and I thought I'd figured it out, an expert would bring a new argument or a new wrinkle to the debate and I'd be more confused than ever," said Kelley.

"It's something that touches every family. Sooner or later, you're confronted with these life and death issues, and I think it's appropriate for parliamentarians to go out and see where the citizens are [on this issue]."