Liberal MNA Geoff Kelley and PQ MNA Véronique Hivon are members of the Quebec legislative commission studying euthanasia. (CBC)

Public consultations on the thorny issue of euthanasia begin Tuesday in Quebec with hundreds of people expected to voice their views.

The Quebec legislature held committee sessions on the practice earlier this year, hearing from expert witnesses and producing a consultation document to try to clarify the relevant issues.

Now, politicians want to give the floor to the province's residents.

The roving hearings will visit 11 communities across Quebec, starting in Montreal.

Around 300 written and oral submissions from the public are expected while another 3,300 citizens have filled out an online questionnaire.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in Canada and, barring a dramatic change in Ottawa, the hearings won't change that.

But assisted suicide is occasionally practised in a medical context. In a high-profile case in the 1990s, B.C. resident Sue Rodriguez, who had Lou Gehrig's disease, fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada for the right to have someone help her end her life.

She lost her case but committed suicide in 1994 with the help of doctor who remained anonymous.

Liberal member of the Quebec assembly Geoff Kelley, who is chairing the public hearings, said that while provinces can't change the Criminal Code, they can exercise discretion over euthanasia cases via their role in administering the justice system.

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

Quebec's Liberal government announced the legislative hearings and public consultations last December following a request from the opposition Parti Québécois.

Doctors groups in the province have come out on both sides of the issue.

With files from The Canadian Press