Quebec public inquiry begins into assisted death of quadriplegic man – CBC
Normand Meunier’s partner, nurses and doctors will testify during public hearings
May 05, 2025
A public inquiry into the death of a quadriplegic man begins today in Quebec — over a year after he sought medical assistance in dying following a hospital stay that left him with a severe and painful bedsore.
Normand Meunier, 66, was stuck on a stretcher in an emergency room at a hospital in Saint-Jérôme, Que., for four days in January of last year.
During his stay, Meunier didn’t have access to a special mattress and developed a major pressure sore on his buttocks. It eventually worsened to the point where bone and muscle were exposed and visible — making his recovery and prognosis bleak.
He was told the sore — a gaping hole a few centimetres in diameter — would, at best, take several months to heal, according to the experts he consulted.
