UMVA has learned that a joint committee report has called for an indefinite pause on expanding Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) framework to include those whose sole reason for seeking MAID is mental illness.
The report, tabled in both the House of Commons and the Senate, recommends an "indefinite pause" on expanding Canada's therapeutic suicide regime, citing numerous unanswered questions. Disability advocates have praised the report, but members of the committee that made the recommendation are calling the process "highly irregular and flawed."
Inclusion Canada CEO Krista Carr expressed relief that the report recommends a pause, saying "We're happy (the report) recommends an indefinite pause... We would want to see it taken off the table permanently for good, but an indefinite pause is definitely a good thing as opposed to punting it down the road for two more years."
The report, drafted by the joint Senate/House Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, recommended that the government "amend the Criminal Code to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying." This move comes as legislation passed in February 2024 to expand MAID to those whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness is set to come into effect next March.
University of Toronto Professor Trudo Lemmens, who testified before the committee, supports calls to end track two MAID altogether, citing concerns that expanding medically-assisted death solely for mental illness presents risks. He warned that it's impossible to determine if psychological conditions are truly incurable, adding that permanent legal exclusion is vital to prevent clinical judgments from ending the lives of vulnerable patients who otherwise could have recovered.
The Conservatives have supported the pause, pushing passage of their own private member's bill C-218, which would codify the exclusion of track two MAID into law. However, the Bloc Quebecois called the report a political "180-degree turn," arguing that strict clinical safeguards already exist to prevent abuse without relieving those suffering from their rights to self-determination.
Senators Rosemary Moodie, Pamela Wallin, and Kristopher Wells accused the committee of being flawed and biased, alleging that its members "stacked" the witness stand with those opposed to extending MAID for persons with a mental illness. They argued that this bias "weakens the credibility of the recommendations," particularly among those who stand to be impacted the most by the committee's work.
