A committee of federal politicians are studying the issue of medical assistance in dying for patients with the sole underlying condition of mental illness.David Joles/The Associated Press
Academics will begin testifying Tuesday before a committee of federal politicians who are studying the contentious issue of medical assistance in dying for patients with the sole underlying condition of mental illness.
Next March, Canada is set to begin permitting MAID for patients with mental illness, per legislation. The federal government could delay this timeline, as it has already done twice, but it would need to introduce a bill to do so.
Under existing federal law, patients can only qualify for MAID if their deaths are deemed reasonably foreseeable or if they have an incurable condition, such as neurological challenges and chronic pain.
Ending life with the help of a medical professional has long been the subject of controversy in Canada. The Alberta government recently introduced legislation that seeks to bar access for those whose only condition is mental illness.
Alberta to restrict MAID, including for patients with incurable conditions
Premier Danielle Smith said last week her government wants to shut down MAID for patients living with incurable conditions and only permit it when patients are facing death within a year.
In recent months, several cases have landed in court and have generated growing calls for reform, including from an Ontario mother of a 26-year-old who struggled with medical conditions, including mental illness, and who was approved to die by MAID in British Columbia.
In early 2024, the Trudeau government delayed for the second time plans to expand MAID for those living with mental illness. At the time, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec warned they were not prepared to proceed.
Similarly, the majority of members of Parliament and senators on a previous special joint committee studying the issue said they heard testimony from stakeholders, including health care practitioners, who were concerned about making the procedure available for those living with mental illness. Some warned of the difficulty in distinguishing MAID requests from suicidal thoughts.
A dissenting report was filed by some members of the committee that included senators Stan Kutcher, Pamela Wallin and Marie-Françoise Mégie, who retired from the chamber last fall.
Ontario woman calls for reform after her son ‘shopped’ for MAID approval in B.C.
Ms. Wallin, an independent senator who sits on the committee, said in an interview that the government is “obliged by law to reconstruct the committee to ask the questions again about the state of readiness.”
She said the senators who wrote the dissenting report did so based on witness testimony, including health care providers, academics and representatives of regulatory bodies.
MAID is a personal choice, not politics, she said. She acknowledged that individuals may have religious or moral perspectives that make them opposed to it.
“They’re perfectly entitled to hold that view,” Ms. Wallin said. “I just don’t want them to impose their view on people who have a different one.”
The new committee will be chaired by Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski and Conservative Senator Yonah Martin, who have both publicly stated concerns about expanding MAID for patients with mental illness.
On Tuesday evening, the committee expects to hear from witnesses including Jocelyn Downie, a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University’s Faculties of Law and Medicine. She told the last committee that the metrics for readiness had been met and that barring patients with the sole condition of mental illness from accessing MAID constitutes a breach of their Charter rights.
Other witnesses set to testify Tuesday include Trudo Lemmens, a University of Toronto professor and Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy. He is concerned about expanding access for patients living with mental illness and argues policy-makers need to review evidence of current risks for those living with disabilities. Prof. Lemmens also believes such an expansion will increase the number of people exposed to higher risks of premature death.
Inclusion Canada, a national disability-rights organization, echoes concerns about vulnerable individuals, as well as their family members, fearing they could be steered to pursue MAID because of a lack of health care, housing and other supports.
Similar concerns have been shared by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a body of the United Nations. Last March, it recommended that Ottawa repeal MAID provisions, including for those with mental illness, arguing that inequality and discrimination compound patient suffering.