441-00749 (Justice)

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is a complex and deeply personal matter. Last year, Parliament passed former Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), which responds to the September 2019 Superior Court of Quebec ruling in Truchon,which struck down the eligibility criterion of “reasonably foreseeable natural death” from the Criminal Code MAID regime.

The Government recognizes the difficult issues that arise when a mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition for a MAID request. Former Bill C-7, as adopted, excludes mental illness, on its own, as an eligible medical condition until March 2023. This temporary exclusion provides time for a panel of experts to examine the issue and recommend protocols, guidance and safeguards to apply to requests for MAID by persons who have a mental illness. The Expert Panel on MAID and Mental Illness was launched to undertake this review, and tabled its final report on May 13, 2022. Former Bill C-7 also required the establishment of a joint Parliamentary Committee to study this issue and other important issues concerning MAID. The Special Joint Committee on MAID (AMAD) tabled its interim report on the topic of MAID where a mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition on June 22, 2022. AMAD began meeting again in late September and will hear from mental health stakeholders in the coming weeks/months. The Government is following these processes closely and continues to consider ways to ensure that our MAID laws reflect our evolving understanding of Canadians’ needs, support autonomy and freedom of choice, and protect those who may be vulnerable.