441-00912 (Justice)

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is a complex and deeply personal matter for many Canadians and their families. Following the September 2019 Superior Court of Québec ruling in Truchon, which struck down the eligibility criterion of “reasonably foreseeable natural death” from the Criminal Code MAID regime, Parliament adopted former Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying),which received Royal Assent on March 17, 2021.

The Government of Canada recognizes the difficult issues surrounding the provision of MAID in circumstances where natural death is not reasonably foreseeable. This is why the former Bill created additional, more robust safeguards for the provision of MAID in these circumstances. Former Bill C-7 also required the establishment of the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee on MAID (AMAD) to conduct a comprehensive review of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to MAID and their application, as well as other related issues including the protection of Canadians with disabilities. AMAD recently competed its review and will table its final report in Parliament by February 17, 2023. The Government is looking forward to the results of AMAD’s study.

Former Bill C-7 also temporarily excluded persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for MAID. In the absence of legislative change, this exclusion will be automatically repealed on March 17, 2023. However, the Government recently announced its intention to work with opposition parties to negotiate an extension of the March 17, 2023 date. This extension would allow more time for dissemination and uptake of key resources by the medical and nursing communities, and would provide the Government with more time to consider AMAD’s final report.

The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities. On June 2, 2022, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion introduced in the House of Commons the Canada Disability Benefit Act, Bill C-22. The Bill received unanimous, all-party support in its second reading and was reported back to the House of Commons on December 14, 2022, after being studied and amended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

This Act is framework legislation, establishing the benefit and providing the legal authorities to detail the benefit’s design in future regulations. Regulations developed under the Act will prescribe benefit amounts, eligibility criteria and other key design and administrative elements. This approach, in the spirit of “Nothing Without Us,” will allow the Government to continue to engage with Canadians with disabilities, other stakeholders and provincial and territorial governments to inform the Benefit’s design.

Engagement activities with the disability community began with a series of virtual roundtables that started in summer 2021 and continued into spring of 2022. Additionally, disability community-led engagement will continue until spring?2023, while Indigenous-led engagement could continue until 2023/2024. All of this input and advice is vital to inform the development and implementation of the proposed Canada Disability Benefit and regulations. 

As well, provincial and territorial governments are critical partners in developing the proposed benefit to ensure that it meets its intended objective of reducing poverty amongst persons with disabilities. Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services met for an initial discussion on the Disability Inclusion Action Plan and the proposed benefit in July 2021 and that engagement has been ongoing.

The Canada Disability Benefit is a key component of Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan. The Action Plan, released on October 7, 2022, is a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive of persons with disabilities based on the principles of equality, anti-discrimination, participation and inclusion in the development of our programs and policies.