Justice Minister Sean Fraser will be introducing legislation Tuesday to amend Canada’s medical assistance in dying regime, both to indefinitely exclude those whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness from qualifying, and to allow advance directives to be issued in certain cases. Fraser first signaled the policy changes were coming earlier this month. Accompanied by Health Minister Marjorie Michel, Fraser will speak to reporters about the updates to Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law at 1 p.m. ET in Ottawa. Ahead of that, senior government officials will brief reporters on the details of the bill and the specific changes being proposed. Halting expansion for mental illness According to the justice minister, the federal government has decided – after an extensive study by MPs and ahead of a March deadline – not to move ahead with the expansion scheduled in the Criminal Code of Canada to permit assisted death in circumstances where mental illness is the sole factor. Instead, the legislation is expected to be updated to “indefinitely exclude” persons whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. This approach was precisely what was recommended to the government by the special joint parliamentary committee tasked with assessing a potential expansion. That panel heard from dozens of experts, the majority of which opposed expanding eligibility. To qualify for MAID in Canada, a person must be suffering from a grievous and irremediable medical condition, a determination that can be very challenging to make in the case of a mental illness. Allowing advance directives Tuesday’s bill is also expected to include provisions for people who make advanced requests for medical assistance in dying if they have been diagnosed with an illness that will cause them to lose capacity in the future. Known as advance directives, the minister signalled that what the federal government would propose, would still have to comply with provincial legislation. Several jurisdictions currently have differing positions on the issue of allowing adults to consent in advance to receive MAID at a later point, following a diagnosis of an uncurable illness expected to eventually take away their ability to make that decision. Certain Canadians have had access to MAID since 2016 and amendments were made to the eligibility criteria in 2021. Further expansion of MAID has been highly controversial, amid reports of existing safeguards failing in complex cases. This is a developing story, check back for updates…
