Canadian government should ‘indefinitely exclude’ people with mental illness from MAID, committee recommends

A special parliamentary committee is recommending that the federal government “indefinitely exclude” people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness from applying for medical assistance in dying (MAID).  

In a report tabled in the House of Commons Wednesday, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) recommended that the government “amend the Criminal Code” to add this exclusion.

The 98-page report — which comes on the 10-year anniversary of MAID being legalized in Canada — reviews whether the country is ready from a clinical, health systems and regulatory perspective based on expert testimony.

The report says that a common theme across testimony was the “pressing need for increased and more equitable access to adequate mental health services.”

In their conclusion, the committee points to a “divergence of perspectives” on whether Canada is ready to expand eligibility to MAID to those suffering with mental illness.

It also notes that these mixed views existed previously and were partly behind their 2024 decision to delay the expansion.

MAID expansion delayed twice

The government has already delayed making a decision on expanding MAID twice. MAID for mental illness was expected to begin in 2023, but that was delayed to the following year. The next year, it was delayed again until 2027.

Unless Parliament intervenes, MAID eligibility is set to expand to include people with mental disorders as of March 17, 2027. AMAD’s report will now be reviewed by the Canadian government and inform their next steps on this issue. 

Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who is taking the lead on the government’s response, is not expected to release an immediate decision about the expansion of MAID. 

Earlier Wednesday, before the report had been tabled, Fraser said the government will review it over the next few weeks. But he will likely respond by July 11 — the deadline for feedback. 

The committee started to assess the country’s readiness to expand MAID last February. In recent months, it heard from multiple witnesses whose testimony informed the final report. 

Critics have been skeptical of the witnesses selected, pointing out that the committee did not hear from people with lived experience, specifically those who would want MAID. 

When asked about this, AMAD co-chair Marcus Powlowski said Wednesday that there’s no way they could accurately represent that perspective by just selecting a handful of people.   

He defended the committee’s work and said they “studiously followed the rules on selecting witnesses.”