(Ottawa) A senator who pushed for people with mental health conditions to be able to request medical assistance in dying (MAID) says the federal government must decide whether it will “allow all Canadians” to choose their end-of-life care.
Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada since 2016 and five years later an expansion of eligibility criteria was approved to include people whose only medical problem is mental illness.
Senator Stan Kutcher, a psychiatrist from Nova Scotia, spoke in favor of this expansion, which was to come into force in March 2023 before being delayed for a year due to concerns about the consequences it could to have.
A special joint committee of parliamentarians was tasked last fall with assessing whether the health care system was ready for this change and the Liberals must now choose whether or not to move forward with expanding the criteria.
Justice Minister Arif Virani told The Canadian Press last month that he would carefully review the committee’s recommendations, opening the door to further delaying the plan to broaden the criteria.
Stan Kutcher, who served on the committee, says the courts have ruled that Canadians’ requests for medical assistance in dying must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and that he expects the Attorney General of Canada “adheres to the Charter.”