(Ottawa) The federal government wants to postpone by one year the extension of eligibility for medical assistance in dying to people whose mental illness is “the only underlying medical condition”.
The Minister of Justice, David Lametti, tabled a bill in the House on Thursday morning which provides for the postponement of this extension until March 17, 2024.
The Liberal government had agreed in 2021 to expand eligibility in its update to the Medical Assistance in Dying Actafter senators amended the bill, arguing that excluding people with mental illness would violate their constitutional rights.
But the amended law provided for a two-year period to delay this enlargement; this period must expire on March 17 next, unless Parliament adopts a new law. The Liberals therefore have six weeks to pass the new bill, which would add a third year to the two-year deadline.
Minister Lametti has already said he expects an agreement between other parties in the Commons and with senators to pass the bill in this short time.
The minister believes the new one-year delay is necessary because of concerns, raised by some, that Canada’s health care system may not be ready to offer this expansion to people with mental illness.
The Expert Panel on Physician-Assisted Dying and Mental Illness, set up by the federal government to advise it, said last May that more time was not needed.