N環球 
Canada shelves MAID expansion for mental illness indefinitely
Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Ottawa will not expand MAID to people whose sole condition is mental illness, and will legislate an indefinite ban; a separate law will allow advance consent for MAID.
Why it matters
Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday that the federal government will not move ahead with expanding medical assistance in dying (MAID) to people whose sole condition is mental illness. The government will introduce legislation to make the current ban indefinite, formally closing a debate that has run for several years.
Full report
The expansion of MAID to mental illness as the sole underlying condition was scheduled to take effect on March 17, 2027, after three previous delays. "While there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach at this particular time," Fraser told reporters.
Fraser also announced upcoming legislation to allow advance consent for MAID: patients with progressing, incurable illnesses would be able to give consent in advance, before they lose the capacity to do so.
Background
In June 2026, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended indefinitely excluding people with mental illness as the sole condition, with 14 of its 17 members in support, citing a lack of safeguards and readiness. Canada legalized MAID in 2016 and broadened it in 2021; about 100,000 Canadians have died through the program. Legal challenges over the mental-illness exclusion continue, and equality-rights questions under the Charter may persist.
💬 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!