Exclude MAID for mental illness

AI summary

Petitioners ask that Bill C‑218 reverse MAID eligibility for people whose only underlying condition is a mental illness. The government responds that such individuals remain excluded until March 2027 and the matter is under review.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons, WHEREAS Canadians with mental illness should be provided with treatment and support; Mental illness is complex and can include suicidal thoughts as a symptom; The lives of Canadians with mental illness will be at risk when they are eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAID) on the basis of mental illness alone, especially when treatment and support are not readily available. Therefore we, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to support Bill C-218 which would reverse the law extending eligibility for MAID to people with mental illness as their sole medical condition.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi An individual whose sole underlying condition is mental illness is not currently eligible for medical assistance in dying in Canada. Only individuals with a grievous and irremediable medical condition – meaning that they have a serious and incurable illness condition or disability; are in an advanced state of irreversible decline; and are experiencing intolerable and enduring suffering – may be eligible for medical assistance in dying. The 2021 amendment to the Criminal Code to permit medical assistance in dying for individuals suffering from grievous and irremediable medical conditions whose death was not reasonably foreseeable included a temporary exclusion to exempt individuals whose sole underlying condition was a grievous and irremediable mental illness. This exclusion has been extended twice by Parliament, and is currently scheduled to lift in March 2027. In Spring 2026, a special joint Parliamentary committee was established to study whether provincial and territorial health systems were prepared for the temporary exclusion to lift. The Committee presented its final report to Parliament on June 17, 2026. The committee’s sole recommendation was that “the Government of Canada amend the Criminal Code to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying”. The report can be found at: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/AMAD/report-1/. Our Government is reviewing the report’s findings and recommendation as we consider next steps, and we will ensure that our actions are guided by protecting vulnerable persons, including those in crisis or experiencing mental illness.