EnglishCanada plans indefinite MAID exclusion for mental illness alone
Ottawa says a bill planned for this fall would keep the current exclusion beyond March 2027 while also proposing advance requests. The bill has not yet been introduced.
Canada’s federal government plans to introduce legislation this fall that would keep people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness excluded from medical assistance in dying (MAID) on an indefinite basis. Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced the plan on October 7, alongside a proposal to change Criminal Code rules on advance requests for people who may later lose decision-making capacity.
The measures are proposals, not current law. The bill has not been introduced, and the government has not yet published its text or detailed safeguards.
What Ottawa says it will put in the bill
Fraser said the government intends to maintain the exclusion for cases where mental illness is the only underlying medical condition. The exclusion is currently temporary. Health Canada’s legislation page says it is scheduled to end on March 17, 2027, after which eligibility would change unless Parliament passes new legislation.
The same planned bill is expected to address advance requests: a person could make a request while they still have capacity, for possible use after a serious illness causes them to lose it. The proposal would require changes to the Criminal Code. The exact eligibility tests, consent protections and implementation details remain unknown until the bill is made public.
Provincial decisions could shape access
The Canadian Press reported that the federal proposal would change the Criminal Code while leaving provinces and territories to decide whether to offer advance requests through their health systems. That could produce differences in how the proposed framework is available across the country. The government has not yet set out the delivery rules.
Different groups are raising different concerns
The Canadian Press reported that disability-rights group Inclusion Canada welcomed the planned exclusion for mental illness alone while also raising concerns about advance requests. Dying With Dignity Canada, which supports advance requests, warned that leaving delivery to provinces could create uneven access. The Conservatives also called for more transparency while the bill’s wording remains unknown, Global News reported.
The competing responses make the bill’s eventual wording and safeguards central to the debate. The announcement sets out the government’s direction, but it does not answer how eligibility, consent, review or provincial delivery would work.
What happens next
Parliament must consider the bill before the scheduled March 17, 2027 change to the current exclusion if the government wants the restriction to continue. Until legislation is introduced and passed, the October 7 announcement does not change the rules now in force. The bill text and its safeguards are the next details to watch.
Three points to remember
- The government plans a bill this fall to keep the mental-illness-only exclusion in place indefinitely.
- The same bill is expected to address advance requests, but its safeguards and exact scope have not been published.
- The current exclusion is scheduled to end on March 17, 2027; the proposal is not law unless Parliament passes legislation.
Sources
Sources
- Canada won’t expand MAID for mental illness alone, minister says — Global News
- Government to exclude people who suffer solely from mental illness from access to MAID — CityNews Toronto / The Canadian Press
- Medical assistance in dying: Legislation in Canada — Health Canada, Government of Canada