Summary#

This bill changes Canada’s Criminal Code to make clear that a mental disorder is not a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” for medical assistance in dying (MAID). It would keep people whose sole condition is a mental disorder from being eligible for MAID. The bill includes timing clauses so this rule applies no matter when earlier MAID amendments take effect (Bill s.1; Coordinating Amendments s.2-4; Criminal Code s.241.2).

• Makes people with a mental disorder as their only condition ineligible for MAID (Bill s.1).
• Leaves MAID rules unchanged for people with physical illnesses that meet the law’s criteria (Criminal Code s.241.2).
• Applies on the day it receives Royal Assent, with clauses to resolve timing with the 2021 MAID law (Coordinating Amendments s.2-4).
• Signals Parliament’s intent to focus on mental health supports and suicide prevention instead of MAID for mental disorders (Preamble).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • If you or a family member has a mental disorder as the only medical condition, you would not be eligible for MAID once this bill becomes law (Bill s.1).
  • If you or a family member has a physical illness that meets MAID criteria, eligibility is unchanged. Having a mental disorder as an additional diagnosis does not, by itself, block MAID if the physical illness meets the test (Criminal Code s.241.2).

• Workers (health professionals)

  • Physicians and nurse practitioners could not provide or assess MAID when a mental disorder is the sole underlying condition. They would need to direct patients to other care, such as mental health and suicide prevention services (Bill s.1; Preamble).
  • Providing MAID outside the Criminal Code’s eligibility rules remains a criminal offence, as under current law (Criminal Code s.241).

• Businesses and insurers

  • No direct changes to business operations or insurance coverage are specified. Clinical policies and referral pathways may need updates to reflect the exclusion (Bill s.1).

• Provinces, territories, and regulators

  • MAID programs, forms, and guidance would need updates to reflect the permanent exclusion for mental disorders as a sole condition. Timing clauses aim to avoid gaps with prior MAID amendments (Coordinating Amendments s.2-4).

• Timing

  • The change would take effect on Royal Assent. The coordinating clauses ensure the exclusion applies regardless of the sequence of earlier MAID provisions from 2021 (Coordinating Amendments s.2-4).

Expenses#

• Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• Key points:

  • The bill creates no new spending program, tax, or fee (Bill text).
  • No official fiscal note identified. Administrative updates by governments and regulators may be required, but no amounts are stated. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Protects vulnerable people by keeping MAID closed to those with mental disorders as their only condition, and steers them to suicide prevention and mental health supports instead (Preamble).
• Addresses assessment limits: determining that a mental disorder is “irremediable” is difficult and often uncertain, which makes safe and consistent MAID decisions hard in these cases (Expert Panel on MAiD and Mental Illness, 2022).
• Provides a clear, permanent national rule by writing the exclusion into the Criminal Code and resolving any timing conflicts with earlier MAID amendments (Bill s.1; Coordinating Amendments s.2-4).
• Responds to readiness concerns raised in parliamentary reviews about safeguards, training, and system capacity for MAID where mental disorder is the sole condition (Special Joint Committee on MAID, 2023–2024).

Opponents' View#

• Creates unequal access by denying MAID to a group based on diagnosis, which some witnesses argued is discriminatory for people with treatment‑resistant mental disorders who experience severe, enduring suffering (Special Joint Committee on MAID, 2023–2024).
• Rejects expert advice that favored strict safeguards and case‑by‑case assessments over a blanket ban; the federal Expert Panel recommended detailed standards rather than permanent exclusion (Expert Panel on MAiD and Mental Illness, 2022).
• May cause clinical uncertainty in cases with both physical and mental conditions, increasing disputes over whether a mental disorder is the “sole” underlying condition (Expert Panel on MAiD and Mental Illness, 2022).
• Could shift pressure onto already stretched mental health services without adding resources, since the bill contains no funding for expanded supports (Bill text; Data unavailable).