Feds must decide whether ‘all Canadians’ have right to assisted dying: senator

Jan 8, 2024 | 12:58 PM

OTTAWA — A senator who pushed for people with mental illness to be able to seek a medically assisted death says the federal government must decide whether it will “allow all Canadians” their choice of end-of-life care.

Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada since 2016 and five years later, Parliament approved expanding the eligibility criteria to include those with a mental disorder as their sole underlying condition.

Sen. Stan Kutcher, a psychiatrist from Nova Scotia, had argued in favour of that expansion, which was set to take effect in March 2023 before being delayed a year in the face of concerns over possible consequences.

A joint committee of parliamentarians was asked last fall to study the question whether the health-care system was ready and the Liberals now face the choice of whether to go ahead with broadening the rules.