C-218 (45-1) - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
Chamber
commons
Stage
2nd Reading
Introduced
Jun 20, 2025
Progress
This bill permanently bans medical assistance in dying (MAID) for people whose sole condition is a mental disorder.
Key Changes
- Amends the Criminal Code to explicitly state that a mental disorder is not a 'grievous and irremediable medical condition' for MAID purposes
- Permanently removes the possibility of MAID eligibility based solely on a mental disorder
- Overrides or coordinates with the 2021 MAID amendments that had left open the possibility of future mental disorder eligibility
- Includes coordinating amendment provisions to ensure consistency regardless of the order in which related legislative changes come into force
Gotchas
- Canada has already delayed the expansion of MAID to mental disorders multiple times; this bill would make that exclusion permanent rather than temporary
- The bill does not affect MAID eligibility for physical conditions, including cases where a person has both a physical and mental illness
- The coordinating amendments section is designed to handle timing conflicts with the 2021 MAID legislation, ensuring the exclusion applies regardless of which provision comes into force first
- This is a Private Member's Bill, meaning it was introduced by an individual MP rather than the government, and faces a lower likelihood of passing without government support
- The bill does not define 'mental disorder,' which could raise questions about how the term is interpreted in borderline cases involving conditions with both physical and psychological components
Who's Affected
- Canadians living with mental illness who might otherwise seek MAID
- Psychiatrists and mental health professionals involved in MAID assessments
- Medical practitioners who provide MAID services
- Advocates and organizations working in mental health and suicide prevention
- Legal and medical bodies interpreting MAID eligibility criteria
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Canada has already delayed the expansion of MAID to mental disorders multiple times; this bill would make that exclusion permanent rather than temporary
- The bill does not affect MAID eligibility for physical conditions, including cases where a person has both a physical and mental illness
- The coordinating amendments section is designed to handle timing conflicts with the 2021 MAID legislation, ensuring the exclusion applies regardless of which provision comes into force first
- This is a Private Member's Bill, meaning it was introduced by an individual MP rather than the government, and faces a lower likelihood of passing without government support
- The bill does not define 'mental disorder,' which could raise questions about how the term is interpreted in borderline cases involving conditions with both physical and psychological components
Summary
Bill C-218 would change the Criminal Code to make it clear that a mental disorder on its own cannot qualify someone for medical assistance in dying (MAID). Under current law, Canada has been debating and repeatedly delaying an expansion of MAID to include people suffering solely from mental illness. This bill would permanently close off that possibility. The bill was introduced by MP Jansen and reflects concerns that allowing MAID for mental disorders could be harmful to vulnerable Canadians. The preamble states that people with mental health conditions should receive suicide prevention support rather than access to assisted dying, and that expanding MAID to mental illness risks normalizing assisted death as a response to mental suffering. This bill affects how the Criminal Code defines a 'grievous and irremediable medical condition,' which is the legal standard someone must meet to be eligible for MAID. By explicitly excluding mental disorders from that definition, the bill would make it permanently illegal for a person to receive MAID based on a mental illness alone, regardless of future government decisions.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses