Chamber
senate
Stage
2nd Reading
Introduced
Jun 12, 2025
Progress
This bill allows Canadians to make advance requests for medical assistance in dying if they later lose mental capacity.
Key Changes
- Allows a person to enter a written arrangement scheduling MAID on a specific future date, even if they lose capacity before that date
- Allows a person diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness to make a written declaration waiving the need for final consent under specified conditions
- Extends the existing 'waiver of final consent' rules (previously only for Track 1 MAID) to also cover Track 2 cases where natural death is not reasonably foreseeable
- Requires advance declarations to be witnessed by two independent witnesses and certified by a medical practitioner
- Sets a five-year expiry on advance declarations made under the new conditions-based waiver
- Preserves the rule that MAID cannot proceed if the person shows any resistance or refusal through words, sounds, or gestures
Gotchas
- The bill does not change who qualifies for MAID — all existing eligibility criteria must still be met before the advance arrangement or declaration is made
- A person can invalidate their advance consent at any time by showing resistance or refusal through words, sounds, or gestures, but this protection relies on observable behaviour, which may be difficult to interpret in some medical conditions
- The conditions-based declaration expires after five years, meaning people with slowly progressing illnesses may need to renew their declaration
- The bill mirrors Quebec's provincial law but applies federally, creating a national standard where one previously did not exist outside Quebec
- There is no explicit requirement for periodic review or reaffirmation of the advance declaration between signing and administration, beyond the five-year limit
Who's Affected
- Canadians with serious and incurable illnesses, diseases, or disabilities who may lose mental capacity
- People with conditions like dementia, Alzheimer's, or other degenerative neurological diseases
- Medical practitioners and nurse practitioners who administer MAID
- Patients currently ineligible for advance MAID requests under federal law
- Families and caregivers of individuals who have lost decision-making capacity
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill does not change who qualifies for MAID — all existing eligibility criteria must still be met before the advance arrangement or declaration is made
- A person can invalidate their advance consent at any time by showing resistance or refusal through words, sounds, or gestures, but this protection relies on observable behaviour, which may be difficult to interpret in some medical conditions
- The conditions-based declaration expires after five years, meaning people with slowly progressing illnesses may need to renew their declaration
- The bill mirrors Quebec's provincial law but applies federally, creating a national standard where one previously did not exist outside Quebec
- There is no explicit requirement for periodic review or reaffirmation of the advance declaration between signing and administration, beyond the five-year limit
Summary
This bill changes the Criminal Code to allow two new ways for people to arrange medical assistance in dying (MAID) in advance, in case they lose the ability to consent later. Currently, a person must be able to give final consent right before MAID is provided. This bill creates exceptions to that requirement. The first option lets a person with any qualifying condition schedule MAID for a specific future date. If they lose capacity before that date, the procedure can still go ahead as planned, as long as they don't show signs of resistance. The second option lets someone diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness write a declaration stating the conditions under which they would want MAID, even if they can no longer consent at that time. This declaration is valid for up to five years. This bill was introduced partly in response to Quebec's 2023 law, which already allows advance requests for MAID in that province. The bill aims to create a similar option at the federal level so all Canadians can access this pathway, not just those in Quebec.
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Vibes
0 responses