Article By Frank Bergman
Canada’s Liberal government has announced it will halt plans to euthanize people suffering solely from mental illness, then immediately voted against a bill that would have banned the practice outright while preparing another expansion of its assisted-death regime.
Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser announced the reversal at a Parliament Hill press conference amid mounting backlash over Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program, known as MAID.
But Fraser and his Liberal colleagues subsequently entered the House of Commons and, with just two exceptions, voted against Bill C-218, Conservative MP Tamara Jansen’s legislation to prohibit euthanasia when mental illness is the sole underlying condition.
Now, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government plans to combine its promised restriction with legislation allowing advance euthanasia requests from people who later lose the ability to consent.
Liberals Reject Standalone Ban
“Canada has made a decision not to move forward with the expansion that is scheduled in the Criminal Code of medical assistance in dying in circumstances where mental illness is the sole basis,” Fraser told reporters.
“While there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach at this particular time,” Fraser continued.
Following several previous delays, eligibility for people suffering solely from mental illness was scheduled to begin in March 2027.
Fraser said the government intends to maintain the exclusion indefinitely through legislation expected in the coming weeks.
In a social media post, Fraser acknowledged “serious concerns” about whether requests involving mental illness could be assessed “safely and consistently.”
“For that reason, Canada does not intend to move ahead with the scheduled expansion of MAID for mental illness,” Fraser wrote.
Yet the Liberals rejected Jansen’s standalone ban. The New Democratic Party supported it.
The government’s alternative ties protection for mentally ill Canadians to an expansion elsewhere, forcing lawmakers to confront both measures in a single legislative package.
New Push Targets Patients Who Cannot Consent
Fraser also announced plans to permit advance MAID requests from adults diagnosed with conditions such as early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Health Canada defines these as requests made before someone becomes eligible for euthanasia.
A clinician would later determine when the conditions for administering it had been met, potentially after dementia or another illness had left the patient unable to give contemporaneous consent.
Fraser said the intention was that “their wishes could be respected after they lose the ability to decide for themselves.”
That proposal raises fundamental questions about who controls the final decision to end a vulnerable patient’s life.
What happens if relatives and clinicians disagree?
How would a patient communicate a change of mind after losing the capacity to make medical decisions?
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has condemned Canada’s planned expansion to people suffering solely from mental illness and specifically urged the government not to implement advance directives.
Nevertheless, the Liberals plan to address both issues in one bill as the March 2027 deadline approaches.
That decision creates a political squeeze: lawmakers seeking to stop euthanasia for mental illness would also be asked to accept provisions extending the program to patients who can no longer consent at the time of their deaths.
Euthanasia Lobby Demands More Access
A joint House of Commons and Senate committee report urged the government in June not to proceed with the mental-illness expansion.
Supporters of the expansion argue that continued exclusion violates constitutional rights and access to medical care, according to the BBC.
Advocacy group Dying With Dignity Canada has an ongoing court challenge against the Trudeau-era suspension.
The group described Wednesday’s announcement as a “profoundly disappointing day for medical assistance in dying legislation,” according to The Globe and Mail.
The backlash from advocates comes as Canada’s euthanasia program faces international scrutiny over disturbing cases involving vulnerable patients.
Critics have accused Canadian doctors of aggressively steering patients toward MAID.
A paper published in June proposed the possibility of killing MAID patients by harvesting their organs while they were still alive, further intensifying criticism.
In May, a Canadian doctor was placed under supervision after serious breaches of MAID protocols, including assessing a man for euthanasia outside a Tim Hortons restaurant.
Last month, relatives of an 83-year-old Canadian woman accused the socialized healthcare system of subjecting her to a “hideously botched” euthanasia procedure against her will.
The patient was reportedly covered in blood during her final moments as she prayed and begged doctors to spare her life.
They gave her the lethal injection anyway.
Against that backdrop, the Carney government rejected a straightforward ban and chose to package its promised protection for mentally ill Canadians with another expansion of assisted death.
The result puts vulnerable patients at the center of a legislative bargain over how far Canada’s euthanasia regime will go.
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