Tamara Jansen, MP for Cloverdale Langley City, says new testimony given to a Parliamentary committee is raising “serious concerns” about the upcoming planned expansion of medical assistance in dying, or MAiD.
The federal government is planning to expand MAiD eligibility on Saint Patrick’s Day in 2027 to include people suffering solely from a mental illness. (Currently those suffering solely from a mental illness are ineligible for MAiD.)
Jansen said, in a press release issued May 4, suicide prevention experts are warning the move could “blur” the current line between help and harm.
She noted at a recent meeting of the Special Joint Committee on MAiD, testimony revealed a “significant number” of people calling Canada’s national crisis line (a 9-8-8 line) with suicidal thoughts, are also inquiring about MAiD.
“Dr. Allison Crawford, chief medical officer of Canada’s 9-8-8 suicide crisis helpline, told the committee that up to 7% of interactions with the service involve mention of MAiD,” according to information in the release. “Among those interactions, 74% involved suicidal thoughts in the previous two days, substantially higher than other 9-8-8 interactions.”
Crawford also raised concerns that there is no “reliable clinical method” to currently tell the difference between suicidal intent and what is sometimes called “reasoned wish to die” in the context of medical assistance in dying for those suffering solely from a mental illness.
“You cannot tell people to call 9-8-8, hold on, and seek help, while also preparing to offer assisted death for the very same suffering,” Jansen said. “That contradiction puts lives at risk.”
Jansen also said several mental health experts who gave testimony to the committee warned the expansion of MAiD risks sending “mixed messages” to vulnerable individuals.
“Experts also warned that normalizing MAiD as an option for mental suffering could have broader public health consequences, including a potential contagion effect, where exposure to assisted dying as an accepted response of mental suffering may increase risk among vulnerable populations.”
The release also noted experts from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health told the committee Canada “lacks the clinical tools and consensus needed to safely assess whether a mental illness is truly irredeemable.”
A leading suicide prevention expert, professor Brian Mishara, testified before the committee that suicide prevention could be “fundamentally” undermined if MAiD is offered as medical solution for those suffering solely from a mental illness.
Jansen has introduced a private member’s bill, c-218, which seeks to permanently halt the expansion of MAiD to those suffering solely from a mental illness.
“This is not about delaying again and hoping the problem solves itself,” she said. “The evidence is clear. Canadians struggling with mental illness deserve care, treatment, and hope, not a system that risks giving up on them.”