With the help of the Bloc Quebecois, the minority Liberal government has passed a revised bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying — including eventually to people suffering solely from mental illnesses.
The Trudeau government has agreed with the Senate that Canadians suffering solely from grievous and irremediable mental illnesses should be entitled to receive medical assistance in dying — but not for another two years.
Senators overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, a bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying with amendments that would relax access even more than proposed by the government.
United Nations human rights experts are alarmed by what they see as a growing trend to enact legislation allowing medical assistance in dying for people suffering from non-terminal, disabling conditions.
The government's representative in the Senate concedes it's possible that a bill to expand access to medically assisted dying may be struck down as unconstitutional by the courts.
The controversial Bill C-7 would expand the number of people who can access medical assistance in dying — an amendment opposed by many Conservative MPs in the House of Commons last week.
A bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying was approved on Thursday, December 10, 2020, by the House of Commons after the Conservatives ended a days-long filibuster.
Many people will suffer needlessly if Conservatives continue filibustering a bill on medically assisted dying beyond a court-imposed deadline of Dec. 18, Justice Minister David Lametti said Tuesday.
