Exclude mental illness from MAID
Petitioners ask Parliament to enact Bill C‑218 to exclude mental illness as a sole condition for medical assistance in dying and to fund mental-health services. The government responds that people with only mental illness are currently excluded from MAID and that it is reviewing a committee recommendation to make that exclusion indefinite.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would bar MAID when mental illness is the sole condition, aiming to protect people whose decision-making may be impaired and who could recover with treatment.
- It would require investment in mental-health services, which the petition says could increase access for youth and children who currently lack adequate care.
- It creates a clear legal safeguard to prioritize treatment and messages of hope over death for people with mental illness.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- It removes an end-of-life option for some adults enduring persistent, intolerable suffering from mental illness who may view MAID as a legitimate choice.
- Making a categorical exclusion before mental-health systems are strengthened could leave some people without adequate care or supported alternatives.
- A strict exclusion risks denying MAID when mental illness coexists with other grievous conditions, complicating individualized assessments.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled According to Canadian Mental Health Association, in any given year one in five people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem or illness; Approximately 20% of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder; Suicide is the second leading cause of death among age 15-34; Only one out of five children receive appropriate mental health services; Mental illness changes a person's thinking and impairs sober decision making; Research has found that 46% of people who die by suicide had a known mental health condition; Mental illness can be treated and recover, leading to a meaningful and productive life; and For recovery, mental health patients need a message of hope, not an option of death. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to support Bill C-218 to exclude mental illness or disorder from MAID and to invest resources to mental health services.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi An individual whose sole underlying condition is mental illness is not currently eligible for medical assistance in dying in Canada. Only individuals with a grievous and irremediable medical condition – meaning that they have a serious and incurable illness condition or disability; are in an advanced state of irreversible decline; and are experiencing intolerable and enduring suffering – may be eligible for medical assistance in dying. The 2021 amendment to the Criminal Code to permit medical assistance in dying for individuals suffering from grievous and irremediable medical conditions whose death was not reasonably foreseeable included a temporary exclusion to exempt individuals whose sole underlying condition was a grievous and irremediable mental illness. This exclusion has been extended twice by Parliament, and is currently scheduled to lift in March 2027. In Spring 2026, a special joint Parliamentary committee was established to study whether provincial and territorial health systems were prepared for the temporary exclusion to lift. The Committee presented its final report to Parliament on June 17, 2026. The committee’s sole recommendation was that “the Government of Canada amend the Criminal Code to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying”. The report can be found at: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/AMAD/report-1/. Our Government is reviewing the report’s findings and recommendation as we consider next steps, and we will ensure that our actions are guided by protecting vulnerable persons, including those in crisis or experiencing mental illness.