Tamara Jansen / House of Commons Canada (Left), Adobe Stock (Right)
A Canadian House member recently introduced a bill that would prevent the country’s euthanasia “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD) program from allowing mental disorders to be a qualifying medical condition for euthanasia — an eligibility expansion the government is set to make by 2027.
The preamble of Cloverdale-Langley City MP Tamara Jansen’s private bill C-218, which she introduced June 20, highlights that “Parliament considers that vulnerable Canadians should receive suicide prevention counselling rather than access to medical assistance in dying. It also states that “Parliament considers that Canada’s medical assistance in dying regime risks normalizing assisted dying as a solution for those suffering from a mental disorder.”
C-218 would amend subsection 241.2(2.1) of the Criminal Code to state that “a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition.”
Canada enacted legislation in February 2024 that temporarily protected people from qualifying for euthanasia based on mental disorders. According to the Canadian government website, the expansion of the MAiD program for people with mental disorders is now set to go into effect March 17, 2027.
When she introduced her bill June 20, Jansen spoke about how expanding euthanasia eligibility to those struggling with mental disorders such as depression or PTSD sends the message that death is a “solution” to suffering.
“Imagine your son or daughter battling depression for some time after losing a job, or maybe a broken relationship,” she said. “Imagine they feel the loss so deep that they’re convinced the world would be better off without them.”
Starting in 2027, “Under Canadian law they could walk into a doctor’s office and ask them to end their life, and under our law, the system could legally do just that,” she continued. “Our society could end his or her life for solely a mental health challenge; that’s not a future scenario, that’s the law right now waiting to take effect.”
The Canadian government has twice temporarily delayed the expansion because medical and legal experts have repeatedly warned that it is “impossible to implement safely” and that clinical experts warned there is no evidence-based way to determine if a mental disorder is truly irremediable, according to Jansen.
“But still the government is moving forward,” Jansen said, arguing that it sends a message to struggling Canadians, trauma survivors, and those fighting depression that their country is offering them death as a solution to their suffering.
“That’s not health care,” she said, “that’s not compassion, it’s abandonment. Mental health is treatable, recovery is possible, but only if we show up and help.”
Addressing the speaker of the House, Jansen concluded: “Canadians are watching, and they need us to stand up for life, for dignity, for hope.”