Justice Minister David Lametti says delay to 2024 is necessary because 'safety of Canadians just comes first' | CBC News - Peter Zimonjic
February 2, 2023 - "The Liberal government is introducing legislation to delay by one year the expansion of the medically assisted death (MAID) law to cover those suffering solely from a mental illness ... Justice Minister David Lametti said Thursday.... Lametti said the delay will allow ongoing studies of the risks of extending MAID to this group of people to be completed....
"The government passed MAID legislation in 2016. The Superior Court of Quebec struck the law down in 2019 because it was limited to those whose deaths were 'reasonably foreseeable.' Bill C-7, which passed Parliament in March 2021, removed that requirement, in line with the court's ruling. The legislation also temporarily pushed out the expansion of MAID to cases involving only mental illness to March 2023....
"Lametti said the extension will also give the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying time to complete its final report on MAID for those suffering solely from mental illness. The committee delivered an interim report in June of last year, which concluded that it was racing against the clock to get its recommendations published in time for the expansion of MAID legislation.
'Although some work is already underway … there is concern that more remains to be done to ensure that all necessary steps have been taken to be ready by the March 2023 deadline,' the interim report said.
"Mental illness" in the new legislation refers to conditions that are primarily psychiatric, such as depression and personality disorders. It doesn't cover neurocognitive or neurodevelopmental disorders, or related conditions. People with neurodegenerative diseases that lead to dementia can qualify under current rules for MAID, officials said.
"If Bill C-39 is not passed by March 17 of this year, MAID for people solely suffering from mental illness will become law in Canada. The legislation cannot be passed after that date because the two-year time limit will have ended. Lametti said he's confident the legislation will pass in time and has already secured the assistance of the NDP and the Bloc in the House of Commons....
"Conservative MP Michael Cooper called for the expansion of MAID to be scrapped. Later, in the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned the expansion to MAID in 2024."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/maid-delay-solely-mental-illness-1.6734686
No comments:
Post a Comment