Faith-Based Think Tank Says Minister Lametti’s Remarks About Assisted Suicide ‘Dehumanizing’

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti rises during question period in the House of Commons, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on May 16, 2022. The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle

A Canadian think tank is calling on Justice Minister David Lametti to explain comments he made last month about medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, being a “more humane way” to die than self-administered suicide.

Lametti made the comments on Nov. 18 while speaking on the Toronto Star podcast “It’s Political,” during which he also defended the federal government’s planned expansion in March 2023 of MAiD eligibility to include patients whose only medical condition is mental illness.

The podcast’s host, Toronto Star journalist Althia Raj, asked Lametti how the government can be sure it’s prudent to offer assisted suicide to mentally ill individuals.

“Remember that suicide generally is available to people,” Lametti replied. “This is a group within the population, who for physical reasons and possibly mental reasons, can’t make that choice themselves, to do it themselves.”

“Ultimately, this [MAiD] provides a more humane way for them to make the decision they otherwise could have made if they were able in some other way.”

Ottawa-based think tank Cardus released a statement on Dec. 1 calling on Lametti to explain his comments.

“Minister Lametti’s remarks about suicide are dehumanizing both for those who seek death and for the medical professionals who are called upon to cause it,” said Cardus executive vice-president Ray Pennings.

He added that Lametti “fails to recognize all suicides as tragedies or as evidence of our collective failure to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people.”

“Minister Lametti’s comments about ‘more humane’ options are shocking and unbecoming of a person in his position,” he said.

‘Hit Pause’

During the podcast, Raj asked Lametti about the possibility of the federal government delaying its planned MAiD eligibility expansion in March amid calls to do so from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Association of Chairs of Psychiatry, and others.

“What if we just hit pause?” Raj asked.

“Even pause means people are suffering,” Lametti replied, later adding that “very few people will be able to access MAiD solely as a result of a mental disorder.”

“I’m not worried about the floodgates opening with respect to mental disorders,” he said.

As of 2021, over 31,000 Canadians had received medically assisted suicide since the Liberal government legalized it in 2016, according to Health Canada figures. Statistics Canada has tracked the number of MAiD deaths since its legalization and found that the number of Canadians receiving the procedure has steadily increased every year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was questioned about the soon-to-be-expanded MAiD laws during a press conference today in London, Ont.

“Making sure we’re respecting people’s rights and their choices at the same time as we protect the most vulnerable is a very important but challenging balance to establish,” Trudeau said on Dec. 1. “That’s why we’re working with experts.”

Trudeau was also asked during the press conference if he’s worried about the potentially-subjective nature of the new eligibility coming in March, and whether it could lead to individuals receiving assisted suicide who don’t necessarily meet the criteria.

Trudeau said that his government isn’t taking the issue “lightly.”

“As a government, we need to make sure that the framework and the resources are in place for people to make informed and proper decisions,” he said.