The federal government will introduce legislation aimed at delaying the eligibility expansion for medical assistance in dying (MAID) “as quickly as possible,” says Justice Minister David Lametti.
However, the Liberal government said in December that it would seek to delay the planned expansion due to concerns that proper safeguards were not yet in place that would prepare the health care system to handle it.
Lametti and Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett, who announced the government’s plan to delay the expansion on Dec. 15, did not previously give a timeline for when they would amend the related legislation.
“We'll try to get the extension done as quickly as we possibly can and discussions are ongoing,” Lametti said.
Reporters asked Lametti how long the government intends to delay MAID’s eligibility expansion, but he said he “won’t negotiate in public.”
The minister also commented on current federal MAID laws, which allow access for patients who have a serious physical illness, are “in an advanced state of decline that cannot be reversed,” and are experiencing “unbearable suffering.”
Lametti said the government’s current safeguards surrounding MAID are “strong” and “meant to be applied.”
MAID Regime
Lametti said that the “vast majority” of MAID cases involve individuals who are terminally ill, but he acknowledged there have been a number of cases reported in recent months where the regime has been abused.“Where there are reports of abuse, those are ... obviously a cause for concern,” he said, adding that medical boards and sometimes police and prosecutors should examine them.
“There is a possibility that criminal charges could be laid where those safeguards are not properly applied,” he said.
“Further time is required to increase awareness of this change and establish guidelines and standards to which clinicians, patients and the public can turn to for more education and information,” wrote the association, which represents the leading psychiatrists at Canada’s 17 medical schools, on Dec. 1.
