A United Nations committee evaluating how Canada treats its disabled population is urging the federal government to repeal the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) for those who are not terminally ill.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has released a new report that recommends the federal government address “systemic” shortcomings that could lead disabled individuals to seek assisted death.
The U.N. committee consists of independent experts responsible for monitoring Canada’s adherence to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the country ratified in 2010.
The committee said it is “extremely concerned” about amendments made to MAID legislation by Ottawa in 2021 to include persons whose death is not “reasonably foreseeable,” and the upcoming expansion to include those with mental illness.
When MAID was initially introduced in Canada in 2016, it was strictly for the terminally ill. Now there are two different categories under MAID legislation. Track 1 is for those with terminal illness and Track 2, implemented in 2021, is for those enduring “unbearable suffering” from an irreversible illness or disability that is not terminal. Eligibility is set to expand in 2027 to include those whose sole condition is a mental illness.
The report criticized the expansion of MAID for the disabled and said the focus should be on helping them live.
“The concept of ‘choice’ creates a false dichotomy by setting up the premise that if persons with disabilities are suffering, it is valid for the State Party to enable their death, with safeguards not guaranteeing the provision of support, and ableist assumptions de-emphasising the myriad of support options for persons with disabilities to live dignified lives,” the committee wrote.
The report identified poverty alleviation, access to health care, accessible housing, prevention of homelessness, prevention of gender-based violence, the provision of community-based mental health supports and employment supports as areas where Canada is failing the disabled community.
Critics of MAID legislation in Canada praised the report for validating their concerns that disabled individuals dealing with systemic challenges are presented with assisted dying as a potential solution to their circumstances.
The Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada policy analyst Daniel Zekveld said the organization supports all of the committee’s MAID recommendations. The Christian political advocacy organization is now calling on federal party leaders to commit to implementing them, he said.
“Allowing MAiD for Canadians who are not dying devalues their lives and implies that they are dispensable,” Zekveld said in a press release. “Offering euthanasia as a ‘solution’ for disability or chronic illness reduces incentives to improve treatments and supports. At the very least, Canada’s next Prime Minister will need to address the mental illness expansion.”
ARCH Disability Law Centre represents a coalition of disability organizations—known as the Civil Society Parallel Report Group—that travelled to Switzerland to speak to the U.N. committee about its MAID concerns.
ARCH described the coalition in a recent press release as playing a crucial role in shaping the recommendations proposed by the committee.
“These recommendations among many others are all strong wins for disability communities as the UN continues to affirm the real and pressing concerns of disability communities across Canada,” the group said.
Meanwhile, Dying With Dignity Canada was critical of the report, saying in a press release that the committee merely repeated claims made in the court challenge against Track 2 in Ontario. The organization accused the report of mischaracterizing the data of those who access MAID.
“We cannot solve one injustice by creating another; those with a disability must have the same right to autonomy and end-of-life choice as all people across Canada,” the organization said.
Other recommendations the U.N. report made to the government include not supporting proposals for the expansion of MAID to include “mature minors,” establishing a federal independent oversight body to handle MAID complaints, and having increased consultations with the indigenous community.
