Review of Medical Assistance in Dying by special joint parliamentary committee

UPDATE JULY 2022 - See new action kit, below

A bill that passed in March 2021 (Bill C-7) called for a comprehensive review of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) provisions and the related issues of mature minors, advance requests, mental illness, the state of palliative care in Canada and the protection of Canadians with disabilities.  

A special joint committee of Members of Parliament and Senators is carrying out this review and considering whether to expand the law even further to allow mature youth to be eligible and those who are no longer able to consent. 

The committee reportedd back to Parliament with an interim report in June 2022. A final full report is due in October, including recommendations on whether to change or expand the laws. 

The EFC is very concerned that the committee will recommend expanding access to MAID even further. The EFC opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide. 

Related resources

• Action Kit to Halt Expansion of MAID to Include Mental Illness Alone (July 18, 2022)
• Blogs on review of MAID
  • Part 3: MAiD must not be Canada’s response to poverty or a lack of supports (June 20, 2022)
  • Part 2: Assisted death for children as young as 12? (June 14, 2022)
  • Part 1: What's happening (June 6, 2022)
• EFC submission to the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (4-page PDF, May 9, 2022)
• Recent Faith Today articles
  • How MAiD is transforming Canadian end-of-life care (Jul/Aug 2022 issue)
  • Navigating Medical Assistance in Dying: How the Church is encountering voluntary euthanasia (May/Jun 2022 issue)