In short
Since 2016, a whole chapter (sections 241.1 to 241.4) in the Criminal Code of Canada, has been dedicated to ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’. Within the context of medical aid in dying, euthanasia and assisted suicide are no longer punishable.
Since 2017, Canada also has a special law for palliative sedation: the Framework on Palliative Care in Canada Act. Under this law, palliative sedation is permitted and regulated in Canada. The practical aspects are described on the website End-of-Life Law and Policy in Canada.
In 2019, the Superior Court of Québec declared in its Truchon v Canada (AG) decision that the criterion in the federal MAID legislation, that there should be a “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” (RFND), is unconstitutional. As a reaction to this decision, the Government of Canada came with a legislative response: Bill C-7.
In March 2021, this bill became law and the criterium ‘reasonable foreseeability of natural death’ was no longer in it. The bill also included a provision to temporarily exclude those whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder from eligibility. Clinicians say there is concern that the country’s healthcare system is inadequate to protect most vulnerable. Access to MAID in these cases was delayed for 24 months, to allow the Expert Panel to provide advice to the federal government on the safeguards, protocols and guidance that should apply in these cases.
In May 2022, the Expert Panel came with their report on MAiD and Mental Illness. In December, the federal government declared it needs more time before expanding Canada’s controversial medical assistance in dying (MAID) policy to include mentally ill people.
In June 2022, Canadian Senator Pamela Wallin tabled a bill to create possibilities for MAiD based on an advance request. Bill S-248 seeks an exemption to the Criminal Code of Canada to allow for advance requests for medical assistance in dying for Canadians diagnosed with a serious or incurable disease, illness or disability. The bill would allow Canadians to waive the requirement for final consent when receiving MAID if they lose capacity and it will allow provinces and territories to legally create advance request frameworks.