Ottawa: The Liberal government announced on Thursday that it is seeking expansion of its medical assistance in dying (MAID) law to include mentally ill people.
The government argues that the programme does not yet include those who suffer from mental illness.
Justice Minister David Lametti told a news conference that he had also heard concerns that the healthcare system was not prepared to handle such complex cases. He said that some provinces, territories and those working in the health care system have said that more time is needed for this.
It is worth mentioning that in the law on the wrong of death with medical assistance passed in 2021, the provision has been temporarily included that those who are suffering from mental disorders should not be included in this program. This arrangement will end on March 17, 2023.
Lametti said those seeking to mistreat death due to mental disorders have a long history of treatment, with the government spending millions of dollars to improve mental health care. Therefore, in such cases, it cannot be that a person suffered from depression and he came and sought medical help to make the mistake of death and his wish to be fulfilled.