Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl questions why MAID is being expanded to those with mental illness

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He says opposition to the expansion of MAID has been echoed by the heads of psychiatry at Canada’s 17 medical schools who have stated Canada is not ready for a hasty expansion of MAID.

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On Wednesday (Dec. 14), Strahl pressed the issue with the Prime Minister in Question Period by calling on the government to “listen to the experts, finally listen to vulnerable Canadians and press pause on this deeply-flawed MAID expansion.”

Strahl vowed to continue the fight to protect vulnerable Canadians. “Every human life deserves to be treated with dignity. When we are at our weakest, we need to be assured that we are safe, secured and cared for,” Strahl argued.

Meanwhile, according to a report from the Canadian Press, the chair of a federal expert panel on medically assisted death is questioning what the government is hoping to accomplish by delaying the expansion of the assisted-dying regime.

Dr. Mona Gupta says the federal government has already followed through with its commitment to study the expansion that will allow people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder to seek a medically assisted death.

The expert panel determined the proper safeguards are in place for the change to happen on March 17, and Gupta says a further delay is not necessary.

Justice Minister David Lametti made the announcement late Thursday (Dec. 15), saying the government is listening to concerns the health care system might not be prepared to handle complex cases involving mental disorders.

The Liberals plan to introduce new legislation in the House of Commons once Parliament resumes in late January.

It’s not clear how long the delay will be, but Lametti says the government is not backing away from the plan to expand the program because the Supreme Court has made it clear Canadians have a right to medical assistance in dying, the Canadian Press wrote.