Canada will not allow medically assisted dying for people whose only underlying medical condition is mental illness, Justice Minister Sean Fraser has said.
Fraser made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the Liberal government would introduce legislation to permanently prohibit assisted dying in such cases.
Canada legalised assisted dying for people at the end of life in 2016. The eligibility criteria were expanded in 2021 to include people suffering from serious and incurable medical conditions, even where death was not reasonably foreseeable.
The government had initially planned to extend eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental illness by 2024. However, the implementation was postponed by three years amid concerns over the country’s mental health system and its readiness to handle such cases.
Without further legislative action, the exclusion was due to expire in March, potentially allowing people with mental illness as their only underlying condition to seek medically assisted dying.
Fraser’s announcement follows recommendations by an advisory panel in June that the government should not proceed with the proposed expansion.
The panel expressed concerns over limited access to mental health services across Canada and the possibility that some patients could choose assisted dying because they were unable to obtain adequate care.
It also noted ongoing disagreement among mental health experts over whether certain mental illnesses can be considered incurable.
While a majority of Canadians support access to medically assisted dying, some medical professionals have in recent months called for a review of the policy, including the process through which patients are assessed and approved.
