The federal government will indefinitely extend the exclusion that bars medical assistance in dying for people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness, Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel announced Wednesday.
The move charts the government’s path forward on one of the most sensitive files in Canadian health law. The exclusion, which has been extended before, was set to expire — but ministers said Wednesday it will now remain in place indefinitely.
The announcement lays out how Ottawa intends to handle the future of the MAID regime, capping years of debate over whether — and under what safeguards — eligibility should ever extend to mental illness alone.
Advocates on both sides of the issue are expected to react in the coming days as the government releases further detail on its legislative plans.
