Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC) confirmed it will be supporting a court challenge to secure equality for people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness in Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation. DWDC CEO Helen Long said people with mental illnesses “endure a great deal of stigma and shunning by society because mental illness is remarkably misunderstood.” “What we know from speaking to people with lived experience is that they have tried many treatments and medications without relief, that their suffering is real, that they are tired of the discrimination, and they want the ability to be assessed for MAID,” said Long in a Monday press release. “What we know from experts in the field of psychiatry is that the safeguards will protect potentially vulnerable MAID applicants, the healthcare system is ready, and they expect a very small number of people to be found eligible for MAID whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.” Of the 8,042 assisted deaths in the Netherlands in 2023, Long pointed out 138 (1.7%) were because the primary medical condition was a mental illness. She added the ongoing delays to MAID for mental illnesses are unjustified, perpetuating discrimination based on diagnosis and violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Parliament has said mental illness is not recognized as an illness, disease, or disability eligible for MAID, which means people with it as their sole underlying condition are ineligible for it. This exclusion was only meant to last one year. However, it was extended for two more years. In March, it was extended for three more years. In total, this is a six-year delay for one category of people with an ailment. DWDC said the continued exclusion reinforces the stigma and prejudice against people with mental illnesses. It said it violates Section 7 of the Charter by denying people with mental illnesses the freedom to make fundamental decisions about their bodies and lives. Additionally, it alleged it violates Section 15 of the Charter by discriminating on the basis of the type of disability experienced. A poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of DWDC in 2023 showed 82% of Canadians agreed that with the appropriate safeguards in place, those with the capacity to provide informed consent should be able to seek an assessment for MAID for a severe, treatment-resistant mental disorder they experience intolerable suffering from. The legal team for the Charter challenge will be led by Paliare Roland lawyers Michael Fenrick and Sonia Patel. DWDC will act as public interest litigant on behalf of clinicians, patients, families, and loved ones who have been denied their Charter rights. Paliare Roland filed the claim in Toronto on Monday. DWDC Board of Directors Vice Chair Daphne Gilbert called this lawsuit “an important step in recognizing that people with a mental illness deserve the same respect, access to medical services, choice, and dignity as all other people across Canada.” “Some individuals with a mental illness experience enduring and intolerable suffering and that suffering needs to be recognized as equally devastating as physical suffering,” said Gilbert.“We have processes to determine whether a person is capable of making fundamental life decisions; all capable adults must be respected in their decisions and their choices honoured.”Former Dalhousie University law and medicine professor Jocelyn Downie said people with mental illnesses have been told to be patient for three more years. “These are people who are experiencing enduring and intolerable suffering who, according to the Supreme Court of Canada, are supposed to have access,” said Downie. “Since Parliament is yet again keeping it from them (now for an unconscionable length of time), the only option is to go back to court.”Health Minister Mark Holland said in January the Canadian government would not be moving forward with MAID for people with mental illnesses for now because of a committee report recommending against it. READ MORE: WATCH: Liberals to delay assisted suicide expansion for mentally ill“Arif [Virani] and I are deeply appreciative of the time they’ve taken,” said Holland. “We have at the same time been doing our own engagement with stakeholders and with provinces and territories and can say that we agree with the conclusion that the committee has come to.”
Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC) confirmed it will be supporting a court challenge to secure equality for people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness in Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation. DWDC CEO Helen Long said people with mental illnesses “endure a great deal of stigma and shunning by society because mental illness is remarkably misunderstood.” “What we know from speaking to people with lived experience is that they have tried many treatments and medications without relief, that their suffering is real, that they are tired of the discrimination, and they want the ability to be assessed for MAID,” said Long in a Monday press release. “What we know from experts in the field of psychiatry is that the safeguards will protect potentially vulnerable MAID applicants, the healthcare system is ready, and they expect a very small number of people to be found eligible for MAID whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.” Of the 8,042 assisted deaths in the Netherlands in 2023, Long pointed out 138 (1.7%) were because the primary medical condition was a mental illness. She added the ongoing delays to MAID for mental illnesses are unjustified, perpetuating discrimination based on diagnosis and violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Parliament has said mental illness is not recognized as an illness, disease, or disability eligible for MAID, which means people with it as their sole underlying condition are ineligible for it. This exclusion was only meant to last one year. However, it was extended for two more years. In March, it was extended for three more years. In total, this is a six-year delay for one category of people with an ailment. DWDC said the continued exclusion reinforces the stigma and prejudice against people with mental illnesses. It said it violates Section 7 of the Charter by denying people with mental illnesses the freedom to make fundamental decisions about their bodies and lives. Additionally, it alleged it violates Section 15 of the Charter by discriminating on the basis of the type of disability experienced. A poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of DWDC in 2023 showed 82% of Canadians agreed that with the appropriate safeguards in place, those with the capacity to provide informed consent should be able to seek an assessment for MAID for a severe, treatment-resistant mental disorder they experience intolerable suffering from. The legal team for the Charter challenge will be led by Paliare Roland lawyers Michael Fenrick and Sonia Patel. DWDC will act as public interest litigant on behalf of clinicians, patients, families, and loved ones who have been denied their Charter rights. Paliare Roland filed the claim in Toronto on Monday. DWDC Board of Directors Vice Chair Daphne Gilbert called this lawsuit “an important step in recognizing that people with a mental illness deserve the same respect, access to medical services, choice, and dignity as all other people across Canada.” “Some individuals with a mental illness experience enduring and intolerable suffering and that suffering needs to be recognized as equally devastating as physical suffering,” said Gilbert.“We have processes to determine whether a person is capable of making fundamental life decisions; all capable adults must be respected in their decisions and their choices honoured.”Former Dalhousie University law and medicine professor Jocelyn Downie said people with mental illnesses have been told to be patient for three more years. “These are people who are experiencing enduring and intolerable suffering who, according to the Supreme Court of Canada, are supposed to have access,” said Downie. “Since Parliament is yet again keeping it from them (now for an unconscionable length of time), the only option is to go back to court.”Health Minister Mark Holland said in January the Canadian government would not be moving forward with MAID for people with mental illnesses for now because of a committee report recommending against it. READ MORE: WATCH: Liberals to delay assisted suicide expansion for mentally ill“Arif [Virani] and I are deeply appreciative of the time they’ve taken,” said Holland. “We have at the same time been doing our own engagement with stakeholders and with provinces and territories and can say that we agree with the conclusion that the committee has come to.”
