Manitoba Senator hosts conference in Ottawa against MAiD for mentally ill

Representatives from concerned organizations spoke at an Ottawa event to call for an indefinite delay to the legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) for the sole reason of mental illness.Inclusion Canada was joined by representatives from ARCH Disability Law Centre, DAWN Canada and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities at the National Press Gallery Friday to call for an amendment to Bill C-62 to repeal the 'sunset clause' in Canada’s MAiD law on the mentally ill. The organizations also want 'track two' repealed, which makes MAiD available for people with disabilities not at the end of life.This call to action echoes that of the majority of the Special Joint Committee on MAiD, provincial and territorial ministers of health, and the Board of the Society of Canadian Psychiatry, amongst others.The event was sponsored by Senator Marilou McPhedran. The Manitoban is non-affiliated and was appointed on the recommendation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016.The organizations want Bill C-62 to be passed by March 1, with one key amendment: a full repeal of the 'sunset clause.' Bill C-62 would delay the availability of assisted suicide on the basis of mental illness to 2027. A repeal of the 'sunset clause' would eliminate a date upon which euthanasia for the mentally ill would automatically become legalized.Heather Walkus, from the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, called for a repeal of track two, following C-62’s passage, as did Krista Carr, executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada.“The sunset clause needs to go,” Carr said at the press conference.“Despite what some may believe, greater access to assisted suicide shouldn’t be inevitable; not now and not ever. In fact, there are big problems with Canada’s existing MAiD law, which makes assisted suicide available to people who are not at the end of life, on the basis of their disability status. We’ve already gone too far.”Kerri Joffe, from ARCH disability law centre, spoke about how track two MAiD is a core concern being communicated by the disability community to the United Nations through an ongoing rights monitoring process.Bonnie Brayton with DAWN Canada, highlighted how women with disabilities are over-represented in track-two deaths, warning that if MAiD for mental illness were to become available, this trend would worsen. Moira Wilson, president of Inclusion Canada, was asked to comment at the event.“It’s time to bring Canada’s MAiD laws back into alignment with disability rights,” Wilson said.“Families of people with disabilities, such as mine, are terrified by track two MAiD and its potential further expansion. We want our children to be fully valued as equal citizens, supported to live good lives and be fully included in the community, not offered state-assisted suicide on the basis of 'suffering' that is not inherent in their disability but rather is a result of lack of income and disability support."My son’s life should be of value, irrespective of his disability. He should not feel or be threatened because he has a disability, yet this is our Canada at the moment. The government should start by doing away with the ‘sunset clause,' but the work certainly doesn’t end there.”Without intervention from parliamentarians, medical assistance in dying for mental illness will become legal on March 17, 2024. Given the current sitting calendar, MPs and senators have one week to make an amendment.

Manitoba Senator hosts conference in Ottawa against MAiD for mentally ill

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