In a Feb. 2 interview with Cable Public Affairs Channel, Lametti said that “the delay is not a hesitation to include [the mentally ill]. It is more a recognition of the complexity of it. And the fact that I think more people, more experts, more practitioners, as well as Canadians generally need to internalize the standards that are going to be there.”
Two conservative members of Parliament, Michael Cooper for St. Albert-Edmonton and Rob Moore for Fundy Royal, responded to Lametti’s proposed legislation in a co-written statement, saying: “This last-minute delay is indicative of the Liberal [party]’s reckless and rushed approach to expanding medically assisted dying to more vulnerable Canadians.”
“Experts have been clear that MAID for mental illness cannot be implemented safely. It is impossible to determine irremediability in individual cases of mental illness. MAID for mental illness will also create clinical challenges, blurring the line between suicide assistance and suicide prevention.”
“A delay is not enough,” the MPs wrote. “Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to withdraw this dangerous expansion.”
Assisted suicide in Canada was legalized in 2016, and according to the government’s annual report on the program, in 2021, 10,064 people died as a result, which accounted for more than 3% of deaths in the North American country.
Among the eligibility requirements to qualify for assisted suicide are: being 18 years of age; must have a serious and incurable illness, must be “in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability”; and must have “enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable.”
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