The Canadian Bar Association will not be revoking its support for medically assisted deaths in cases where an individual’s only condition is a mental illness, the association determined at its annual general meeting Thursday.
Members rejected a resolution asking the organization to “withdraw” previous statements supporting medical assistance in dying (MAID) when a person’s sole condition is a mental illness. The resolution also asks the association to urge Ottawa not to allow MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness “unless and until there is a reliable manner to determine whether the psychiatric conditions are irremediable.”
In 2016, the association passed a resolution supporting MAID in these situations. It has often written the federal government urging it to make people whose sole condition is mental illness eligible for MAID.
The Canadian Bar Association represents lawyers, judges and legal professionals across Canada. Membership is voluntary, except in New Brunswick where membership is mandatory.
More than 400 of the organization’s 38,000 members attended this year’s annual general meeting. Members debated 13 resolutions. These resolutions form the basis of the organization’s policies and submissions to the federal government.
The defeat is “disappointing,” said Garifalia Milousis, who wrote the resolution. Milousis told Canadian Affairs last month that she thought Canadian Bar Association members needed to discuss the topic of MAID for mental illness again. If the group is going to advocate for this, members should be able to discuss it, she told Canadian Affairs last month.
“Our hope was to have democratic discussion,” she said after Thursday’s meeting, adding it was good that members had the chance to express their opinions.
The debate about the resolution was the most heated of the nearly two-and-a-half hours dedicated to debating resolutions. Debate on Milousis’s resolution — the last one of the day — began in the annual general meeting’s final half hour. After voting began, the meeting was extended by 30 minutes to allow more time for debate.
Some members supported the resolution. They cited a lack of consensus among psychiatrists about whether mental illnesses are irremediable — a legal requirement for MAID eligibility. They also raised concerns that allowing people with mental illnesses to access MAID when large gaps exist in mental-health services makes it easier for people with mental illnesses to die than to live.
Opponents of the resolution said not allowing MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness denies people with mental illness the right to make their own decisions.
The resolution was the only one defeated at the meeting. The association does not say how many votes were cast nor how many supported or opposed the resolution.
‘Difficult issue’
On Monday, 14 organizations, including disability groups, Indigenous groups and organizations of people with mental illnesses, wrote to the Canadian Bar Association to support the resolution up for consideration at the annual general meeting. The resolution “represents a vital step towards ensuring that any policy on MAID truly reflects the needs and rights of all Canadians, especially those living with disabilities,” the letter says.
The organizations have “profound concerns” about the association’s positions on MAID. “The lack of consultation with the disability community in formulating the CBA’s position on MAID is deeply troubling,” the letter says. It asks the association to consult with people with disabilities when making policies about MAID.
The association needs to listen to these organizations’ concerns, says Milousis.
“Those who are actually on the ground, who are being impacted by these policies, are wanting to see more consultation and are wanting to see the CBA position on this issue change,” she said.
Cheryl Milne, a member of the association’s end-of-life working group, was “pleased” to see Milousis’s resolution defeated. The end-of-life working group wrote the 2016 resolution supporting MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness.
If the new resolution had passed, the association would have been “prevented” from advocating in this area, she said.
Milne spoke against the resolution at the meeting. “It’s clear that people were divided on the issue,” she said. “I can understand why because it’s an extremely difficult issue.”
The Canadian Bar Association passed all 12 of the other resolutions debated at the meeting. These include resolutions condemning policies that require teachers to tell parents if students want to use a chosen name or pronouns at school and opposing efforts to restrict abortion. The association also passed three resolutions about reforming Canada’s immigration system.
Canada was set to allow MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness on March 17. But last week, a committee of members of Parliament and Senators recommended against this change. The federal government introduced legislation to delay MAID for mental illness until March 2027. That legislation is at second reading in the House of Commons.
