The platforms of Canada’s main English-language political parties do not mention medical assistance in dying (MAID) — despite recent concerns the United Nations has raised about these laws.
On March 21, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended Canada stop allowing MAID for people whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. The committee also said Canada should not allow MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness, something Canada is set to legalize in March 2027.
The committee said it is “extremely concerned” about how Canada’s MAID laws impact people with disabilities.
It also recommended that Canada not allow advance requests for MAID, which is already allowed in Quebec. And it advised Canada to not legalize MAID for mature minors, as a parliamentary committee recommended in 2023.
Canadian Affairs repeatedly contacted the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Green Party asking for responses to the UN’s recommendations.
‘Deeply personal choice’
The frontrunning parties have said little about how — or whether — they plan to respond to the UN’s concerns.
“MAID is a deeply personal choice, and we remain committed to safeguarding the most vulnerable in our society. Our approach will always prioritize compassion, dignity, and the necessary supports for those in need,” Liberal Party campaign spokesperson Guillaume Bertrand said in an April 7 email to Canadian Affairs.
The party did not elaborate on how it plans to protect vulnerable people. It also did not respond to the UN’s concerns.
The Liberal Party platform does not mention MAID. It does promise to create a permanent Mental Health Youth Fund and to continue funding the 9-8-8 suicide crisis hotline.
The platform also commits to creating a national caregiving strategy. A recent report from Ontario’s chief coroner’s office describes how caregiver burnout can be a factor in people applying for MAID.
Canada’s existing MAID regime was developed during the Trudeau government’s nearly 10 years in power.
The Liberal Party officially listed support for MAID after its 2014 national convention. In 2016, the party introduced legislation to legalize MAID, after a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada decision struck down criminal law prohibitions on physician-assisted suicide.
The original legislation restricted MAID to people with “grievous and irremediable” diseases, disabilities and illnesses whose deaths were “reasonably foreseeable.”
In 2019, a lower court in Quebec ruled the “reasonably foreseeable” criteria was unconstitutional. The government did not appeal this decision — a move the UN committee criticized.
The Quebec court’s decision “fundamentally changed the whole premise of medical assistance in dying,” the committee wrote. The decision reinforced “the view that ‘suffering’ is intrinsic to disability,” instead of caused by discrimination that people with disabilities face, the committee said.
In 2021, the government passed amendments to allow MAID for sick or disabled people who are suffering, but whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. These amendments included allowing, by 2023, MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness. The government has twice delayed implementing that change, most recently putting it off until 2027.
‘Choice’
The Conservative Party did not answer questions about how it would respond to the UN’s recommendations.
Instead, party spokesperson Sam Lilley pointed Canadian Affairs to past party statements condemning MAID for people whose sole condition is a mental illness. A 2023 Conservative private member’s bill proposed to permanently halt the expansion of MAID to individuals whose sole condition is a mental illness. The bill was narrowly defeated, although it garnered support from the NDP and Greens and some Liberals.
At a campaign stop April 12, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was asked if he would change the eligibility criteria for MAID.
“People will continue to have the right to make that choice, the choice for themselves,” he told reporters. “We are not proposing to expand medical assistance in dying beyond the existing parameters.”
He also said that Canadians need “better health care.” He repeated plans to accelerate medical licensing for internationally trained doctors who immigrate to Canada.
The Conservatives’ election platform does not mention MAID. However, the party’s 2023 policy declaration has a section about MAID, which the document often refers to as euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The party says it opposes MAID “in principle.” Specifically, the document says the party opposes MAID for mature minors, people whose sole condition is a mental illness, people who are not competent and people whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable.
“We oppose MAID for people living with disabilities or mental illness seeking to die based on poverty, homelessness or inability to receive medical treatment,” the 2023 policy statement says. “Euthanasia must not be an abandonment of people living with genuine needs.”
The Conservatives voted against the original 2016 law that legalized MAID, as well as the 2021 law that expanded eligibility to those without reasonably foreseeable deaths.
NDP, Greens
The NDP did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The NDP’s platform does not mention MAID. But it does promise to cover psychotherapy costs for people who do not have coverage through work insurance plans. The NDP plans to expand funding for crisis and addiction care.
The NDP’s platform also promises to double the amount of the Canada Disability Benefit, a federal benefit for low-income adults with disabilities under the age of 65. Currently, the benefit will give eligible recipients, at most, $200 a month. It has been sharply criticized by disability advocates for failing to reduce poverty among Canadians with disabilities.
The Green Party is the only party to release an official statement responding to the UN committee’s recommendations about Canada’s MAID laws.
In its statement, the party said it supports the recommendation to remove MAID eligibility for those whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable.
But the party still supports MAID, co-leader Elizabeth May told Canadian Affairs in early April. May voted in favour of the 2021 amendments that allowed MAID for people whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. She still stands by that decision, she says.
However, she has concerns about people with disabilities turning to MAID because of poverty or lack of supports.
The Green Party’s platform does not mention MAID, but does include a disability justice section. The party promises to increase the Canada Disability Benefit and expand eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit. It also promises to better support home care services for seniors and financial support and workplace protection for working caregivers.
“We’re very concerned that no one choose medical assistance in dying because they can’t find the financial supports they need to live with dignity,” she said.
