Federal Briefs on MAID for Mental Illness Due in One Week

The following is being posted on behalf of Ramona Coelho:

The implementation of state-assisted suicide for mental illness comes into effect in March 2024. The government has received much pressure (media, psychiatrists, Ed Fast’s bill) and has agreed to study the issue again before implementation.

Scholars and Psychiatrists

Please write briefs about irremediability being a criterion for MAID in Canada and yet there is no guidance on accurately predicting who will not recover from mental illness. We will be ending the lives of people who would improve(potentially half statistically will recover by current evidence). As well, Canadian legislation does not require standard treatments to be tried or accessible which will increase the number of wrongful deaths of Canadians who would have recovered with care.

If you can, emphasize the lack of differences in requesting assisted suicide and planning one’s suicide and how this implementation will compromise the role of suicide prevention.

If you can comment on the lack of knowledge and planning at different levels ( hospitals, colleges, provinces and federal, please do so.)

Others: please write if you can about any of the above points. Please also tell stories about loved ones’ barriers to mental health care and how this prolongs and exacerbates the illness experience. 

Please share stories with the committee of long-time mental illness which seemed hopeless but ended with recovery.

This is due by next Thursday at 5 pm and there is a maximum of 1000 words.

Here is a link to the page where you can find instructions on submitting a brief and where to submit them: https://www.parl.ca/Committees/en/AMAD/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=12421513

Briefs may also be emailed to: AMAD@parl.gc.ca

Link to article on irremediability: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/irremediability-in-psychiatric-euthanasia-examining-the-objective-standard/39CF3F03E81053EA152C63F332478CB4

Link to an article on problems with the current Canadian MAID regime and issues with Maid for MI implementation: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/palliative-and-supportive-care/article/realities-of-medical-assistance-in-dying-in-canada/3105E6A45E04DFA8602D54DF91A2F568

Please also feel free to reach out to David Milne. He is the Director of Parliamentary Affairs for Michael Cooper, MP.

E-mail: David.Milne.731@parl.gc.ca
Telephone: (613) 996-4722