Ottawa set to introduce new assisted dying bill for mental disorders – National

The Liberal government is expected to introduce legislation on Thursday to delay extending the right to medically-assisted dying to people whose only condition is a mental disorder.

Justice Secretary David Lametti said the delay was necessary after the federal government heard concerns that Canada’s healthcare system might not be prepared for the expansion.

The Liberal government agreed to extend the eligibility to the Euthanasia Act in its 2021 update after senators amended the bill to include it, arguing that excluding people with mental illness would violate their rights.

But the bill included a two-year deadline to delay the extension, which is due to expire in March unless Parliament passes a new law.

The Federal Government’s panel of experts for medical assistance in the event of death and mental illness declared last May that a further delay was not necessary.

Lametti has said he expects an agreement between parties and senators to pass the law in the weeks before the clock is up, although Conservatives have argued the system should not be expanded at all.

Carolyn Bennett, the Secretary of State for Mental Health and Addiction, will join Lametti at a press conference on Parliament Hill on Thursday.

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