Canadian attitudes around medical assistance in dying (MAID) and end-of-life decision-making have shifted significantly since the 1993 SCC decision in Rodriguez v British Columbia (AG)[i] upholding the prohibition on assisted suicide. Although MAID was only first legalized in Canada in June of 2016, the scope of the original legislation was broadened significantly with the Royal Assent of Bill C-7 on March 17, 2021 and is back on the table now in 2023. It is worth revisiting the implications of Bill C-7 as the federal government announced plans on February 2nd of this year to delay MAID eligibility for people whose sole medical condition is mental illness until March 17, 2024—one year later than the original timeline.
The 2021 amendments center around a new perspective on who can and should be able to consent to MAID as well as when and what level of capacity is required to make that consent. This is a rapidly developing area of law of particular relevance to the country’s aging population, as capacity-limiting conditions grow to consume a greater share of healthcare resources and research.
Bill C-7 was introduced in part in response to the September 11, 2019 decision of the Superior Court of Québec in Truchon v Canada (AG) [ii]. The Court ruled that the “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” eligibility criterion contained in the federal MAID legislation, and the “end of life” eligibility criterion contained in Quebec’s Act Respecting End-of-Life Care violated Section 7 of the Charter, which protects against deprivations of life, liberty and security of the person, and Section 15 of the Charter, which guarantees the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.
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