Inclusion Alberta

Media Release Inclusion Canada Welcomes Mental Illness Exclusion, Opposes Advance Requests in New MAiD Bill OTTAWA, ON — October 27, 2026 — Inclusion Canada supports the federal government’s decision to make permanent the exclusion of mental illness as the sole underlying medical condition for medical assistance in dying (MAiD). However, the organization opposes the expansion to advance requests proposed in the same legislation and is calling on the government to remove those provisions from Bill C-41, the Medical Assistance in Dying Safeguards Act. Making the mental illness exclusion permanent is an important and welcome decision. Parliament must act before the existing exclusion expires on March 17, 2027. That deadline must not become a reason to rush through a separate expansion to offer advance requests for MAiD with profound implications for consent and the rights of people with disabilities. The bill would allow an adult diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness expected to cause an irreversible loss of capacity to make an advance request for MAiD to be provided after that capacity is lost, subject to “safeguards”. Inclusion Canada opposes advance requests for MAiD because they would allow assisted death after a person has lost the capacity to consent, leaving consequential judgments about their suffering and expressions of refusal to others. The organization is concerned that discriminatory assumptions about disability, dependence and quality of life could influence those judgments. “The government deserves credit for its decision not to proceed with MAiD where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition,” said Krista Carr, CEO of Inclusion Canada. “We support getting that protection into law promptly. Support for that decision must not be tied to accepting advance requests. We oppose this expansion because of the risks it creates for people with disabilities. At the very least, proceeding before Parliament has rigorously examined these provisions and their consequences would be premature and irresponsible.” In 2025, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities called on Canada not to expand MAiD to include advance requests. The government’s backgrounder or bill does not mention that recommendation. Health Canada’s national consultation, which ran from November 2024 to February 2025 focused on the change to the Criminal Code to permit Track 2 and was not solely on advance requests. It did not examine the legislation tabled today, specifically on advance requests. The proposed new expansion is premature and requires rigorous parliamentary study, with people with disabilities and their representative organizations meaningfully involved. “What a person thinks they may want in a particular situation can change in ways they could not have anticipated,” said Moira Wilson, President of Inclusion Canada. “People with disabilities need support to communicate and to have their will and preferences respected. Consent at the time MAiD is provided is a fundamental protection that Parliament should not take away. Parliament must confront the risk that someone’s attempt to refuse could be misunderstood, or that assumptions about their disability could shape judgments about their suffering.” Facts Inclusion Canada, Indigenous Disability Canada, DAWN Canada and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and two individual applicants, has brought a constitutional challenge to Track 2 MAiD in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, arguing that it violates the Charter rights of people with disabilities. That case continues. From 2021 to 2024, 2,050 people lost their lives to MAiD under Track 2, according to Health Canada. Health Canada has not yet released national figures for 2025. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. Call or text 9-8-8, Canada’s Suicide Crisis Helpline, at any time. About Inclusion Canada Inclusion Canada is the national federation of 13 provincial/territorial member organizations and over 300 local associations working to advance the full inclusion and human rights of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Inclusion Canada drives social change by strengthening families, defending rights, and transforming communities into places where everyone belongs.