Category: Bill C-7

Canadian Senate Amends Assisted Dying Bill, Expands Access to Those With Mental Illness

The Senate voted to give the Canadian government 18 months to expand access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to people suffering solely from mental illnesses. On Tuesday, senators voted 57-21 to amend Bill C-7, which prohibits MAiD for people whose sole medical condition is a mental illness. The amendment would allow people suffering from…


Witness Urges Senate to Kill Medical Assistance in Dying Bill in Final Round of Committee Hearing

Gabrielle Peters is a writer with disabilities who lives on one of the lowest incomes in Canada. She was admitted to a hospital in Vancouver following the onset of a rare autoimmune system disease in 2009. Soon after, her partner left her to become homeless after the disease made her unable to work. But she…


Justice Minister David Lametti Doesn’t Rule out Referring MAID Bill to Supreme Court

OTTAWA—Justice Minister David Lametti isn’t ruling out the possibility of asking the Supreme Court to advise on the constitutionality of a bill to expand access to assisted dying. Testifying at the Senate’s legal and constitutional affairs committee today, Lametti said a reference to the top court “is always an option.” But he says he’s never…


Over 1,100 Physicians Sign Petition Opposing Assisted Dying Bill

Over 1,100 physicians have signed a petition opposing Canada’s new medically assisted dying bill, saying the proposed legislation changes the nature of their profession and its removal of safeguards will lead to an increase in “coerced or tragically unconsidered deaths.” “This bill, expanding “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD) to virtually everyone who is sick and…