Bill C-218

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to provide that a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition for which a person could receive medical assistance in dying.

Medical Assistance in Dying

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, dozens of my constituents, through my constituent Henry, provided me with this petition and asked me to present it on behalf of residents and citizens calling upon the House of Commons to support Bill C-218. They raise the point that Canadians with mental illness should be provided with treatment and support. Mental illness is complex and can include suicidal thoughts as a symptom.

Several constituents have since recognized the AMAD report, but wanted me to present this. With that, I present this petition on behalf of constituents of the riding of Waterloo.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition on behalf of my recently retired colleague, Larry Brock, signed by the great residents of Brantford—Brant South and people across western Ontario.

The petitioners are raising the alarm over the planned expansion of medical assistance in dying, or MAID, to all Canadians diagnosed with any mental illness, starting on March 17, 2027. This June, the Special Joint Committee on MAID released its report, urgently recommending that the government immediately pause the expansion of MAID and exclude people suffering from a mental illness from accessing MAID. Even the Liberal chair of the committee said only elected parliamentarians should debate and decide this significant moral question, as they are held accountable to their constituents.

Mr. Brock's petition calls on the government to immediately suspend the expansion of MAID scheduled for March 17, 2027, as recommended by the joint committee and allow Parliament to do its job by voting in favour of Bill C-218, which would exclude persons suffering from mental illness alone from receiving MAID.

Justice

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals are taking a cynical gamble with vulnerable Canadians' lives, asking Parliament to reject Bill C-218 for a phantom bill that has not even been written. They are playing political games at a time when lives are in the balance.

The study was done. The broad consensus is there. The bill is tabled. Every minute we waste on an unwritten bill brings us closer to the deadline. Rejecting protection already before Parliament is reckless, and Canadians could pay with their lives.

Will the Liberals do the right thing, work with us and support Bill C-218 today?

Medical Assistance in Dying

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition from Canadians from across the country who are opposed to the expansion of MAID to those who have only the underlying issue of mental illness. They note that mental illness is often recoverable. They are asking for the Government of Canada to recognize this and to adopt Bill C-218. This bill would stop the expansion of medical assistance in dying to those who have mental illness. We need to ensure those with mental illness have hope and not MAID.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present this petition on behalf of constituents concerned about the expansion of MAID, medical assistance in dying, to Canadians whose sole underlying condition is mental illness. They urge every member of this House to support Bill C-218, because people with mental illness deserve our love and support and the right to recover, not an option for dying.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I too am rising today to present a petition. The petitioners from across Canada are supportive of Bill C-218. This bill would make it so that MAID for mental illness as the sole underlying condition would not come into force in 2027. The people who signed this petition noted that mental illness is treatable and recovery is possible. They worry about the fact that if MAID is offered to these people, we would be muddying the waters around suicide prevention.

Therefore, the people who have signed this petition are calling for the government to pass Bill C-218 to stop euthanasia from being offered to those with mental illness.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today in support of Bill C-218, an act to amend the Criminal Code with respect to medical assistance in dying.

In particular, petitioners note that the Government of Canada intends to expand medical assistance in dying, or euthanasia as it is otherwise known, to individuals whose only medical condition is a mental illness. Petitioners note that mental illness is treatable, recovery is possible and experts agree that it is impossible to predict if someone with mental illness will get better or not, and therefore whether it is truly irremediable or not. Expanding MAID to people with mental illness as their only underlying condition suggests that some lives are beyond saving.

Therefore, petitioners are asking the government to pass Bill C-218 to stop the expansion of MAID to those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I too want to rise with a petition from Canadians asking the government to consider supporting Bill C-218.

The petitioners recognize that the expansion of MAID is being discussed in this House and will be voted on later this week. The expansion would include individuals who would be eligible for MAID on the basis of mental illness as their sole medical condition. Experts agree that people can recover from mental illness; it is treatable and they cannot predict when it is irremediable.

Petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to support Bill C-218 and make sure that MAID is not extended to people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand here today to present this petition in support of Bill C-218, an act to amend the Criminal Code, medical assistance in dying. Mental illness is treatable and experts agree. Families and communities are concerned that people who could recover through treatment and support may instead lose their lives.

The people are calling upon the Government of Canada to pass Bill C-218 to stop the expansion of MAID to those whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in just two days, members of the House of Commons will vote on Bill C-218, whether or not to end the incoming expansion of MAID for people with only a mental illness.

It is in that spirit that I have the great honour to present a petition from Canadians who are alarmed by the fact that in just a few months, people with no physical conditions whatsoever, with only a mental illness, would be eligible for MAID.

Canadians are calling on members of this House to adopt the direct and clear path forward to fulfilling the committee recommendation from the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. The petitioners call on all members of this chamber, and particularly the Liberal government, to vote for Bill C-218, the right to recover act.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise today and present a petition in the people's House in regard to the upcoming private member's bill, Bill C-218, an act to amend the Criminal Code, medical assistance in dying.

The Government of Canada intends to expand medical assistance in dying to individuals whose only medical condition is a mental illness. Mental illness is treatable and recovery is possible. Experts agree it is currently impossible to predict when mental illness is truly irremediable. Expanding MAID in this way risks suggesting that some lives are beyond saving, while many Canadians still struggle to access timely and effective mental health care.

Public concern is high, with many Canadians believing that treatment options should come before MAID and fearing that vulnerable individuals may seek MAID due to a lack of care. Families and communities are concerned that people who could recover through treatment and support may instead lose their lives.

That is why Bill C-218, the right to recover act, would amend the Criminal Code to ensure that mental illness alone is not considered a grievous and irremediable condition for the purposes of MAID.

Therefore, petitioners have signed this petition, and it is an honour for me to present it.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from dozens of Canadians in support of Bill C-218, which is commonly referred to as the right to recover act.

The petitioners recognize that the Canadian government intends to expand medical assistance in dying to individuals whose sole medical condition is mental illness. They also recognize that mental illness is treatable and curable. The experts have acknowledged that there is no way to determine when mental illness is irremediable.

The petitioners are asking the government to not proceed with its intention to make mental illness a sole underlying condition for the expansion of MAID. They would like all parliamentarians to support Bill C-218, which would permanently remove that possibility from being considered.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition in support of Bill C-218, the right to recover act. Petitioners are concerned with the planned expansion of medical assistance in dying to those whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness. They note that mental illness can be treatable, that recovery is possible and that many Canadians still face barriers to accessing timely mental health care. Petitioners are concerned that vulnerable Canadians could seek MAID before receiving the treatment they so badly need. They therefore call on the government to pass Bill C-218 and permanently exclude mental illness alone for MAID eligibility.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition that I am tabling has been signed by 25 people, including several constituents of my Vancouver East riding, who share with me their support and calls to the House regarding Bill C-218.

The petitioners say Canadians with mental illness should be provided with treatment and support, mental illness is complex and can include suicidal ideation as a symptom, and they are concerned that the lives of Canadians with mental illness will be at risk when they are eligible for medical assistance in dying on the basis of mental illness alone, especially when treatment and support are not readily available.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Conservative members of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying to table, in both official languages, our supplementary opinion. Conservatives welcome the committee's recommendation that individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness be indefinitely excluded from eligibility for medical assistance in dying. This will save thousands of lives.

This is the position that Conservatives have held from the beginning. Conservatives opposed the Senate amendment to Bill C-7, which set this proposed expansion in motion. We have consistently echoed the warnings of experts that the expansion cannot be implemented safely. We call on the government to accept the committee's recommendation and support Bill C-218, which is already before the House and which would accomplish the policy objective the committee recommends. Conservatives are prepared to work collaboratively with the government to that end.

Our supplementary opinion also notes that over the course of the committee study, as we were examining system readiness for expansion, many witnesses questioned the effectiveness and enforceability of the current MAID safeguards. Conservatives encourage the government to undertake a review of the current safeguards to ensure that no vulnerable Canadians fall through the cracks of a system that is supposed to protect them.