We had a significant controversy last year over the prospect of MAID
(Medical Assistance in Dying) being rolled out for people whose only
ailment was mental illness, as opposed to a terminal disease.
Parliament agreed to delay by one year, until March 13, 2024, to allow
more time for all the players to get ready.
It now appears that this extension of MAID will be delayed by a year.
However, the government needs to take action to extend the delay in the
next few weeks, otherwise the expansion will go ahead on March 13. That
would enable people with mental illnesses who might reasonably expect
to live for many years to take their lives early.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/as-deadline-looms-liberals-say-canada-not-ready-to-expand-assisted-dying-eligibility-1.6747073
The Conservative Party wants this expansion of MAID to be abandoned
entirely, not just delayed a further year. It remains to be seen if the Liberals will have the stomach to implement MAID for the mentally ill
in March 2025, just months before an election, given how controversial
the policy is and how low they are in the polls. With any other
government, I would say the MAID expansion is effectively dead but
Trudeau has shown a stubbornness that defies all reason about unpopular policies that he refuses to abandon so I'm not prepared to pronounce
the MAID expansion dead.
Of course the expansion could go ahead in March 2025 only to be rolled
back after the next election, assuming the Conservatives win. (And I
will be really REALLY upset if they don't!) But would the Conservatives
roll the policy back after it has already been functioning for several
months and presumably allowed dozens or hundreds of unhappy people to
take their own lives? That will surely be labelled cruel by those who
champion MAID for the mentally ill and no government likes to be called cruel....
--
Rhino
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