Published 7 hours ago • loading... • Updated 14 minutes ago

Advocates push for advance MAID requests two years after Parliament recommendation

Advocates urged the federal government to change Canada’s MAID laws to permit advance requests, despite the Liberal government showing no sign of acting on the 2023 joint parliamentary committee on MAID report.
Quebec's provincial legislation already permits advance MAID requests by protecting clinicians from criminal charges, and more than 1,700 Quebecers have filed advance requests.
Sandra Demontigny, diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, signed an advance MAID request early this year and said, `It was a long process, a lot of reflection, a lot of crying, a lot of fear.`
Health Canada figures show MAID accounted for about one in every 20 deaths in 2024, and Helen Long, CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada, noted over 65 per cent had cancer diagnoses.
This fall, Health Canada found broad support for advance MAID requests and safety concerns, while Rebecca Vachon said, `Very few jurisdictions internationally have an advance MAID request in their legislation, and so we don't have much data to see how it's working in those countries.

Insights by Ground AI