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Disability, mental health organizations urge Ottawa to permanently halt MAID for mental illness
The groups say vulnerable people lack adequate mental health care and disability supports and want the exclusion made permanent before it expires next March.
- Ninety disability and mental health organizations, including Inclusion Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association and Easter Seals Canada, sent a letter earlier this month to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel urging a permanent halt to MAID expansion for people whose sole condition is mental illness.
- MAID became legal in Canada in June 2016 for patients with reasonably foreseeable deaths, expanded in 2021 after a Quebec court decision to include incurable conditions like multiple sclerosis, but mental illness was excluded pending further study.
- The organizations argue vulnerable people, particularly those with disabilities, face heightened risk while the country's mental health care, housing supports and community services remain inadequate; Inclusion Canada President Moira Wilson stated families worry the expansion would harm those already struggling to access essential services.
- A parliamentary committee recently completed hearings on expanding MAID and is expected to release findings in June; sources told The Globe and Mail the Carney government is prepared to introduce legislation delaying the March 2027 deadline should the committee recommend it.
- Toronto resident Claire Brosseau, who has lived with bipolar 1 for 35 years, is challenging the federal exclusion through the Ontario Superior Court alongside Dying With Dignity Canada, seeking immediate access to MAID while Justice Minister Sean Fraser prepares to outline the government's position.
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27 Articles
The Toronto Star+25 Reposted by 25 other sources
Inclusion groups sign open letter calling on Ottawa to halt MAID for mental illness
OTTAWA - Ninety disability advocacy and mental health organizations have signed an open letter urging the federal Liberals to permanently exclude people with mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance
·Toronto, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources27
Leaning Left20Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Left
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources lean Left
80% Left
L 80%
C 16%
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