One-third of Canadians support MAID for people with 'irredeemable' mental illness

Since 2016, the number of Canadians accessing the procedure has risen significantly. The country recorded 31,664 assisted deaths between 2016 and 2021.

One-third of Canadians support MAID for people with 'irredeemable' mental illness
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Though Canadians support Ottawa's first two versions of its medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation, many expressed concerns about expanding it to mental illness.

According to an Angus Reid poll conducted with Cardus, 61% of Canadians support the current MAID legislation, which permits patients to request treatment under incredibly restrictive circumstances without "foreseeable death."

The poll said 28% did not support any iteration of Canada's MAID law, while 11% remained unsure. 

Cardus's Executive Vice President Ray Pennings previously criticized Justice Minister David Lametti for inflammatory comments concerning those who seek to end their lives.

Lametti said: "Remember that suicide generally is available to people. This group within the population can't [choose] to do it themselves [for physical and possibly mental reasons]. Ultimately, this provides a more humane way for them to make a decision they otherwise would have made if they were able in some other way."

Pennings condemned the comment for suggesting that suicide is medical care and that the state can rightfully facilitate the procedure.

"While the minister acknowledges it is difficult when you lose a loved one to suicide, he fails to recognize all suicides as tragedies or as evidence of our collective failure to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in Canada," said Pennings.

Per Angus Reid, 56% of Canadians supported the first MAID law in 2016, while 16% opposed it. At the time, 28% said they were unsure.

More than two-fifths of respondents praised people's ability to control their end-of-life decisions, but one-quarter disagreed.

Ultimately, support fell to 31% for offering MAID for irredeemable mental illness. It said half oppose this idea, with 18% unsure. 

Two-thirds believe those seeking MAID must exhaust all treatment options to access the procedure. One-quarter of them disagreed. 

On February 2, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-39, delaying the expansion of MAID to Canadians whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder.

"The safety of Canadians must come first, which is why we are taking additional time to get this right," said Lametti. 

Initially, eligible persons could have accessed MAID on March 17, but the federal government extended the temporary exclusion period until March 17, 2024. 

Since 2016, the number of Canadians accessing the procedure has risen significantly. The country recorded 31,664 assisted deaths between 2016 and 2021, with an average year-over-year growth rate of roughly 66%. In the previous data year, Canada recorded 10,064 such deaths.

While two-thirds of respondents said people dealing with debilitating chronic pain should be able to request MAID, support for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (23%) or severe depression (22%) accessing the procedure is low.

Most Canadians expressed concern with MAID replacing improvements in social services. One-third are unconcerned about it replacing social services. 

Over half of the people aged 54 and older said they remain unconcerned with palliative care receiving less attention than MAID, while one-quarter expressed concerns it might suffer.

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  • By Sheila Gunn Reid

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