Canada Plans Indefinite Exclusion of Mental Illness Alone From Assisted Dying

Canada plans to keep people whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness ineligible for medical assistance in dying indefinitely, Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced in Ottawa on October 7. Fraser said the government would introduce legislation this fall to maintain that exclusion “on an indeterminate basis,” replacing its scheduled expiry on March 17, 2027. Health Minister Marjorie Michel joined him for the announcement. The change remains a legislative proposal, rather than a law already enacted, and concerns mental illness as the sole underlying condition, not every applicant who has a mental-health diagnosis.