Decrying the federal government for moving "too fast" on its medically-assisted suicide laws, the federal Conservatives have introduced Bill C-314, revoking the inclusion of the mentally ill under Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) regime.."Many Canadians are suffering from depression and they're losing hope. Our job is to turn their hurt back into hope and to give them faith that their lives can be better tomorrow than they are today. To treat mental health problems rather than ending people's lives," Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said during a press conference on Monday..Bill C-314, the Mental Health Protection Act, would make Canadians whose only medical condition is mental illness ineligible for medically-assisted dying, while leaving the rest of the country's MAiD laws untouched..Poilievre criticized the federal government's MAiD regime, which stipulates that on March 17, 2024, Canadians whose only medical condition is mental illness will be allowed to go through the process of medically-assisted suicide. The expansion of MAiD was supposed to have happened March 17, 2023, but it was pushed back a full year in February after cabinet introduced legislation delaying its inclusion of the mentally ill..Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti said at the time that Bill C-39 would allow for the completion of "complex and in-depth" studies on issues surrounding MAiD, giving the federal government "additional time to get this right.".Poilievre said mental health experts have found people suffering from mental illness can be "suffering and desperate" on one day, but a few months later be "thankful they still have their lives and their families."."Our role should be to give them that hope to help them get through the valley and back to the mountaintop," Poilievre said..The Conservative leader added that if his government took power, it would repeal the MAiD expansion without needing to use the notwithstanding clause. "No court has required MAiD be provided for mental health alone. So the government is going way beyond anything the Supreme Court or any other court has asked for, and therefore that notwithstanding clause would not be necessary.".Conservative MP Ed Fast, who introduced Bill C-314, said the legislation is focused on protecting the most vulnerable Canadians who have "no one advocating for their interests." Fast said the the federal government went "too far and too fast" in implementing its MAiD legislation..Fast recalled that when Bill C-14 was introduced to Parliament in 2016, many MPs warned that Canada was "treading upon a slippery slope that would quickly lead to those not at their end of their lives being included in Canada's MAiD regime, placing Canada's most vulnerable groups at risk."."I still remember that debate. We were assured that our fears are unfounded. There's nothing to see here. Don't worry and be happy. We were assured that MAiD would remain an exceptional and extraordinary remedy for those experiencing intolerable and incurable pain at the end of their lives. Sadly, our fears were confirmed," he said..Fast accused the federal government of failing to engage in meaningful consultations with experts and mental health stakeholders on a variety of issues related to MAiD, while also failing to have a meaningful national discussion about what the new policy would mean for the direction of the country.."It is deeply concerning that this government appears to be inexorably moving from a culture of life to a culture of death," Fast said. "So my bill seeks to arrest that momentum, give the government and all Canadians time to reconsider the direction the government appears to be taking us when it comes to assisted suicide and euthanasia.".Sen. Denise Batters, whose husband Dave passed away from suicide in 2009, said she witnessed first-hand that people suffering from mental illness can have tunnel vision that prevents them from seeing viable alternatives to ending their lives.."I still wonder if there might have been another way out, another counsellor, another medical treatment, another conversation that might have made the difference. But because of the finality of his choice, that we'll never know," Batters said..Batters said as a compassionate society, Canada must not merely give those enduring psychological suffering an "easier way to die."."The preservation of hope for people with mental illness is absolutely paramount," she said. "They need support, treatment, and our promise that we will never give up on them, even when they can see no other option but to give up on themselves."
