Many Canadians are for the federal government’s first two versions of its medical assistance in dying (MAiD) legislation, but are concerned about expanding it to mental illness, according to a poll done by the Angus Reid Institute conducted in partnership with Cardus. .There are 61% of Canadians who support the current MAiD law, which allows a patient to request the treatment under certain circumstances without foreseeable death, according to the Monday poll. The poll said 28% are against the MAiD law, while 11% were unsure. .This foreseeable death condition was a key requirement of the initial criteria in 2016, but it was challenged in court and deemed unconstitutional. .The poll went on to say 56% of Canadians are for the 2016 law. It added 16% are opposed to the law, and 28% are unsure. .The poll said 31% of Canadians support offering MAiD for irredeemable mental illness. It said half oppose this idea, and 18% are unsure. .The Canadian government introduced Bill C-39, delaying the expansion of MAiD to Canadians whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder, on February 2. .READ MORE: Cabinet introduces bill to delay expanding MAiD."The safety of Canadians must come first, which is why we are taking additional time to get this right," said Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti. .Anyone suffering from a mental illness who met all eligibility criteria would have been able to have MAiD beginning on March 17. But the legislation introduced by Lametti, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett will extend the temporary exclusion period until March 17, 2024. .The number of Canadians having the procedure each year has increased by ten-fold since 2016, rising to more than 10,000 people in 2021. The poll said more than two-fifths praised people being able to control their end-of-life decisions, but one-quarter disagreed by saying the trend was bad. .It said two-thirds of people believe those seeking MAiD should have to exhaust all treatment options to access the procedure. One-quarter of them disagreed. .Two-thirds said people dealing with debilitating chronic pain should be able to request MAiD. Support is much lower on scenarios dealing with mental health challenges such as post-traumatic stress disorder (23%) or severe depression (22%). .The poll continued by saying people who are religiously committed oppose access to MAiD for all criteria. It said people who are less religious are more supportive of MAiD in instances which do not involve mental health. .More than half of Canadians said they are concerned about MAiD taking the place of improvements in social services. One-third are unconcerned about MAiD replacing social services. .Older Canadians are unconcerned about palliative care receiving less attention and spending due to MAiD. More than half of people aged 54 years and older said it is not a worry of theirs, while one-quarter expressed concerns it might suffer. .The poll was conducted online between January 24 and 26 among a representative randomized sample of 1,816 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. It has a margin of error of +/- two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
