Tasked in February 2026 with evaluating the eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) of people suffering from mental disease, the special joint committee on medical assistance in dying (MAiD), consisting of 12 MPs and 5 senators, issued its report on 17thJune 2026, ten years after the legalisation of MAiD in Canada.
Noting the persistent strong divergence of opinions among clinicians, research workers, academics, as well as the associations and professional organisations auditioned, the report recommends modifying the criminal code to definitively exclude from the eligibility for assistance in dying "any person whose sole subjacent medical problem is medical disease."
Established in April 2021 by the Canadian Parliament, the special joint committee on assistance in dying (AMAD) is tasked with examining and evaluating the application of medical assistance in dying in Canada.
In its previous report dated January 2024, the committee had noted that the health system in Canada was not ready for medical assistance in dying when mental disorder is the sole medical problem mentioned and had recommended deferring the extension of MAiD for mental disorders.
Following that report, a bill was adopted on 29th February 2024 to defer the extension of MAiD until 17th March 2027.
Two years later, the committee has again issued a report which notes the persistent divergence of opinions concerning the preparedness of Canada for the extension of MAiD.
The Committee reports several problems raised by the people auditioned:
- Currently, the experts are divided on the possibility of evaluating the irremediable nature of mental disorders.
- Neither is there a consensus on the possibility of establishing a clear distinction between a "reasoned request" for medical assistance in dying and suicidal tendencies. One doctor expressed his concern "that in certain cases, we do not respond to an autonomous and permanent request for assistance in dying, but rather to the voice of the disease itself." Certain psychiatrists highlighted the "fundamental incoherence" if "psychiatry claims to be able to both prevent a patient from committing suicide and help another, who is suffering from the same type of disorder, to end his/her days."
The Committee also points out in its report the shortcomings in the Canadian health system concerning mental health services, which was "a recurrent theme in the various testimonials. Many of the testimonials revealed the shortage of access to care, which is variable nationwide. In several provinces, the waiting times exceed a month for one in two patients. In 2025, 41 % of adults suffering from mental disease declared that their needs were not satisfied, or only partly so.
Other subjects were also raised in the report, in particular the social consequences of an extension of MAiD. According to certain experts, the broadening could lead to a so-called "suicide contagion effect" or "Werther effect" detrimental to suicide prevention initiatives.
Some of those auditioned also mentioned the risks for vulnerable people. Currently, those who are marginalized, impoverished or isolated are more likely to resort to medical assistance in dying in cases when their death is not "reasonably predictable". This situation could become worse in the event of an extension of MAiD.
In a recent release, the Vivre dans la Dignité (Living with Dignity) citizens' network, which iscommitted to solidarity with the most vulnerable, supported the recommendation by the AMAD Committee not to extend euthanasia to mental disease : "Following two temporary deferments (2024 and 2027), one can now accept that these reasons given for suspending the extension of access to MAiD for mental disorders are not likely to disappear. In that context, the recommendation to indefinitely exclude such eligibility appears very fair and the Canadian Government should act accordingly."
An extension causing divisions in Canada
The publication of this report occurs at a time when several voices have recently been raised opposing the extension of MAiD. On 25th May 2026, 90 organisations in the handicap and mental health fields from all the Canadian provinces and territories called on the Government to permanently exclude mental disease as the sole medical problem claimed for eligibility to MAiD.
A recent report by the Committee for the rights of the handicapped at the United Nations Organisation
The recommendation by the AMAD Committee is also aligned with a report by the UNO Committee for the rights of the handicapped dated March 2025. That report recommended that Canada should repeal the possibility of euthanasia for those whose natural death is not reasonably predictable, "including in 2027 for those whose sole medical problem is mental disease."
A report to be considered in the French debate on the end of life
The testimonials by Canadian psychiatrists mentioned in this report which point out the incoherence between suicide prevention and the administration of euthanasia echo the warnings by French psychiatrists concerning the French bill on euthanasia and assisted suicide examined on 22nd June for its further reading by the National Assembly.
In May 2025, an appeal signed by some 600 psychiatrists highlighted the incoherence : "How can one convince a person in despair to hang on to life if society itself admits that, in certain cases, death can be a legitimate outcome ?"
Alliance VITA considers that no person should be excluded from suicide prevention. Authorising euthanasia or assisted suicide for certain categories of patients goes against the mission of care and accompaniment by carers and is incompatible with a national policy for suicide prevention.