Bill C-218 Medical Assistance in Dying

Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill

Status: This Bill was defeated at Second-Reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Estimated Read Time: 2 minutes

WHO GAINS POWER

Parliament would retain the mental disorder exclusion in the Criminal Code and cancel its scheduled repeal
Practitioners and assessors gain clarity — mental disorders are explicitly excluded, removing ambiguity in the current framework

WHO LOSES POWER

Canadians whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder would remain ineligible for MAID, with no scheduled expiry of that exclusion
Physicians and nurse practitioners would remain unable to approve MAID where mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition
Future Parliaments would need to pass new Legislation to remove the exclusion

WHO GAINS MONEY

WHO LOSES MONEY

THE CATCH

⚠️ MAID for mental disorders has never been available in Canada — Parliament has repeatedly delayed its implementation, most recently to March 2027. This Bill would make that delay permanent rather than temporary
⚠️ The preamble frames mental illness as a suicide prevention issue — critics argue this conflates MAID with suicide and stigmatizes mental illness as categorically untreatable
⚠️ The Bill does not define "mental disorder" — it relies on existing Criminal Code and medical definitions, which can evolve over time
⚠️ No accompanying mental health funding or support measures are included — the preamble states Parliament considers mental health supports a priority, but the Bill itself creates no such supports
⚠️ Coordinating amendments are included — the Bill is carefully drafted to work regardless of whether a related 2021 Act provision has come into force, suggesting this is a permanent Legislative fix, not a temporary measure

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