February 23, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Rob Moore, Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice and the Attorney General of Canada, issued the following statement on the Liberal government’s acceptance of a Senate amendment on Bill C-7 that recklessly expands the scope of that bill:

“It has been a year since the Liberal Justice Minister tabled Bill C-7, the government’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation. Now, at the last minute, the Liberals are accepting an amendment that would start a reckless countdown to expand MAID to those with mental illness.

“The Liberals’ own Justice Department has said that expanding MAID to those where mental illness is the sole underlying condition ‘could be seen as undermining suicide prevention initiatives and normalizing death as a solution to many forms of suffering’.

“Instead of recklessly expanding MAID to those with mental illness without parliamentary review, the Liberals should focus on providing additional mental health support.

“Conservatives have introduced an amendment to remove the Liberal expansion of MAID to those with mental illness, so that a proper review can happen – one that should have happened last year. Canadians should know the impacts of expanding MAID even further before it becomes law.”