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Abbotsford MP Ed Fast tables bill to stop expansion of medically assisted dying program

Abbotsford News - 3/7/2023

Abbotsford MP Ed Fast has tabled Bill C-314 to stop the Liberal government's expansion of assisted suicide to vulnerable Canadians with mental illness.

Fast said his bill addresses concerns that the Liberal government is "moving too fast and too far on suicide assistance."

"More priority should be given to suicide prevention and providing the social and mental health supports that vulnerable Canadians need," he said in a press release on Monday (March 6).

"The government is quickly moving from a culture of life towards a culture of death in which greater priority is given to suicide assistance than suicide prevention."

Bill C-314 provides that the term "grievous and irremediable medical condition" contained in Canada's MAiD (medical assistance in dying) policy not include mental disorders.

New legislation introduced in the House of Commons in February delayed the MAiD expansion for another year. Canadians whose sole condition is a mental disorder will not be eligible for a medically assisted death until March 17, 2024.

The press release from Fast's office states that the Liberal government is ignoring the "growing number of experts who say that MAiD expansion is risking the lives of the most vulnerable Canadians."

"Experts have raised concerns about this expansion, specifically highlighting that it is impossible to determine the irremediability of mental illness," the release states.

"Experts and advocates are also concerned that this will create clinical challenges, blurring the line between suicide prevention and suicide assistance."