Bill C-218 debated in parliament on September 23, 2026.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Bill C-218, the bill that would prevent euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria, had its first hour of debate on December 5, 2025 and its second hour of debate on September 23, 2026 and will go to a vote on Wednesday October 7.

(Link to the full speech by Tamara Jansen)

(Link to the full speech by Michael Cooper)

The September 23, 2026 debate began at 5:42 pm on Bill C-218 with a speech from Luc Thériault (Montcalm) (BQ) who opposes Bill C-218 and supports euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria. Thériault suggests that prohibiting euthanasia based on mental illness, as a sole criteria, is unconstitutional. 

Luc Thériault (BQ)

Thériault refers to the leading psychiatrists who stated that it is impossible to determine if a psychiatric condition is irremediable in this way:

a few psychiatrists use anecdotal, unsubstantiated claims to assert that every mental illness is treatable or curable, but they also say that psychiatry is wrong about both prognoses and diagnoses. Those psychiatrists cannot explain why we should rely on anecdotal, unsubstantiated accounts involving patients whom they say would have met the MAID eligibility criteria and safeguards set out in the expert panel report when those psychiatrists have no experience with MAID, either as assessors or providers, and when they are are effectively opposed to track 2 or MAID in general.

Thériault undermines the evidence from leading psychiatrists across Canada as being a few psychiatrists with anecdotal evidence.

Thériault ends his speech by stating:

The Bloc Québécois opposes Bill C-218 and proposes that the dispute over whether the exclusion of patients constitutes discrimination be clarified by the Supreme Court.

Michael Cooper (CPC)

The next speech began at 5:53 pm by Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Sturgeon River) (CPC) who explained the history of the issue of euthanasia for mental illness alone. (Link to the full speech by Michael Cooper). Cooper states:

Back in 2021, the then Liberal justice minister David Lametti, at the eleventh hour, accepted a radical Senate amendment, which he initially opposed, that set the train in motion for the expansion of MAID for mental illness, effective March 2023. There was no meaningful study, no meaningful consultation and no meaningful debate. The Liberals simply rammed it through. This was on a question of life and death concerning among the most vulnerable persons in Canadian society. It could not be more reckless than that.

Cooper explains the key evidence from Psychiatrists that Thériault referred to as anecdotal:

As Dr. Karin Neufeld, who is one of Canada's most renowned psychiatrists and is none other than the chair of the Association of Chairs of Psychiatry in Canada, put it in her brief to the Special Joint Committee on MAID, which is studying this very issue, “Psychiatric disorders lack reliable biomarkers, follow non-linear trajectories, and frequently improve after years of severe impairment.” Accordingly, Dr. Neufeld concluded that psychiatrists are poor predictors of long-term outcomes. Simply put, modern psychiatry lacks the tools to predict irremediability in individual cases of mental illness. It is so uncertain in terms of predicting irremediability, that studies show that psychiatrists get it right less than 50% of the time.

As Dr. Sonu Gaind, who is the past chair of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, told the special joint committee, one would be better off flipping a coin to predict irremediability. This is on a matter, again, involving life and death. What that means is that if this expansion were to go forward in March 2027, or at all, tens of thousands of Canadians who could get better, recover and lead productive lives will have their lives prematurely ended.

(Link to Michael Cooper's full speech)

Kevin Lamoureux (Lib)

The next speaker was Hon. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North) Parliamenttary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. His speech representing the Liberal government started at 18:02. 

Lamoureux first states that (MAiD) euthanasia was extended to people with a mental illness, as a sole criteria, based on the Truchon court decision in Quebec. The Truchon decision concluded that it was discriminatory to limit euthanasia to people with terminal conditions.

After speaking Lamoureux concludes:

Given the very importance of the issue of mental health, let us have more discussions. I would like more provinces to establish departments of mental health, but at the end of the day, I do not necessarily believe the exclusion is the way to go.

It appears that the government is not telling Liberal MP's how to vote but is suggesting that the provinces should consider the issue, as Alberta did earlier this year, and the federal government should not exclude euthanasia for mental illness.

Jeremy Patzer (CPC)

The next speach began at 6:13 pm by Jeremy Patzer (Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley) (CPC) who spoke in support of Bill C-218. Patzer first speaks about suicide prevention and states:

To give us more perspective, here are some of the latest numbers from the federal public health website. Each year in Canada, there are 4,750 deaths by suicide and 20,000 hospitalizations caused by self-harm. There are 100,000 reported suicide attempts, along with 250,000 people who make suicide plans and 840,000 people with serious thoughts of suicide. That means every single day there are 250 Canadians who make reported suicide attempts, 700 who make suicide plans and 2,300 who have serious suicidal thoughts. Let us allow all of that to sink in for a minute.

We often talk about having better awareness about mental health, but we also need to build on that by actively meeting people's needs and providing real protection for those who are vulnerable. With this bill, both of these MPs have moved us forward in that important goal.

At the moment, we are in a situation where the current law would allow access to MAID for people who have a desire to die solely on the basis of their mental illness. If we think about it for a second, we can start to imagine how that creates an opening in the medical system where it becomes easier for a suicidal person to end their life...

Patzer then spoke about his experience from sitting on the AMAD committee which considered the issue of euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria. He says:

We had a representative from 988 appear as a witness in this study on assisted suicide for mental illness. She provided data to us based on her team's experience:

...on frontline signals from 988, up to 7% of interactions on the service refer to MAID. Critically, among those who reference MAID, 74% endorsed thoughts of suicide in the past two days, compared with 48% among other contacts. In short, interactions with our national suicide crisis line that reference MAID are associated with substantially higher suicidal ideation. That's not a theoretical concern; it's a real, measurable, elevated risk among people who mentioned MAID to Canada's suicide prevention service.

Patzer spoke about real life stories that came before the AMAD committee. He comments on how permitting euthanasia for mental illness, as a sole criteria, would undermine psychiatric treatment in Canada. He states:

Dr. Jitender Sareen put his finger on this when he said, “This goes to the core psychiatric practice, which is grounded in assessing and treating hopelessness and preventing suicide.”

Is the psychiatrist there to help prevent suicide or enable it? What does it do to a psychiatrist's ability to do the former if the patient knows all the time that all they have to do to have their life ended is refuse to co-operate on therapeutic help that might work?

In that context, if MAID is available as an option, it becomes a factor on its own, which can undermine the effectiveness of therapy. Along with the general problem of recognizing suicidality for what it is, medical and psychiatric professionals also share deep concerns with the idea of irremediability and predicting patient outcomes while considering all the complexity of treatments for mental illnesses.

Patzer ends his speech by stating:

Our approach to allowing assisted suicide for mental illness is something that medical professionals, psychiatrists, advocacy groups and the United Nations have called on us to rethink. Parliament has itself pushed the deadline back multiple times and our special committee has now recommended indefinitely suspending it. We should listen to Canadians and listen to the committee and finally reverse this expansion. Let us pass Bill C-218.

Arnold Viersen (CPC)

The next speech began at 6:23 pm by Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock) (CPC) who spoke in support of Bill C-218. Viersen first comments on how Canada is perceived world-wide and states:

Canada is becoming a parable. It is becoming an example of what not to do for the world. The United Kingdom recently had a discussion about introducing euthanasia or MAID to the country. It looked at Canada and said, “That is not what we want to do”, and it actually rejected it.

Viersen then comments on how euthanasia for mental illness alone came to be in Canada. He states:

...I recall that we had just passed the MAID regime through Parliament. Parliament had spoken as to what the law ought to be in Canada. Just a couple of years later, it was challenged by two people from Quebec, and it was overturned at the first level of court in Quebec.

David Lametti, the justice minister at the time, refused to defend the work of Parliament. His personal opinions on MAID and the direction it should go were well known, but as the justice minister of Canada, it was his responsibility to defend what Parliament had put in place, and he refused to or was negligent and did not do that. He did not challenge the lower court decision in Quebec.

Viersen ends his speech by stating:

Bill C-218 would make it so that we have suicide prevention in this country and only suicide prevention in this country. It is not for the Government of Canada to set up a program where some people get suicide prevention treatment and some people do not get suicide prevention treatment. That is not a country any of us want to live in, where we say suicide prevention is good for one person but not good for another person. We heard over and over again at committee that there is no test to determine the difference.

With that, I look forward to voting on this bill. I will be voting for it. I am very hopeful this bill will pass and we will once again restore suicide prevention in this country.

Therefore, that decision stood, and that then placed an arbitrary deadline upon Parliament to come up with a solution. That is how we got the so-called track 2 MAID, and along with that came the idea, which they put in in 2026 and then extended out to 2027, that MAID for mental illness should become a thing here in Canada.

Andrew Lawton (CPC)

The next speech began at 6:30 pm by Andrew Lawton (Elgin—St. Thomas—London South) (CPC) who spoke in support of Bill C-218. Lawton states:

Madam Speaker, this is a bill that is very personal. It is an issue that is very personal. Through the course of the work of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, we heard from a number of experts who have worked with patients going through challenges, much like those I went through 15, 16 years ago, people who felt that they were better off dead than alive. These are people who deserve support. These are people who deserve treatment. These are people who should be welcomed into wanting to live, not assisted with end of life.

The bill from my colleague from Cloverdale—Langley City, who so eloquently called it the right to recover act, is a bill that would do exactly what the title says. It would offer people a right to recover. It would offer hope. It would offer light to people in the darkest moments of their lives. I was so honoured, with my story, to be able to be a champion for this, even before my colleague introduced her bill. I was equally honoured to be named to the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying.

Tamara Jansen (CPC)

The final speech began at 6:32 pm by Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale—Langley City), the sponsor of Bill C-218. (Link to the full speech by Tamara Jansen) 

Jansen begins by speaking about Kiano Vafaeian (26) who died by euthanasia on December 30, 2025. Kiano was driven by suicidal ideation related to his mental health. 

Jansen speaks about her younger brother and states:

And when I heard Kiano's story, I could not stop thinking about my own little brother.

In 2023 he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He knew he was dying but wanted to live. But the medical staff at Abbotsford hospital seemed to want to end his life.

While laying on a bed in the hallway on the oncology ward he was asked, not once, not twice, not three, four, or five times but six separate times if he wanted MAiD!

They were relentless.

They pressed him saying that they didn’t think they would be able to control his pain, scaring him out of his wits, but he still had the will to live.

So that final time he gave them a big Hell No!

I’m very proud of my little brother for standing up for his life…..for having the courage and commitment to make a statement that his life was still worth living, even if it was only for another 8 or 10 months.

He had time to mend fences, make friends with the staff at Hospice, say goodbye to his family.

This is why bill C 218 is necessary.

Because not everyone will be able to fight the way my brother fought. Not everyone will have the strength to say no six times.

And when someone is sick, frightened, depressed or unable to see any hope for tomorrow, surely the responsibility of our medical system is not to reinforce their despair, but to protect them while they are vulnerable and help them find their way back to hope.

That is particularly true when we are talking about mental illness.

Tamara assures parliament that she is willing to work with the government during committee hearings. She concludes:

The scheduled expansion is coming in March. So let us work together and send this bill to committee.

The measure of a compassionate society is not how efficiently it helps people die. It is whether, in the moment when someone can no longer see the value of their own life, the rest of us are prepared to see it for them.

Our answer to suffering should be care. Our answer to despair should be hope. And when someone believes there is no possibility of recovery, Canada should never be the one to agree with them.

That is why I am asking my colleagues to vote for Bill C-218.

Give Canadians the time, the care and the hope they need.

Give them the right to recover.

Thank you Tamara for all you have done in sponsoring Bill C-218 (Link to the full speech by Tamara Jansen)

Conclusion:

The vote on Bill C-218 is scheduled for Wednesday October 7, 2026. The Liberal government is not officially telling Liberal MP's how they should vote on Bill C-218. We need your Member of Parliament to vote YES on Bill C-218.

There are several ways that you can help Bill C-218 get passed:

• Sign the petition in support of Bill C-218 (Link).
• Share your story about living with mental illness, as Andrew Lawton (MP) did with his message: I got better. Support Bill C-218 prevent MAiD for Mental Illness (Link).
• Send your personal stories about living with mental illness to info@epcc.ca.
• Contact your Member of Parliament (MP) and share your story and your support for Bill C-218. Contact your Member of Parliament at: (Member of Parliament List).
• It is easier to call your Member of Parliament. The phone number is part of the MP contact information. (Member of Parliament List).
• Refer to the information in the Bill C-218 handout for Members of Parliament (Link).

Remember. The majority of Canadians do not support MAiD for mental illness.