Dementia Justice Canada is concerned about euthanasia by advanced request.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Dementia Justice Canada says that they will continue raising concerns with Parliament and other lawmakers about MAiD by advanced request as they develop and consider the proposed legislation.

Angelico Dino reported for the Canadian Lawyer on October 13, 2026 that Dementia Justice Canada has serious concerns with euthanasia (MAiD) by advanced request. Dino reports:

Dementia Justice Canada has raised concerns about the federal government's plan to permit advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAiD), urging Parliament to examine whether safeguards can adequately protect people living with dementia from coercion, undue influence and elder abuse.

The organization issued a statement following the federal government's October 7 announcement that it would introduce legislation to decriminalize and permit advance requests for MAiD.

Dementia Justice Canada is concerned about manipulation and pressure.

Dr. Fay Martin, a retired social worker and second vice-chair of Dementia Justice Canada, said people living with dementia may increasingly depend on others for care, communication, transportation, finances and community access.

“Those relationships can be loving and supportive, but they can also become controlling or abusive. The difficulty is knowing what is happening when fewer and fewer people are apt to see it,” Martin said.

Dementia Justice Canada points out that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities urged Canada in March 2025 not to expand MAiD to include advance requests.

Heather Campbell Pope

Heather Campbell Pope, a lawyer and chair of Dementia Justice Canada is concerned about the consequences of failing to detect undue influence before MAiD takes place. Dino reports:

“A court can undo a will that was unduly influenced,” Pope said. “But once MAiD is provided, there is no meaningful remedy if we later find that the person was pressured to make the advance request, that they had changed their mind, or that they are going along with it because of pressure or coercion. It is simply too late.”

Dementia Justice Canada is a non profit that was founded in 2017 to advance the rights and dignity of people with dementia.