Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Key talking points:
- Bill C-41 prevents euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria but it does not provide effective oversight of the law.
- Bill C-41 extends euthanasia to people who make an advance request. The federal government does not have jurisdiction and therefore requires the provinces to participate. Once again, there is not effective oversight of the law.
- The federal government needs to provide a complete review of the law.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel stated in a press conference on October 7, 2026 that the federal government would introduce legislation, that will prevent the implementation of euthanasia for mental illness, as a sole criteria, while also permitting euthanasia by advance request. Bill C-41 is the fulfillment of their promise.
Bill C-41 purports to prevent euthanasia (MAiD) for mental illness, as a sole criteria while permitting euthanasia by advance request.
As I stated on October 7, the language of the legislation will determine whether the bill actually prevents euthanasia for mental illness.
It must be noted that, euthanasia by advance request is outside of the federal governments jurisdiction. Canada's provinces have jurisdiction over advanced directive legislation based on their constitutional power over healthcare.
It must be noted that, euthanasia by advance request is outside of the federal governments jurisdiction. Canada's provinces have jurisdiction over advanced directive legislation based on their constitutional power over healthcare.
I have stated this reality on many occassions. Fraser, in the text of the bill agrees with me.
Does Bill C-41 prevent euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria?
Does Bill C-41 prevent euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criteria?
C-41 states:
Eligibility for medical assistance in dyingBased on the text of the bill it appears that it prevents euthanasia for mental illness, as a sole criteria but the law lacks any effective oversight.
241.2 (1) A person may receive medical assistance in dying, Insertion startother than on the basis of an advance requestInsertion end, only if they meet all of the following criteria:
(2) Subsection 241.2(2.1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Exclusion
(2.1) A person cannot meet any of the criteria set out in paragraphs (2)(a) to (c) on the basis of a mental illness.
The law only requires that the medical or nurse practitioner be of the opinion that the person meets all of the criteria of the law.
Therefore, if a person, who has a mental illness as a sole criteria, is killed by a medical or nurse practitioner, it would be impossible to prosecute the medical or nurse practitioner as they only need to claim that they were of the opinion that the person, who they killed, met the full criteria of the law.
Does Bill C-41 contain effective oversight for euthanasia by advance request?
Bill C-41 provides several changes to Canada's Criminal Code exemption to homicide to enable euthanasia by advance request.
Does Bill C-41 contain effective oversight for euthanasia by advance request?
Bill C-41 provides several changes to Canada's Criminal Code exemption to homicide to enable euthanasia by advance request.
Bill C-41 states:
Exemption for medical assistance in dying
227 (1) No medical practitioner or nurse practitioner commits culpable homicide if they provide a person with medical assistance in dying in accordance with section 241.1 or 241.21.
Exemption for person aiding practitionerBill C-41 creates a "repository" for advance requests for euthansia and a need for provincial legislative regimes to oversee killing someone by an advance request. Bill C-41 states:
(2) No person is a party to culpable homicide if they do anything for the purpose of aiding a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner to provide a person with medical assistance in dying in accordance with section 241.2 241.21
241.21 (1) A medical practitioner or nurse practitioner may provide medical assistance in dying on the basis of an advance request to a person who has lost the capacity to consent to receiving such medical assistance in dying only if
(a) the person meets all of the criteria set out in subsection (2);
(b) the medical practitioner or nurse practitioner ensures that the safeguards set out in subsection (3) are complied with;
(c) the criteria set out in subsection (8) in respect of the advance request are met and the request is stored in a repository referred to in subsection (10); and
(d) a provincial legislative regime in relation to advance requests for medical assistance in dying, that includes the rules referred to in subsection (10), is in force in the province in which the medical assistance in dying would be provided.
The requirement for provincial legislation is paramount since advanced directive legislation is the responsibility of the provinces based on their constitutional power over health care. The federal government can't legislate to allow euthanasia by advance request without the provinces participating.
I am very concerned about the concept of a repository. Legally, a person has the right to update their power of attorney for healthcare (personal care) at any time. The law recognizes that the most recent legally signed document replaces any previous legally signed documents.
The repository makes it more difficult for a person to change their request for euthanasia by advance request.
The federal government does not have the right to create a repository for these documents, only the provinces have this right.
I understand that the government creating the repository as an attempt to supercede the "power of attorney" for healthcare, since that person may oppose euthanasia. The repository ensures that the person can be killed without enabling anyone to prevent the killing.
Bill C-41 states under Safeguards — advance request states:
I am very concerned about the concept of a repository. Legally, a person has the right to update their power of attorney for healthcare (personal care) at any time. The law recognizes that the most recent legally signed document replaces any previous legally signed documents.
The repository makes it more difficult for a person to change their request for euthanasia by advance request.
The federal government does not have the right to create a repository for these documents, only the provinces have this right.
I understand that the government creating the repository as an attempt to supercede the "power of attorney" for healthcare, since that person may oppose euthanasia. The repository ensures that the person can be killed without enabling anyone to prevent the killing.
Bill C-41 states under Safeguards — advance request states:
(3) Before a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner provides medical assistance in dying to a person on the basis of an advance request, the medical practitioner or nurse practitioner mustOnce again, the language of the bill, like other sections of Canada's euthanasia law, prevents any oversight of the law. The medical or nurse practitioner, who kills the person, only needs to be "of the opinion" that the person meets all of the criteria set out in the law to be legally immune from the act of homicide.
(a) be of the opinion that the person meets all of the criteria set out in subsection (2);
There is much more that can be said but since the legislation lacks effective oversight, there is no further need to discuss the "other" supposed safeguards that are contained within the bill, as they are only ink on paper.
First recommendation: Provinces need to inform the federal govenrment that they will not be expanding the euthanasia law to include euthanasia by advance request.
Since the federal government requires the provinces to pass legislation concerning euthanasia by advance request, this also provides the opportunity for the provinces to exercise their provincial jurisdiction over healthcare and create some oversight of the law.
Second recommendation: The federal government needs to completely change the law by creating effective oversight of the law. This is essential considering the fact that people are being killed and they can't come back from the dead.
Third recommendation: The Canadian government needs to create a process to provide a complete review of the euthanasia law. Bill C-14, the original bill, that legalized euthanasia in 2016, required that a complete review of the law was to begin in June 2020. This never happened.
The federal government may blame Covid 19 on the fact that the law was never reviewed, but in fact the government had time to expand the law through Bill C-7 in March 2021. Therefore, they could have provided a complete review of the law.
Once again, Bill C-41 does not actually create any effective oversight of the law and it is essentially concerned with opening new avenues to killing without any effective oversight of the law.
Bill C-41 trusts that medical and nurse practitioners, who are willing to kill people, will limit the killing to set criteria. But at the same time the law provides complete legal coverage to enable them to kill without any prospect of oversight or recourse by legal means.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition welcomes and hopes that Bill C-41 will prevent euthanasia for mental illness alone but we question how the federal government can usurp the rights of the provinces by attempting to institute euthanasia by advance request.
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