Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s expecting the parliamentary committee to issue its report on the expansion of MAID in the coming weeks.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’ll wait for the recommendations of a parliamentary committee before taking a position on whether access to medical assistance in dying should be expanded for those with mental illness.
Mr. Carney, who has not spoken previously about his point of view on MAID, made the remarks Wednesday on his way into the Liberal caucus meeting.
The Globe and Mail has reported that the government is prepared to table legislation to further delay the expansion of MAID, if that is what the committee ultimately recommends.
Mr. Carney said he believes the report will come out in a few weeks.
“I’m waiting to see the report of the interparliamentary committee,” Mr. Carney said. “I haven’t received any briefings specifically on it.”
When asked what his position on the issue was as a whole, Mr. Carney responded he likes to take informed positions and will wait.
The government opened up MAID to people who were not facing imminent death in 2021, but the legislation carved out a temporary exclusion for mental illness.
This meant people without physical ailments were still unable to qualify for assisted death.
That exemption was extended twice by former prime minister Justin Trudeau and is currently set to end in March of next year.
The joint House of Commons and Senate committee finished hearing from witnesses Tuesday night and is now working on its report.
It is expected as early as June, though the committee could take until October.