is seeking an exemption<\/a> from the current legislation to allow her to receive MAID, she knows that’s not an option for everyone. She says she’s worried about what this latest development means for a number of people who have reached out to her and want access to MAID.\u00a0<\/p>\nFor others, the recommendation is exactly what they were hoping for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Georgia Vrakas, a professor at the University of Quebec and clinical psychologist, says she feels “relieved.”<\/p>\n
Vrakas has spent decades struggling with her mental health and says during some of her lowest points, she might have considered MAID had it been available. In 2021, she says she found out that she’d been misdiagnosed with depression when really, she had bipolar type 2 disorder. Now on the correct medication, she says she’s doing a lot better. <\/p>\n
“It’s a sign for me that people understand that MAID is not a solution for mental illness,” she said. <\/p>\n
MAID expansion delayed twice<\/p>\n
The government has already delayed making a decision on expanding MAID twice. MAID for mental illness was expected to begin in 2023, but that was delayed to the following year. The next year, it was delayed again until 2027.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who is taking the lead on the government’s response, is not expected to release an immediate decision about the expansion of MAID.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier Wednesday, before the report had been tabled, Fraser said the government will review it over the next few weeks.\u00a0But he will likely respond by July 11 \u2014 the deadline for feedback.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fraser’s response may not end the debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WATCH | Justice Minister discusses reviewing committee’s report:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781734872_269_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Fraser says MAID expansions have to be ‘informed by people’s personal experiences’<\/p>\n
Asked about Canada’s MAID expansion timeline, Minister of Justice Sean Fraser said ‘this isn’t easy work’ and the government is taking its time to listen to expert and personal testimonies before making a decision.<\/p>\n
There are a number of court challenges related to MAID solely for mental illness that could eventually make their way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which would have the final say on\u00a0the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The federal government will have to introduce new legislation if it wants to indefinitely pause the expansion of MAID or put it on hold for another two years.<\/p>\n
If it wants to avoid court challenges, the government could invoke the notwithstanding clause for the first time since its introduction in 1982. The clause allows governments to temporarily override other sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.<\/p>\n
On Wednesay, before the report was tabled, Fraser was asked if the government would consider using the notwithstanding clause. “My mind certainly doesn’t go to that place as a first option,” he said. <\/p>\n
“I want to have an opportunity to actually understand the recommendation, to review some of the testimony, to engage with stakeholders across Canada to some degree on my own before we come to a conclusion on the next path forward.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some committee members call process ‘flawed’<\/p>\n
While the majority of AMAD members agreed with the recommendation, others on the committee did not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a dissenting opinion within the report, senators Dr. Rosemary Moodie, Pamela Wallin and Kristopher Wells said the committee undertook a “highly irregular and flawed process.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The senators said that of the 44 witnesses called to testify, more than two-thirds have been “publicly opposed” to expanding MAID for mental illness and that those with lived experience weren’t a priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Simply put, a flawed and biased process cannot be relied upon and has resulted in a report that lacks rigor and credibility,” wrote the senators. “We stress this is not the way parliamentary committees are designed to operate.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The senators recommend that the government “make a direct reference to the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the law regarding the extension.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
When asked about criticism related to the process<\/a>, AMAD co-chair Marcus Powlowski said Wednesday that there’s no way they could accurately represent that perspective by just selecting a handful of people.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nHe defended the committee’s work and said they “studiously followed the rules on selecting witnesses.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A special parliamentary committee is recommending that the federal government “indefinitely exclude” people whose sole underlying condition is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-743623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Claire Elyse Brosseau, 49, has been advocating for Canadians with mental disorders to have access to MAID for years. She was disappointed and concerned following AMAD’s recommendation Wednesday. (Craig Chivers\/CBC)<\/p>\n