{"id":602103,"date":"2026-04-23T18:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/602103\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T18:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:47:10","slug":"parliamentary-panel-studying-maid-mental-health-expansion-is-biased-expert-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/602103\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliamentary panel studying MAID mental health expansion is biased: expert – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\tBy Sarah Ritchie<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Canadian Press\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted April 23, 2026 11:55 am\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t1 min read\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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An expert on Canada\u2019s assisted dying<\/a> laws says a parliamentary committee studying MAID<\/a> in cases of mental illness is not focused on its mandate and has not been balanced in its approach.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jocelyn Downie is a professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University who has studied assisted dying laws for decades.<\/p>\n

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She was a witness at the first meeting last month of senators and MPs studying whether Canada is ready to extend assisted dying to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.<\/p>\n

By law, that extension is set to happen in March of next year.<\/p>\n

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Downie says the committee\u2019s co-chairs are both openly opposed to the extension, as are most of the witnesses the committee has called so far.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also warning the committee is not focused on its mandate, which is limited to whether the country is ready for next year\u2019s extension, and is instead hearing testimony from people opposed to assisted dying in general.<\/p>\n

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