Canada's government introduced Bill C-41 on Oct 27 to let adults consent in advance to medical assistance in dying after an incurable diagnosis, provided they are later experiencing intolerable suffering, while abandoning the planned expansion to mental illness as a sole condition.
Ottawa has tabled legislation that would let adults facing an incurable illness record a request for medical assistance in dying while they can still make the decision themselves, so that their wishes can be honoured later if the illness takes that capacity away. The MAID Safeguards Act, Bill C-41, was introduced on Tuesday by Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel, the Department of Justice said.
Under the bill, an adult diagnosed with an incurable illness expected to remove their decision-making capacity could give informed consent in advance, setting out the circumstances in which they would want assisted dying later in their illness. The government pointed to a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease as an example of someone who could specify those circumstances ahead of time.
An advance request would not mean assisted dying is provided automatically. The government said every eligibility requirement would still have to be met at the time, including that the person be experiencing intolerable suffering, and new safeguards would apply, including the right to withdraw the request at any time. Provinces and territories, which run health care, would each decide whether to make advance requests available; Quebec already permits them.
The bill also settles a long-debated question in the other direction. The government said it will not proceed with expanding assisted dying to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness, following a parliamentary committee recommendation in June that it be excluded indefinitely.
The move lands in a country where assisted dying has been legal since 2016 and was broadened in 2021 to people with incurable but not terminal conditions. A national conversation launched in 2024 found that between 67 and 69 percent of Canadians supported advance requests for people diagnosed with a serious or incurable condition that will lead to a loss of decision-making capacity, according to findings published in October 2025.
Not everyone welcomes the change. Krista Carr, chief executive of the disability rights charity Inclusion Canada, has warned that consenting to one's own death is a person's most basic protection and that Parliament should not remove it. Fraser, by contrast, framed the bill as a way to respect people's wishes while keeping rigorous safeguards against pressure, and said Ottawa will work with the provinces on implementation.
People Sentiments Public Mood: Neutral
- Justice Minister Sean Fraser: bill respects wishes with rigorous safeguards against pressure
- Inclusion Canada CEO Krista Carr: consent to one's own death is a person's most basic protection, Parliament should not remove it
- National conversation findings: 67-69% of Canadians supported advance requests