The federal Liberals face a choice early in 2024. They can allow a sunset clause to take effect so that eligibility for medical assistance in dying expands to adults whose only reason for seeking it is a mental disorder. Or they can do what they did in 2023 and postpone it further, even indefinitely. Justice Minister Arif Virani says the government is weighing its options as the March deadline looms.
The first step, he says, will be to see what members of Parliament and senators recommend after committee hearings that probed the issue this past fall. To find answers, The Canadian Press spoke with many of the medical and legal experts who participated in that process. Here are five questions that strike at the heart of the debate. Is Canada ready? Assessors and providers of medical assistance in dying, as well as medical regulators, say they are ready for eligibility to be widened