Bill C-218 was recently tabled in the House of Commons and would prevent the expansion of assisted suicide (MAiD) to those whose only condition is a mental illness.

Without our action, assisted suicide for the reason of mental illness alone will automatically become legal in Canada in March 2027.

This bill is vital to protect vulnerable Canadians, uphold the value of every life, and ensure our healthcare system offers hope, care, and recovery—not death.

Summary of Legislation

Bill C-218 is a Private Member’s Bill sponsored by MP Tamara Jansen, and was introduced into parliament and given first reading on June 20th, 2025.

“This enactment amends the Criminal Code to provide that a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition for which a person could receive medical assistance in dying.”1) Essentially, it removes mental disorders as conditions that would make you eligible to receive MAiD, as it is a condition that is treatable and from which you can recover.

Bill C-218 is important because it provides an opportunity to halt the expansion of MAiD in Canada as it is supposed to automatically do in 2027. Expansion of MAiD for those suffering with mental health disorders is highly controversial, even amongst supporters of MAiD, so we have a real chance of having this bill pass. As ARPA mentions in their article on the topic, the last time this legislation was presented before parliament, it didn’t pass by 9 votes. 6)

Bill C-218 provides a real opportunity to halt the expansion of assisted suicide to even more vulnerable populations. It would encourage Canadians to work together to relieve the suffering of those with mental health challenges, rather than eliminating the sufferer.

Background

“Euthanasia for those with a mental illness was first raised in Bill C-7 in 2021, which originally set a date of March 17, 2023 when euthanasia for those with mental illness would be legalized. After a report by a committee of the Quebec legislature recommended against euthanasia for mental illness and an expert panel report on euthanasia for mental illness noted significant risks, the government passed Bill C-39, which delayed the expansion of euthanasia for mental illness until 2024.” 2)

“As that date approached, former Member of Parliament Ed Fast introduced Bill C-314, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). If passed, that bill would have repealed the expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness as the only condition causing their request. Although that bill received unanimous support from the Conservative, NDP, and Green Party, along with 8 Liberals, it failed to pass by a vote of 150-167.” 3)

“In response to the close defeat of the bill and in light of concerns raised by nearly every provincial government that they weren’t prepared, the government decided shortly after to delay the expansion of euthanasia for mental illness for a second time, this time until 2027.” 4)

Under current federal policy, expanding MAiD to cases of mental illness alone has been delayed until March 2027; Bill C-218 would make this exclusion permanent. 5)

References

1) https://openparliament.ca/bills/45-1/C-218/
2) , 3) , 4) , 6) https://arpacanada.ca/articles/bill-c-218-proposes-to-scrap-expansion-of-euthanasia-for-mental-illness/
5) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-delay-assisted-death-solely-mental-illness-until-2027-2024-02-01/
7) https://www.ourcommons.ca/en/sitting-calendar

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