A United Nations committee evaluating how Canada treats its disabled population is urging the federal government to repeal the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) for those who are not terminally ill.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has released a new report that recommends the federal government address “systemic” shortcomings that could lead disabled individuals to seek assisted death.
The U.N. committee consists of independent experts responsible for monitoring Canada’s adherence to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the country ratified in 2010.
The committee said it is “extremely concerned” about amendments made to MAID legislation by Ottawa in 2021 to include persons whose death is not “reasonably foreseeable,” and the upcoming expansion to include those with mental illness….