Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has directed her justice minister to introduce new legislation giving the province more control over medical assistance in dying (MAID) programs.
Smith’s letter to Justice Minister Mickey Amery stated that the legislation should provide “appropriate safeguards” and prohibit mental illness from being the sole eligibility factor for MAID. The letter does not detail what the safeguard should be or what oversight the provincial government should have.
While mental illness has not been approved by the federal government as a sole eligibility factor for MAID, Ottawa had planned to allow it beginning in March 2023, but has delayed it until at least 2027….