Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNP CommentAmy Hamm: MAID for mental illness should be put out of its miseryWe do not need a system that will cause those suffering from mental illness to give up hope You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Photo by UNSPLASHIn its newly released report, Canada’s special joint committee on medical assistance in dying (MAID) issued a single, perfect recommendation: “That the Government of Canada amend the Criminal Code to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying.”Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorConservative MP Tamara Jansen then tabled Bill C-218, which seeks to do just that: if passed, it will amend 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.”This is a moral victory for our country. Since 2021, when Bill C-7 was passed with a sunset clause that would enable mentally ill people to seek MAID at a future date (which has since been delayed twice and currently sits at March 17, 2027), Canadians with mental illnesses have been living under the pall cast by the knowledge that the state was ironing out the kinks in a system that would allow them to abandon all hope and obtain state-assisted suicide.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe parliamentary report paints a picture of deep philosophical division. Some witnesses and experts argued that clinicians can, and do, differentiate between acute suicidality as a symptom of treatable mental illness and a wish to die as a distinct and reasonable desire of those suffering from untreatable conditions. Others argued that there is no possible way to differentiate between the two.I agree with the latter view: “irremediability,” when it comes to mental illness, is purely subjective. No set of diagnostic criteria could ever delineate these suicide wishes. And make no mistake: if we allow the state to try, we will be sanctioning the deaths of untold thousands of vulnerable people.Attached to the parliamentary report is a dissenting report from senators Rosemary Moodie, Pamela Wallin and Kristopher Wells, who insist that the government “not accept the majority report.” They question the report’s bias and credibility, claiming that it was created via a “highly irregular and flawed process,” which favoured witnesses who were opposed to the policy. They instead ask that the government refer the issue to the Supreme Court.These dissenters miss the point entirely: it doesn’t matter how many nouveau Dr. Kevorkians are out there pushing to euthanize the mentally ill — no safeguards or clinical criteria will ever justify MAID for mental illness.I spent 13 years working in British Columbia’s mental health system, from nursing on acute psychiatric wards to doing outreach work in Vancouver’s notorious Downtown Eastside. I have met several people who’ve tragically committed suicide, and I’ve also seen countless severely mentally ill people get better.It’s obvious to me that the most despicable thing health-care providers could do to any of these souls would be to tell them that perhaps they have no chance of recovery — or to examine whether their wish to die is clinically valid.In fact, our entire care philosophy is based on the notion that recovery is always possible. Few things matter more to the seriously mentally ill than hope. In the absence of hope, resiliency withers. People with severe mental illness often work exceptionally hard to overcome their circumstances and recover (sometimes doing this repeatedly, through bouts of illness and improvement).Recovering from mental illness is not passive; it often involves not only receiving medical treatment, but enacting lifestyle and behavioural changes, and developing mental resiliency. But why would anyone imagine or work towards an ideal and healthy future if the government will offer, and justify, an easy death instead?I say this without even having addressed the ethical quagmire of MAID potentially being used by those seeking to escape unbearable social circumstances, whether that be poverty, violence or any other solvable situation that has led — even in part — to their mental illnesses.The parliamentary report noted that Dutch psychiatrist Wilbert van Rooij “described a reduction in the availability of psychiatric care in the Netherlands, alongside the normalization and acceleration of psychiatric euthanasia.”Canada’s mental health-care system is already overburdened and inadequate. I strongly suspect that MAID for mental illness, if we go ahead with it, would wind up being used as a release valve for our troubled system.Canada will hopefully avoid going down this terrible path. We must pass Bill C-218. What deserves to be put out of its misery in Canada is MAID for mental illness.National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.