L’aide médicale à mourir sous le radar
Dear allies,
With the last election platform presented on Tuesday, it has taken some time during this campaign to get a clearer picture of the positions of the main parties in the running.
This special edition of the newsletter will provide more details on the promises (and lack thereof) related to this issue.
We would like to commend the Green Party of Canada, which is the only party to have responded to the UN recommendations from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (see below).
We would also like to thank the Physicians’ Alliance against Euthanasia for sharing an open letter to La Presse in response to the letter from the Collège des médecins du Québec (Quebec College of Physicians) asking the next government to allow advance requests for MAID. It was not published, but it has been online since today on their website.
Here is an excerpt:
MAiD by advance request is popular in opinion polls because of fear. Fear of suffering, of ageing, of being abandoned by one’s family, of being mistreated in a hospital or a CHSLD because of ageism, ableism or insufficient resources. Instead of seeking solutions to these legitimate fears, the CMQ agitates for a short-cut to death. What happened to protecting the public?
***
On a very personal note, you may have noticed that I spoke publicly on Monday on the occasion of the death of Pope Francis. I am grateful to our board of directors for giving me the freedom to do so. We trust that people can distinguish between my strong, citizen-based approach—free of religious or political affiliation—and my personal wish to pay tribute to Francis.
Thank you to Paul Larocque and the LCN network for their trust. The 8-minute video segment where I explain my personal approach from the outset (in French).
https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/videos/6371757945112
Thank you for your understanding. Your comments are appreciated.
***
If you haven’t already done so, please vote on Monday, April 28, with our common cause in mind: to live in dignity.
Jasmin
Lemieux-Lefebvre
Coordinator
Living with Dignity
Review of election platforms and public statements on MAiD
It is regrettable that the issue of medical assistance in dying, which is central to ethical and social debates in Canada, has not been addressed head-on during the current federal election campaign. While issues surrounding advance requests for MAID and access for people with mental illness are of growing concern to the public, the lack of clear positions from party leaders leaves a void in the public debate.
Here are the few positions expressed during the campaign:
Liberal Party of Canada (LPC)
Election
platform
https://liberal.ca/cstrong
No mention of MAID.
Mention during the campaign: (our translation from French) The Liberals, meanwhile, argued that they were committed to protecting the most vulnerable people and working “closely” with the provinces and territories on the issue of medical assistance in dying. “Our approach will always prioritize compassion, dignity, and the support needed by those who need it” (source: La Presse Canadienne, April 24).
Conservative Party of Canada (CPC)
Election
platform
https://www.conservative.ca/change
No mention of MAiD.
Mention
during the campaign:
A Conservative government would keep the
country’s medical assistance in dying regime intact, Pierre Poilievre said (…)
but it is not looking to follow Quebec’s lead in allowing people to make
advance requests for an assisted death. “People will continue to have the
right to make that choice, the choice for themselves,” (Canadian Press, April 12).
Bloc Québécois
Election platform :
https://www.blocquebecois.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/blocqcplateforme-2025web.pdf
Mention of MAID: “The Bloc Québécois will introduce legislation to allow advance MAID requests in the Criminal Code for provinces that have legislated on this issue.”
Mention
during the campaign:
(our translation from
French) Bloc Québécois
leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party supports advance requests, saying
they represent “a legitimate step forward in a tool that is gaining widespread
support among Quebecers.” (La
Presse, April 12)
New Democratic Party (NDP)
Election
platform
https://www.ndp.ca/campaign-commitments
No mention of MAiD.
Mention
during the campaign: (our translation from French) “The NDP is also committed to ensuring
that other more complex issues raised in the Quebec Court’s decision are
addressed in the upcoming review of the legislation. These include access to this
type of care for people with mental illness, access for competent minors, and
strengthening safeguards protecting Canadians from pressure or coercion when it
comes to medical assistance in dying.” (source, La
Presse Canadienne, April 24).
Green Party of Canada
Election
platform
https://cdn.greenparty.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GP_Platform_English_Final-1.pdf
Mentions of MAiD:
- Create an independent federal oversight body to regulate MAiD, investigate complaints, ensure accountability, and guarantee the accessibility of reporting and appeals processes.
- Mandate that no person be offered or approved for MAiD without first being provided access to appropriate health care, social services, housing, and income supports.
- Pause the planned expansion of MAiD to cases where mental illness is the sole underlying condition, until meaningful mental health care and social support are in place.
- Ensure robust consultation with Indigenous governments and communities on MAiD policy, consistent with the principles of free, prior, and informed consent.
Mention during the campaign:
Press
release : The Green Party of Canada
supports the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities recommendation that Canada repeal the expansion of MAiD for
Canadians whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, and appreciates
the report’s focus on the underlying systemic hardships that can force disabled
people to seek assisted death.
https://www.greenparty.ca/en/news/greens-respond-to-un-recommendation-on-track-2-maid
APR
2025