Ottawa ‘Still Evaluating’ Quebec’s Proposal to Approve Advance Requests for MAID

Health Minister Mark Holland said Ottawa is examining a proposal by the Quebec government to authorize certain early requests for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) this fall.
“Quebec just announced their intention. I’ve had a number of conversations with different folks, different ministers in the government of Quebec, and what I’ve indicated is that we’re going to take a look at the proposal,” Holland told reporters on Sept. 9.
“We’re still evaluating it, because we’ve just received it, and that it’s important that we have a conversation as a society about the implications of this.”
Beginning on Oct. 30, Quebec patients will be able to make advance requests for MAID before their medical conditions render them unable to give consent. Quebec first adopted a law in June 2023 that allowed MAID requests from individuals with serious and incurable diseases.
On Sept. 7, Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said in a statement that the government is taking “necessary steps” to ensure Quebecers can make advance requests for MAID.
That bill excluded scenarios where mental illness was the only underlying medical condition, but that clause was set to expire on March 17, 2023. Ottawa passed bill C-39 on March 9, which postponed the eligibility of people with mental health conditions seeking MAID by a year.
On Jan. 19, the same day a joint parliamentary committee report recommended the expansion not go ahead, Holland announced Ottawa was once again extending the deadline. The same report recommended that Ottawa amend the Criminal Code to allow for advance MAID requests following a diagnosis of a serious and incurable medical condition.