Carney Withholds Judgment as Parliament Reconsiders MAiD Expansion for Mental Illness

Newsroom (12/05/2026 Gaudium Press ) Prime Minister Mark Carney is declining, for now, to reveal whether he supports proceeding with the scheduled March 17, 2027, expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.

Speaking to reporters, the 61-year-old prime minister explained his caution succinctly: “I like to take informed positions.” His decision, he said, will depend on the forthcoming final report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, which resumed its work following the passage of Bill C-62.

According to federal government sources who recently spoke to The Globe and Mail, the committee is expected to recommend yet another pause on the controversial expansion of Canada’s euthanasia regime. If those reports hold true, the Liberal majority government could signal its intentions before Parliament rises for the summer recess on June 19. Both the House of Commons and the Senate entered a two-week adjournment on May 11, compressing an already sensitive political timeline.

Subtle signals, however, suggest that the committee’s deliberations may be more complex than a simple endorsement of the status quo. One notable development was the decision to authorize Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, to appear as an expert witness during the committee’s final meeting on May 5.

The invitation marked a rare return to the parliamentary table for Schadenberg. He has not been called to testify since the original Senate deliberations on Bill C-7, the 2021 legislation that removed the requirement for a foreseeable natural death—ushering in what is known as Track 2 MAiD. Although he participated in the original MAiD debates in 2015 and 2016, Schadenberg was excluded from the statutory review initiated in 2021 and barred from all 42 joint committee meetings held between April 2022 and December 2023, many of which focused specifically on MAiD for mental illness.

Bill C-62, passed in 2024 to delay the mental illness expansion by three years, mandated the reconstitution of the joint committee and renewed examination of the issue. Schadenberg was granted five minutes during the seventh and final meeting to argue that Canada lacks sufficient evidence even to contemplate further expansion.

“How has the law been implemented?” Schadenberg asked MPs and senators. “Is it achieving its intended outcomes? Are there abuses of the law based on its original intention? Does the law require amendment? These questions have never been addressed.”

He also pointed to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which has called for the repeal of Track 2 MAiD, tighter oversight, and a halt to further expansion.

In an interview with The Catholic Register, Schadenberg highlighted what he saw as meaningful support from Conservative Senator Yonah Martin, a joint chair of the committee. Martin publicly agreed with his central contention that, given existing outcomes, expanding MAiD in 2027 would be unsafe.

“She knows exactly that they’ve never debated the actual law as to how it’s working,” Schadenberg said. “They’ve only ever debated expansions.”

The May 5 witness panel also reflected the stark divide shaping the national debate. Sitting beside Schadenberg was Helen Long, CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada, who argued in favour of further expansion of MAiD.

Also testifying was Alicia Duncan, a grief advocate who, along with her sister Christie, has become a prominent critic of Canada’s euthanasia system following the MAiD death of their mother, Donna, in October 2021. Donna received MAiD only hours after being discharged from a psychiatric unit following a suicide attempt days earlier.

“Proponents of psychiatric euthanasia frame my mother’s case as an outlier—it is not,” Duncan told the committee by video conference. She described connecting with families across Canada who have faced similar experiences and who now live with post-traumatic stress that, under an expanded MAiD regime, could itself qualify them for eligibility.

Duncan also raised concerns about transparency and oversight, noting that a police investigation into her mother’s death could not proceed because officers were denied access to MAiD assessment records. Her own attempt to obtain the files through British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act was also unsuccessful.

During questioning, Senators Pierre Dalphond and Rosemary Moodie challenged aspects of Duncan’s testimony, prompting her to correct what she described as inaccuracies. She later said some parliamentarians appeared unwilling to acknowledge possible flaws in the current system.

“It’s tough going into these situations,” Duncan said, noting that both she and her sister have been diagnosed with PTSD since their mother’s death. “Within five minutes, there is only so much that you can say in a story.”

Conservative MP Tamara Jansen also participated in the questioning. Jansen is the sponsor of Bill C-218, legislation scheduled—at least for now—for a second hour of debate on May 28. She temporarily moved her bill down the order of precedence to allow the joint committee to complete its work.

With hearings concluded, the committee must now produce its report. Schadenberg suggested that, given the political dynamics at play, it is more likely that any policy response will come in the form of new government legislation rather than the advancement of Jansen’s private member’s bill.

For Prime Minister Carney, the outcome of that report may determine whether Canada presses ahead with one of the most ethically contentious expansions of MAiD—or pauses, once again, to reconsider its consequences.

• Raju Hasmukh with files from Catholic Register