Claire Elyse Brosseau says she has spent years waiting for the Canadian government to allow her to die. The 49-year-old has lived for decades with multiple mental health conditions, including Bipolar 1 disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and disordered eating—struggles she says have made her life unbearable. “I wake up in the morning and the minute I open my eyes, I feel just a sense of … dread and panic,” she said.
For the Toronto resident, this is why she wants to end her life. However, under current Canadian law, she does not qualify for medical assistance in dying (MAID) because her conditions are solely psychiatric. That could change next year, although the federal government has already postponed the expansion twice.
The Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) is now reviewing whether people like Brosseau should be eligible. But she, along with some experts, argues the committee is falling short of its responsibility to conduct a “comprehensive review.” Even some supporters of expanding MAID access worry that bias within the committee could influence its recommendations.
Most MAID deaths linked to cancer
According to CBC reports, since assisted dying was legalized across Canada in 2016, more than 76,000 people have used it, according to a Health Canada report—most of them cancer patients.
Initially, the law required that a person’s natural death be “reasonably foreseeable.” But after a 2019 ruling by Quebec’s Superior Court deemed that condition unconstitutional, new legislation was introduced in 2021. The current framework includes two tracks:
Track 1: when a person’s natural death is reasonably foreseeable
Track 2: when a person’s natural death is not reasonably foreseeable
At the same time, the government delayed extending eligibility to people whose only condition is a mental disorder.
A deeply divisive issue
While MAID itself has long been debated, expanding it to include people with only mental illness remains especially controversial.
Among countries that permit assisted dying for people who are not near death, Canada stands out for excluding those with mental illness. One reason for the delay is AMAD’s 2024 recommendation against expanding access. The committee said that although there had been
“considerable progress,” the system is not yet ready to “safely and adequately” provide MAID in such cases.
Not everyone agreed. Three senators criticized the recommendation, accusing fellow committee members of bias and urging the government to reject the findings, arguing “the committee failed to do its work objectively and in an unbiased manner.”
Calls for lived experience to be heard
Brosseau believes it is essential that people directly affected by the policy be included in the conversation.
“It’s unbelievable that we’re not part of this conversation at all,” she said. “I don’t understand how they can just build this policy about us, without us.”
Psychiatrist Mona Gupta, a clinical professor at the University of Montreal who has testified before AMAD, echoed that concern. She said she is not aware of anyone with a severe mental disorder being invited to speak. “If you’re making policy for a group of people that concerns them directly, then their perspective must be brought to bear on the question,” she said.
Brosseau says she has tried to be heard. Earlier this year, she reached out to the committee requesting to testify. While they acknowledged her request, she says she has not been invited.
Limited time, difficult choices
So far, AMAD has heard from dozens of witnesses, including families of those who accessed MAID, disability advocates, and mental health advocates—some of whom have lived experience.
Co-chair Marcus Powlowski confirmed that since the committee resumed work this year, it has not heard from anyone currently living with severe mental illness. “We only have so many hours in the day, and there’s a lot of lived experience out there,” he said.
He added that while such perspectives are valuable, the committee also relies on written submissions and must balance its time. When asked if he would push for someone like Brosseau to testify, he responded: “At whose expense?” suggesting that including such voices might reduce time available for international experts from countries where MAID for mental illness is already permitted.
“They need to hear it directly” For Brosseau, that reasoning misses the point. She has previously attempted suicide but wants access to MAID so she can die with her family present. Under Canada’s Criminal Code, anyone who assists a suicide outside the legal MAID framework can face criminal charges, regardless of the outcome.
“If their goal is to understand risk and suffering and safeguards, they can’t rely on second-hand perspectives alone,” she said.
“They need to hear it directly from the people who live with that reality, with severe and persistent mental illness.”
Media professional and journalist based in British Columbia, Canada. Founder of Studiox Film & TV Corporation, focusing on multicultural news, interviews, and community storytelling across Canada.
