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House Bill

Bill C-314

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 18, 2023
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
  • Bill C-314 is an amendment to the Criminal Code in Canada. It states that a mental disorder cannot be considered a grievous and irremediable medical condition for which a person can receive medical assistance in dying. The purpose of this amendment is to prioritize the mental health of Canadians and ensure that vulnerable individuals receive suicide prevention counseling instead of accessing medical assistance in dying. The bill aims to prevent the normalization of assisted dying as a solution for those suffering from mental disorders.
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  • RA
  • Yea (150)
  • Nay (167)
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First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-314
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
FIRST READING, February 10, 2023

Mr. Fast
441216


SUMMARY

This enactment amends 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.

Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:
www.ourcommons.ca


1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-314

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)

Preamble

Whereas Parliament considers it a priority to ensure that adequate supports are in place for the mental health of Canadians;

Whereas Parliament considers that vulnerable Canadians should receive suicide prevention counselling rather than access medical assistance in dying;

Whereas Parliament considers that Canada’s medical assistance in dying regime risks normalizing assisted dying as a solution for those suffering from a mental disorder;

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

R.‍S.‍, c. 46

Criminal Code

1 Subsection 241.‍2(2.‍1) of the Criminal Code is replaced by the following:

Exclusion

(2.‍1) For the purposes of Insertion start subsection (2) Insertion end , a mental Insertion start disorder Insertion end is not Insertion start a grievous and irremediable medical condition Insertion end .

Coordinating Amendments

2 (1) In this section, other Act means An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), chapter 2 of the Statutes of Canada, 2021.

(2) If section 1 of this Act comes into force before subsection 1(2.‍1) of the other Act, then that subsection 1(2.‍1) is repealed.‍

(3) If subsection 1(2.‍1) of the other Act comes into force before section 1 of this Act, then section 241.‍2 of the Criminal Code is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

Exclusion

(2.‍1) For the purposes of subsection (2), a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition.

(4) If subsection 1(2.‍1) of the other Act comes into force on the same day as section 1 of this Act, then that subsection 1(2.‍1) is deemed to have come into force before that section 1 and subsection (3) applies as a consequence.

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons