CTV News
By Aarjavee Raaj
April 6th, 2025
United Nations report says Canada should repeal MAID for people with non-terminal illness
A recent report by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has asked Ottawa to repeal medical assistance in dying (MAID) for anyone without a terminal illness, also known as “Track 2” in Canada’s MAID program.
Presented last month at a meeting of the committee, the report recommends Canada create a federal MAID watchdog to look into complaints and investigate the causes that lead to people with disabilities applying for assisted death in the first place.
The UN committee wrote it is “extremely concerned” by Ottawa’s broadening of Canada’s MAID laws in 2021 to offer medically assisted death to people who have permanent, but non-terminal physical illnesses. MAID Track 2 has expanded rapidly since legalization but only represented four per cent of the 15,323 people who chose MAID (Track 1 and 2 combined) in 2023, according to Health Canada data.
Charlotte-Anne Malischewsk, president of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, told the committee that too many Canadians with disabilities lacked access to supports and services like health care, medication and equipment.
“Some persons with disabilities were turning to medical assistance in dying because they felt they had no other options, which was terrifying,” a summary of her comments at the meeting reads. “The Commission remained concerned about Canada’s lack of progress in implementing the recommendations from the international human rights system, including from the Committee,” it says. “Canada needed a strong framework for implementation and monitoring to drive meaningful and coordinated progress, and to meet its obligations.”
