JOINT STATEMENT ON THE EXPANSION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING TO MENTAL ILLNESS
Canadian Muslim Health and Faith Leaders Urge Federal Government to Permanently Halt Expansion of MAiD to Mental Illness
Leading healthcare and faith organizations call for a definitive and permanent stay on expansion
May 14, 2026 – On behalf of over 700 Muslim physicians, healthcare professionals, mental health practitioners, and faith leaders striving to protect the well-being of Canadians, we express our deep, collective concern about the proposed expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to individuals whose sole underlying condition is mental illness.
At a time when millions of Canadians continue to face significant barriers to accessing primary care, mental health treatment, counselling, housing supports, and crisis services, expanding MAiD to mental illness would represent a profound and dangerous shift in how Canada responds to suffering and vulnerability.
Under current federal legislation, eligibility for MAiD where mental illness is the sole underlying condition is mandated to take effect in March 2027, pending further parliamentary review. As the Special Joint Committee of Parliament prepares its recommendations, we urge the federal government to permanently halt this expansion.
Canada cannot credibly promote suicide prevention while simultaneously creating a framework in which death may become an accepted response to psychological suffering. This expansion risks blurring the distinction between suicide prevention and state-facilitated death, particularly for individuals experiencing despair, isolation, hopelessness, or social vulnerability.
Mental illness can affect judgment, decision-making, and a person’s perception of their future. Unlike many terminal physical conditions, the course of mental illness is often unpredictable. Recovery remains a medically viable possibility even after prolonged periods of distress, rendering a ‘permanent’ solution like MAiD clinically premature and ethically precarious. This raises profound ethical and clinical concerns about whether requests for MAiD in such circumstances can consistently reflect a free, informed, and enduring choice.
We are particularly concerned about the impact on vulnerable Canadians, including persons with disabilities, individuals living in poverty, Indigenous peoples, equity-seeking groups such as Black and racialized Canadians, those experiencing social isolation, and people unable to access timely and appropriate care. In a strained healthcare system marked by long wait times and inequitable access to support, some individuals may experience subtle but powerful pressures arising from suffering, abandonment, loneliness, or the belief that they are a burden.
In its report, The Case for Diversity, the Mental Health Commission of Canada emphasized that reducing disparities in access to culturally appropriate mental health services improves outcomes and reduces overall system costs.
These concerns are not theoretical. Data from the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario confirms that ‘Track 2’ protocols disproportionately impact persons with disabilities and those in marginalized circumstances. Last year, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities called on Canada to repeal Track 2 MAiD, citing serious human rights concerns regarding persons with disabilities and the adequacy of safeguards.
Medicine has long been grounded in a duty to protect vulnerable persons and respond to suffering with care, treatment, compassion, and accompaniment. For many faith communities, this also reflects the sacredness and inherent dignity of every human life, regardless of illness, disability, or circumstance.
A compassionate society must not normalize death as a response to suffering where adequate care, treatment, and social support remain inaccessible to many. Canadians experiencing mental illness deserve hope, treatment, community, and meaningful support – not a healthcare system that may offer death in the absence of timely care.
We therefore urge the Government of Canada to:
- permanently halt the expansion of MAiD to mental illness;
- strengthen safeguards protecting vulnerable persons;
- significantly invest in mental health care, addiction services, primary care access, housing supports, and suicide prevention initiatives;
- prioritize timely access to spiritually, linguistically, and culturally appropriate mental health care to reduce barriers to treatment and help ensure equitable care standards across Canada; and
- ensure that no Canadian is placed in a position where MAiD is considered because adequate care and support were unavailable.
Ultimately, how we respond to those who are suffering most will define us as a country. Canada must ensure that a patient’s cry for support is met with comprehensive care, not an assisted death offered in the absence of adequate treatment and support.
Signed:
- Canadian Council of Imams (representing over 130 Muslim faith leaders)
- Canadian Muslim Healthcare Network (representing over 300 healthcare workers)
- Ruh Care (representing over 300 mental health practitioners)
Endorsing organizations to date:
- Centre Islamique de l’Outaouais / Outaouais Islamic Centre
- The Clear Islam Information Center, Windsor, Ontario
- DEEN Support Services
- Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International
- Jamat-I-Eslahul Muslimeen of Mississauga
- Siraj Institute Charitable Foundation
- Windsor Islamic Association