Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has directed her justice minister to introduce new legislation giving the province more control over medical assistance in dying (MAID) programs.
In a Sept. 25 letter to Justice Minister Mickey Amery, Smith said the legislation should provide “appropriate safeguards” and prohibit mental illness from being the sole eligibility factor for MAID. The letter does not suggest what the safeguards should be or what oversight the provincial government should have.
Parliament amended the Criminal Code in 2016 to make euthanasia legal in some circumstances, leaving regulation and oversight to the provinces and professional colleges.
The government had planned to allow mental illness as a sole eligibility factor for MAID in 2023, but has delayed it until at least 2027 because of widespread concern that the health-care system is not ready to handle such complex cases.
According to Alberta’s provincial health authority, 1,117 Albertans had a medically assisted death in 2024, and more than 5,000 Albertans have chosen MAID since the program was first implemented in 2016.
