PO Podcast 96 – Medical assistance in dying for Canadians with mental disorders (bilingual)

Last September, a Quebec Superior Court judge struck down key provisions in the Quebec and federal laws on medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in what’s known as the Truchon and Gladu case. These set out how close or predictable one’s death needs to be to qualify for MAiD. Now, on March 11, both laws will come into force – without those provisions in Quebec. Meanwhile, the federal government is holding consultations to develop a solution that will be consistent across Canada. As a result of the decision, MAiD will be within reach for more people like Montrealers Jean Truchon and Nicole Gladu – people suffering as a result of physical disabilities and chronic conditions. But a group of experts is arguing that the implications extend far beyond cases like these. In particular, it could allow many more people with mental disorders as their sole underlying medical condition to gain eligibility for MAiD. And if that happens, it’s not clear how the government will respond. To discuss the ripple effects of Truchon and Gladu, we’re joined by Jocelyn Downie and Mona Gupta for a bilingual podcast. Jocelyn Downie is the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, and Mona Gupta is a psychiatrist and researcher at the Centre l’Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University de Montréal. They’re two of the authors on a forthcoming IRPP study on what the government must do to address the issue of MAiD for people living with mental disorders. Jocelyn will be speaking to our host Julia in English, while Mona will focus on the Quebec context with our French host, Ricardo. To skip ahead to the French portion of the podcast, go to the 31-minute mark. Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.