Medical assistance in dying (MAID) became legal in Canada in June 2016. According to the Governemnt of Canada website, MAID includes the use of medication by a physician or nurse practitioner to directly cause a person’s death at their request or the prescription or provision of medication by a physician or nurse practitioner that a person can use to cause their own death.

The Government of Canada has launched an online survey aimed at obtaining Canadian's views on amending the federal MAID legislation. You have until January 27 to weigh in.

The survey asks for your thoughts on situations such as instances where the patient loses the capacity to make their own decisions regarding their health as well as how important it is to you that all other courses of pain management have been looked into.

In Canada, to legally receive MAID, a person must:

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be eligible for health services funded by the federal government, or a province or territory (or during the applicable minimum period of residence or waiting period for eligibility)
◦ Most visitors to Canada are not eligible for medical assistance in dying
• Be able to make health care decisions for themselves
• Make a voluntary request that is not the result of outside pressure or influence (for example from a health care professional, other family members, etc.)
• Give informed consent after they have received all of the information they need to make their decision, including their medical diagnosis, available forms of treatment, and available options to relieve suffering (including palliative care)
• Have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition”, meaning that a person:
◦ has a serious illness, disease or disability
◦ is in an advanced state of decline that cannot be reversed
◦ experiences unbearable physical or mental suffering from an illness, disease, disability or state of decline that cannot be relieved under conditions that the person considers acceptable
◦ is at a point where their natural death has become reasonably foreseeable, taking into account all medical circumstances, and not requiring a specific prognosis as to how long they have left to live.

A person does not need to have a fatal or terminal condition to be eligible for MAID.

Visit the Government of Canada website by Jan 27, 2020 to complete the survey and share your thoughts.