Interpreting Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Legislation /

Uncertainty about the meaning of specific terms in the Canadian MAiD legislation puts Canadians at risk in a number of ways. Eligibility for MAiD may be determined toobroadly or too narrowly, and there may be arbitrary inequality of access when the variousMAiD assessors and providers interpret the law differently. In this new IRPP report,the authors identify six key phrases in the current law that urgently need clarification.They explain how these phrases are generating interpretive uncertainties, propose aninterpretation for each phrase and justify each interpretation. The aim of this report isnot, therefore, to find ways to expand or restrict access to MAiD. Rather, it aims to determinethe most defensible interpretations of the legislation, using the tools of statutoryinterpretation supported by relevant clinical and other forms of expertise.