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Alberta Premier Danielle SmithCBC News / YouTube

EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Alberta premier Danielle Smith said her province “objects” to the expansion of Canada’s euthanasia laws to include people who suffer solely from mental illness and has vowed her government will investigate the matter.  

“We are consulting with legal and mental health experts regarding the proposed legislation and its impact on those with mental health challenges,” reads a statement sent from the Premier’s Office to media yesterday.  

The statement from Smith also noted that given the Alberta government’s “responsibility to deliver health care services and to regulate the healthcare profession,” the province outright “objects” to “the federal government moving forward with expanding MAiD eligibility without agreement from the province.” 

The statement from Smith’s Office places Alberta as the only Canadian province to publicly object to new Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) legislation which is set to become law later this year. 

While Smith herself has a mixed track record when it comes to life issues such as abortion, the United Conservative Party (UCP) under her and her predecessor Jason Kenney have allocated millions to life-affirming palliative care programs.  

On the national level however, pro-life advocates have sounded the alarm over the Trudeau government’s euthanasia program, which has continued to increase in its permissiveness. 

Until a last minute delay was announced by Trudeau’s Minister of Justice David Lametti following intense pushback from pro-life groups, mental health associations, and conservative politicians, Canada’s MAiD laws were set to be expanded in March 2023 to apply to those suffering solely from mental illness and even children deemed “mature minors.” 

The expansion was to come as part of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which further liberalized the practice of euthanasia after it was first legalized in 2016. 

According to Alex Schadenberg, who serves as the president of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, it was likely because of negative media coverage that the Trudeau Liberals decided to delay the implementation of Bill C-7.  

He told the Western Standard that there was “overwhelming” pressure on the government to “hold back now.” 

Schadenberg noted that the Liberals might have sought to delay expanding MAiD due to a possible spring election, but as it stands now it will be at least a year before any final guidelines with respect to the new rules come to light. 

Canada’s increasingly permissive laws have allowed euthanasia to rise 32% since 2020, with more than 10,000 people dying in 2021 alone. 

Earlier this month, Canadian disability groups took it upon themselves to tell their members that their lives “matter” and that they will not be recommending they obtain government-sanctioned assisted suicide. 

Concerningly, as noted by pro-life advocates, data shows that since MAiD became widespread over half of the world’s organ transplants are from those who were euthanized in Canada. 

Reacting to this development, president of the pro-life Delta Hospice Society Angelina Ireland told LifeSiteNews a few weeks ago that Canadian lawmakers have “unleashed Pandora’s Box upon our nation.”

“We have seen Canadians who are not even dying being eligible for state-sanctioned execution,” she said. “One of the most horrific and macabre consequences of liberal euthanasia policies is the increase of human organ trafficking on the ‘red market.’” 

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