OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — A Liberal MP fully opposed a Conservative bill before the House of Commons that would in effect ban extending state-sponsored euthanasia to those with mental illness.
The comments were made by longtime Liberal MP Kevin Lamouroux during debate in the House on September 23 regarding Bill C-218, or “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying [i.e., euthanasia]).” This bill began its second reading that day.
Speaking to fellow MPs, Lamouroux voiced opposition to Bill C-218 on behalf of the governing Liberal Party under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Instead of stopping a planned expansion of “Medical Assistance in Dying” (“MAiD”), Lamouroux said that more has to be done to recognize “mental illness,” but in the end, he does not think preventing a mentally ill person from dying by MAiD is the “way to go.”
“Given the very importance of the issue of mental health, let us have more discussions,” he said.
“I would like more provinces to establish departments of mental health, but at the end of the day, I do not necessarily believe the exclusion is the way to go.”
Bill C-218 was introduced by Conservative Party MP Tamara Jansen and passed its first reading on June 20, 2025, as reported by LifeSiteNews.
LifeSiteNews noted that Jansen, the bill’s sponsor, said that allowing so-called “medical assistance in dying” for those with mental illness is “not healthcare, that’s not compassion, it’s abandonment.”
The expansion of euthanasia for the mentally ill is slated to become law in 2027 as a consequence of the passage of Bill C-7.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Canada’s Catholic bishops have said they “support” Bill C-218.
As it stands, when it comes to a final vote on Bill C-218, it is unclear whether Carney will allow a free vote. The bill must pass second reading, the timeline of which is in early October, for it to advance.
Jansen has said that she is willing to work on the “wording” of the bill without changing its intent to ensure it passes second reading.
“If the concern with Bill C-218 is the wording and the use of the term mental disorder instead of mental illness, then let’s fix the wording at committee,” she said.
“We’re prepared to work with the government at committee to make the technical changes. A bill should not be defeated at second reading over one word when there is agreement on the principle.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre supports Jansen’s Bill C-218 and said that “Thousands of lives will be saved” after earlier in the year the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended against the planned expansion of euthanasia in Canada to those with mental illness.
Despite this, euthanasia in Canada has become so prevalent that recent statistics show the nation has recorded more deaths by MAiD than murders by guns in the United States in 2024.