A current case in B.C. Supreme Court is challenging the policy that permits faith-based healthcare providers to prohibit medical assistance in dying at their facilities. The plaintiffs aim to eliminate the policy to avoid patients needing to transfer to another location during their final moments. If the case proceeds to the Supreme Court of Canada, it could have significant implications nationwide.
The number of individuals receiving medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada is on the rise. In 2024, 16,499 patients received MAID, up from 9,950 in 2021, accounting for 5.1% of all deaths in Canada that year.
Transfers for MAID can occur for various reasons, such as a patient desiring to move from a hospital to pass away at home. Data from Health Canada’s reports indicate that in 2023, almost half of MAID transfers were due to the facility’s policy, decreasing to a quarter in 2024. Information for 2021 and 2022 is unavailable.
The ongoing trial in B.C. reveals that about one-third of MAID-related transfers in 2024 were influenced by facility policies in the province. However, transfers due to facility policies are more prevalent in other provinces like Manitoba (77%) and Alberta (74%), and less common in territories, P.E.I., Newfoundland, and Quebec, where faith-based facilities are mandated to allow MAID.
In different provinces, the approaches to MAID vary. While B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador mandate faith-based institutions to provide information on MAID but not necessarily offer it, Saskatchewan and Ontario leave the decision to individual institutions. Quebec requires MAID provision in long-term care facilities, even if faith-based. Nova Scotia’s stance on MAID is uncertain, whereas P.E.I. and Yukon lack faith-based end-of-life care facilities.
The law does not compel individuals who disagree with MAID to participate against their beliefs. Practitioners willing to perform MAID can do so in buildings owned or leased by faith-based facilities without obligating staff at these facilities to engage in the process.
