It is time for a national conversation about medical assistance in dying for mental illness, and Bill C-314 is a good opportunity.

As the House gets back to business, attention is needed to the upcoming debate and vote on Conservative MP Ed Fast’s private member’s bill which amends the Criminal Code to prevent expanding medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to those with mental illnesses.

Recent polling by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with think tank Cardus shows Canadians are concerned about the MAiD expansion within the context of declining mental health treatment and access.

Half of Canadians are opposed to changing the law to allow euthanasia or assisted suicide for mental illness as the sole underlying condition. What’s more, a large majority—82 per cent—believes we should be improving access to mental health care before we expand eligibility.

The poll also highlights Canadians’ worries about this expansion, with half of us concerned that mental health treatment will not be a priority if eligibility for euthanasia and assisted suicide is expanded. A full 65 per cent of Canadians believe that people who already have trouble accessing mental health care will become even more vulnerable because of the expansion.

These concerns about the state of Canadians’ mental health and access to mental healthcare cut across ideological lines with higher levels found amongst Liberal, New Democrat, and Green Party voters.

The takeaway is this: there is no national consensus in favour of expanding MAiD to mental illness.

Since last year, we have seen alarming reports of people seeking to die because of inadequate social supports like housing, of veterans who were offered MAiD by a Veterans Affairs employee, and of prisoners being euthanized. The national conversation about this has grown quiet, but Canadians’ concerns clearly remain. Despite that, all signs point to the government’s expansion taking effect on March 17, 2024.

Although the original House of Commons Bill C-7 in 2021 explicitly excluded mental illness, it was the Senate that introduced the clause expanding euthanasia and assisted suicide for mental illness. This past March, Parliament voted to delay that expansion. Knowing what we know now, will Members of Parliament sleep-walk into the expansion without further debate or scrutiny?

Data shows that questions around suicidality, the irremediability of mental illness, and inadequate access to mental health care in Canada are not only alive, but are worrying many Canadians across the political spectrum. Bill C-314 offers the House one more chance to reconsider.

An hour of debate remains before the House will vote on the bill. Voting to get Bill C-314 to committee is an opportunity for MPs to champion a national conversation specifically on the expansion of MAiD for mental illness.

There is no shame in being a country that goes to great lengths to protect the vulnerable from premature death. Canadians are clearly concerned. It is time for our elected representatives to act on those concerns.

• Andreae Sennyah is director of policy and Rebecca Vachon is health program director at think tank Cardus.