The man who led Canada's first-ever assisted dying law through parliament says he sometimes lies awake wondering if it went too far.
Former Quebec premier Philippe Couillard told CBC's The House he feels conflicted watching how medical assistance in dying (MAID) has expanded since his government passed the country's first law in 2014.
Couillard, himself a former neurosurgeon, said the original law was "clearly reserved for terminal or pre-terminal conditions with a defined, unfortunate road to the end of life. And this is not the case anymore."
"I'm not sure that I would have again voted for that law with the extension that we have seen in the recent years."
He recalled warnings from opponents at the time: "'We see your motivation is good, but you will see, once you open the door you will not close it and it will open wider.' And this is what happened."
Still, Couillard called the original passage "one of the best moments of democracy" in his premiership — he allowed a free vote in his Liberal caucus — and said memories of patients "in such deep distress and pain" convince him the core of it was right.
"But I hope we didn't go too fast. I hope we didn't take this as a trivial matter, which is certainly not the case."
Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced the federal government will NOT expand MAID to people suffering solely from mental illness — halting a long-planned extension, though court challenges pushing for it continue.
At the same time, Fraser said new legislation will "open the door" to advance consent federally where provinces allow — letting people give consent while they still can, "rather than being put in a position where they fear they have to take that decision prematurely."
MAID is federal criminal law, but health care is provincial — so Queen's Park shapes how it actually works for Torontonians. The city's big hospitals have been at the centre of the ethics debate for a decade, and Ontario's diverse communities bring sharply different lenses: faith traditions, family-first decision making, and, in many immigrant households, a deep unease with state-involved end-of-life choices.
Haitian families in the 6ix know this tension well — a culture where elders are cared for at home to the very end, now navigating a system where the state offers a clinical alternative. Artists feel it too: drill and trap lyrics confront death constantly — sudden, violent, mourned in real time. The policy debate asks the harder, quieter question underneath: what does a good death look like, and who gets to decide?
For official information about MAID rules and safeguards, Health Canada publishes the current federal criteria. Anyone in distress can call or text 988 in Canada, any time.
Sources: CBC News (Darren Major, Catherine Cullen / The House). Toronto context from the Young Hadene newsroom.
The former Quebec premier told CBC he feels conflicted, saying the law was meant for terminal illness only and he is unsure he would vote for it again given recent expansions.
No — the federal government announced this week it will not proceed with expansion for people suffering solely from mental illness.
It lets people pre-approve assisted dying before conditions like Alzheimer's remove their ability to consent. Quebec allows it since 2024; Ottawa plans federal legislation.
Health Canada publishes federal criteria; anyone in distress in Canada can call or text 988 at any time.