Alberta MP adding voice to anti-MAiD campaign

Peace River-Westlock MP Arnold Viersen is lending his voice to a campaign seeking to stop the expansion of Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) program to individuals whose only medical condition is a mental illness.

Originally set to begin in early 2024, the expansion of the program was pushed back to March 17, 2027 to help address concerns that the medical system wasn’t prepared to support the expansion.

“On a personal level, the message is, I got better, you can get better, this isn’t the end of the road,” said Viersen, who put out a press release showing his support for the, “I Got Better,” campaign launched by fellow Conservative MP Andrew Lawton.

“On the policy side of things, we want to make sure that assisted suicide is not available to folks who are suffering from mental illness. In the case of Andrew Lawton, he got better. He’s saying, ‘If this was available to me I wouldn’t be here anymore and today I’m a member of parliament.’”

Lawton’s campaign, which he launched the week of July 28, features his own story about his battle with depression and suicide, and encourages Canadians to share their own stories of hope, survival and recovery from mental illness.

“Under changes to Canada’s assisted dying laws, someone going through what I was going through 15 years ago would be able to get a doctor to help them end their life,” said Lawton in a video posted to the campaigns page.

“Someone suffering from only mental illness, with no physical health issues whatsoever, will be able to access MAiD. Simply put, if that law had been on the books 15 years ago, I would probably be dead right now.”

While Viersen opposed MAiD in its entirety, he said the current focus was on repealing its use for people with a mental illness. To this effect, Bill C-218, introduced by MP Tamara Jansen, would remove the provision that allow MAiD for mental illnesses alone.

“Our party’s position is that we’re opposed to MAiD on principle; we think people should be given the help that they need. The argument that was made initially, I think the Canadian public was okay with,” said Viersen.

“That’s not even the discussion anymore, the discussion is all about folks with mental illnesses and folks with disabilities being offered MAiD. This is kind of what we predicted initially, we said that this was going to be a slippery slope.”