Conservative MP Garnett Genuis talks about issues related to human rights in an interview with The Epoch Times in Toronto on May 25, 2023. (The Epoch Times)
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis has put forward a private members’ bill to prohibit government bureaucrats in positions of authority from proposing medically assisted death to citizens who are not asking for it.
Genuis made the announcement during a Feb. 5 news conference, saying that he introduced Bill C-260, dubbed the Act to Prevent Coercion of Persons Not Seeking Medical Assistance In Dying, following several stories of veterans, disabled people, and other vulnerable Canadians who had been advised to consider euthanasia when they were not seeking it.
If passed, the bill would prohibit any public servants in a position of authority from proposing medical assistance in dying (MAID) to a citizen that did not request it.
Genuis said this would address an “existing gap” in Canada’s MAID law and correct a “troubling pattern” of the procedure being offered to those who are not seeking it. He said it would not impose any limitation on those who want it.
“If passed, this law will provide robust protection for people with disabilities, veterans, and others who are trying to access government services,” he said.
He added that the bill included a “clear and blanket exception” for doctors and nurses, who he said should “approach these conversations with great care and discretion.”
Genuis said recent news stories have highlighted the “deeply troubling reality” of MAID being offered to vulnerable Canadians who are seeking access to government support and have no wish to end their lives.
A Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran Kelsi Sheren told MPs on a parliamentary committee in October 2025 she had evidence that more than 20 veterans had been offered MAID.
Sheren said the veterans provided either written testimonies or audio recordings of being offered MAID unprompted, adding that other individuals are “too afraid” to come forward over fear of losing their benefits.
A Veteran Affairs report in 2023 that investigated reports of MAID being offered unprompted found four incidents during which MAID was “inappropriately raised” by department staff. The report added that the cases were connected to one employee who was no longer with the department, and that it was not a “widespread, systemic issue.”
The bill comes as the federal government is preparing to expand eligibility for MAID to include people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness. That expansion was originally scheduled to take effect on March 17, 2023, before being delayed to March 17, 2024. Ottawa announced a further delay in early 2024, saying provinces and medical providers needed more time to prepare. The eligibility date has now been pushed to March 17, 2027.
A recent report on MAID in Canada found that 47 percent of those accessing it whose deaths were not foreseeable said loneliness and isolation were the reason they sought MAID.
The report also noted that the number of individuals receiving MAID grew at an average annual rate of 31 percent each year between 2019 and 2022.
Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.