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=== Bill C-7 ===
The federal government passed Bill C-7 on 17 March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Government Bill (House of Commons) C-7 (43-2) - Royal Assent - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying) - Parliament of Canada |url=https://parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/bill/C-7/royal-assent |access-date=15 July 2022 |website=parl.ca |language=en-ca}}</ref> The new legislation relaxed or eliminated some of the safeguards for patients whose deaths were ''reasonably foreseeable'', notably removing the 10-day waiting period, requiring only a single independent witness, and removing the requirement to offer palliative care. The legislation also introduced a new avenue for those whose death was not ''reasonably foreseeable'' to access euthanasia, conditional on the approval of medical practitioner who specialized in the underlying condition, a 90-day assessment period, and discussion on all other available treatment methods. The legislation also included a sunset clause that would allow people with severe refractory mental illnesses that have exhausted all treatment options to be eligible for euthanasia two years after the legislation passed. This clause has been particularly controversial due to the perceived difficulty of receiving informed consent from individuals suffering from a mental illness, particularly when the mental illness is already associated with
A panel was established by the government to study potential issues and safeguards with implementing medical assistance in dying for people whose sole medical condition was a mental illness.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada's medical assistance in dying (MAID) law |url=https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/ad-am/bk-di.html#e |website=Government of Canada |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=29 April 2023}}</ref> A report of this process was given to parliament on 6 May 2022. The panel had nineteen recommendations that could be implemented without amending the Criminal Code. Some arguments addressed to the panel suggested that there was no evidence that safeguards and protocols could be adequate and thus the panel's mandate could not be fulfilled. The panel concluded that despite these uncertainties, people could still voluntarily wish to request medical assistance in dying and thus its mandate could be fulfilled.<ref name="SUMCreport">{{cite web |title=Final Report of the Expert Panel on MAiD and Mental Illness |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/expert-panel-maid-mental-illness/final-report-expert-panel-maid-mental-illness.html |website=Government of Canada |date=13 May 2022 |access-date=29 April 2023}}</ref> One member of the panel, Ellen Cohen, resigned for ethical reasons. Cohen believes that the issues faced by those in poverty or seeking housing was not adequately considered by the rest of the panel.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ellen |title=Why I resigned from the federal expert panel on medical assistance in dying |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-expert-panel-maid-mental-illness/ |website=Globe and Mail |access-date=7 May 2024}}</ref> A person can simultaneously seek medical assistance in dying while waiting for other treatments.<ref>{{cite web |title=9 things to know about medical assistance in dying for mental illness |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/9-things-to-know-about-medical-assistance-in-dying-for-mental-illness-1.6242690 |website=CTV News|date=23 January 2023}}</ref>
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