Marcus Powlowski: “Certainly I think the government should and ought to be willing at some point in the future to reconsider this.”

I absolutely believe that a compassionate society allows MAID for people with terminal illness, people that are really experiencing intolerable suffering.

The option to end one’s life remains, irrespective of MAID, readily available in Canada. Furthermore, there are painless options readily available. One example being illicit narcotics like fentanyl.

I think the big question is, is not allowing MAID for mental illness a reasonable limitation under Section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

An indefinite pause would mean the issue could recur in three or four or five or 20 years, but for the time being, we would say that we are not allowing MAID for mental illness.