Alberta’s justice minister has received a directive to introduce fresh legislation concerning Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), aiming to enhance government control and oversight over the program. Premier Danielle Smith’s new mandate letter to Mickey Amery emphasized the need for the legislation to establish “appropriate safeguards” and disallow mental illness as the sole eligibility criterion.
While the letter did not delve into specifics regarding the safeguards or oversight mechanisms desired by the province, it highlighted the importance of these elements. Alberta’s provincial health authority data revealed that 1,117 Albertans opted for medically assisted death last year, with over 5,000 individuals choosing MAID since its inception in 2016.
The push for new provincial legislation on MAID arrives approximately a year after the government surveyed nearly 20,000 Albertans on their stance on potential interventions. Notably, about half of the respondents opposed imposing additional restrictions on MAID decisions.
In addition to the MAID legislation, Amery has been tasked with introducing measures to safeguard the free speech rights of provincially regulated professionals like lawyers and physicians. This initiative was announced last year by Smith and Amery, who expressed the necessity of ensuring that professionals are not penalized for expressing opinions unrelated to their field of practice.
The government is contemplating the establishment of a new public agency to oversee MAID and launching a dispute resolution mechanism for family members seeking to intervene in MAID decisions. Opposition NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman emphasized the need for the government to prioritize critical healthcare issues such as reducing wait times and addressing overcrowding in emergency rooms.
Furthermore, other ministers, including Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis and Family Services Minister Searle Turton, were also assigned new responsibilities in their mandate letters. Ellis was instructed to collaborate with Amery on formulating a policing priority framework aligning with government objectives and to provide support to municipalities interested in establishing their police forces.
Smith’s intergovernmental relations mandate outlined plans to establish new offices in Abu Dhabi and Mumbai to bolster the province’s global presence. The government intends to introduce legislation safeguarding Alberta’s authority in international agreements implementation, although specifics on the legislation’s objectives remain undisclosed.