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S-231 — An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
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S-231
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
CSG
In progress
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BILL S-231
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
Last activity : At second reading in the Senate
CSG
In progress
Senate · 1st2025-06-12Senate · 2ndSenate · 3rdCommons · 1stCommons · 2ndCommons · 3rdRoyal assent
Sign-in required — one request per person, no anonymous requests
What it does, in plain language
- Amends the Criminal Code to allow advance requests for medical assistance in dying, which the current law does not permit.
- Lets a person whose death is not reasonably foreseeable sign a written arrangement setting a specific day for the procedure, valid even if they lose the ability to consent before that day.
- Requires the doctor or nurse practitioner to warn the person about the risk of losing capacity to consent before the chosen date.
- Adds a second route: a written declaration, made after a diagnosis of a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability, authorizing the procedure if the person loses capacity and shows the symptoms listed in the declaration.
- Sets a five-year limit on how long such a declaration stays valid after it is made.
- Requires the declaration to be signed and dated by two independent witnesses confirming it was made voluntarily and free of outside pressure.
- Requires a doctor to certify that the listed symptoms are clearly identified and observable by a practitioner, and that the witnesses are truly independent.
- Keeps the rule that the procedure cannot go ahead if the person shows refusal or resistance through words, sounds or gestures.
- Notes in its preamble Quebec's 2023 law, which already allows advance requests for medical aid in dying.
🤖 AI-generated from the bill’s official text as introduced — may not reflect amendments adopted since.
✋ What does “challenging” mean?
Clicking “Ask for an explanation” is a citizen request for the bill's sponsor to explain it in plain language — and for us to keep an eye on it together.
An account (email) is required — one request per person, no anonymous requests. 🔥 At 1,000 requests on the same bill, a public post is made, in the hope an MP agrees to sponsor a petition to the House.
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On the “who voted what” detail — the House of Commons publishes each member's name for every recorded (nominal) vote (Yea / Nay / paired). The by-member breakdown above (the "+" button on each row) comes directly from that official source (ourcommons.ca), not an estimate. The party shown next to each name is taken from the current House roster; people who have since left the House appear separately under "Former members".
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Recorded vote
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Passed is not law
A passed vote clears ONE stage. A bill must pass both chambers and then receive royal assent before it becomes law.
Paired is not absent
In the Commons, two members from opposing sides can agree not to vote: their voices cancel out. It is neither an absence nor an abstention.
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