00:04:33.820It would also be prohibited for people who lack decision-making capacity at the time the procedure is performed.
00:04:40.240And the province would ban advance requests, meaning someone cannot sign paperwork years earlier authorizing doctors to end their life after they lose mental capacity.
00:04:52.540Alberta's legislation would also restrict physicians and nurse practitioners from referring patients outside the province for made assessments.
00:05:01.480So there's no getting around the legislation in Alberta.
00:05:05.480That rule is designed to prevent people from bypassing our safeguards by simply being referred elsewhere.
00:05:12.220The bill also introduces mandatory education and training requirements for MAID assessors and providers,
00:05:18.840including training on recognizing coercion, evaluating capacity, and identifying alternatives such as palliative care.
00:05:27.560The law also introduces mandatory sanctions for physicians and nurse practitioners who violate the province's MAID rules.
00:05:36.540Another major change involves how MAID is discussed with patients.
00:05:40.920Under the proposed law, Bill 18, healthcare professionals would not be allowed to initiate conversations about assisted suicide unless the patient raises the topic first.
00:05:52.320The doctor or nurse practitioner cannot plant the seed in the mind of a vulnerable person.
00:05:59.640Now, the province says that safeguard is meant to ensure that MAID decisions are patient-driven, not influenced by suggestions from doctors or health institutions.
00:06:09.300The legislation also protects the rights of doctors and health care facilities that object to assisted suicide.
00:06:16.280Physicians and nurse practitioners would have a clear and legal right to refuse to assess or provide MAID.
00:06:22.900Certain health care facilities, including faith-based hospitals and care homes, would also be allowed to refuse MAID on their premises.
00:06:30.040The bill would also allow those facilities to establish 150-metre exclusion zones around their sites where MAID assessments or procedures could not take place.
00:06:41.260Together, these measures are intended to restore the idea that assisted suicide should remain a rare and tightly controlled end-of-life practice, not a broadly expanding, easily accessible medical service.
00:06:56.200And the reason Alberta says these safeguards are necessary becomes clearer when you look at how quickly MAID has grown across Canada.
00:07:02.800More than 13,000 Canadians now die through euthanasia every year.
00:07:08.000That places assisted suicide among the leading causes of death in the country.
00:07:12.760It now exceeds the number of Canadians who die annually from diabetes.
00:07:17.060It surpasses the deaths from influenza and pneumonia combined.
00:07:21.900Remember when we shut down the world for that sort of stuff?
00:07:24.540It's higher than the deaths from kidney disease.
00:07:27.920And in some recent years, it has even rivaled deaths from accidents and injuries.
00:07:33.880A medical procedure that did not exist in Canada a decade ago now results in more deaths each year than several major diseases that doctors have spent generations trying to treat and prevent.
00:07:48.960And the expansion of MAID has happened alongside growing pressures inside Canada's healthcare system.
00:07:54.880Isn't that convenient? Doctor shortages, long specialists, wait lists, mental health services that can take months, even years to access, disability supports that often leave people struggling financially.
00:08:09.280Solving those problems requires significant reform and innovation.
00:08:14.820Made, by contrast, is administratively simple.
00:08:18.820No wait lists, no infrastructure shortage, no complicated overhaul of the system required.
00:08:24.440Critics like me argue that assisted suicide has quietly become the easiest pressure valve
00:08:32.360When suffering grows and the system can't keep up,
00:08:35.540MAID becomes the service that is always available.
00:08:38.720That dynamic raises difficult questions about incentives inside the system.
00:08:43.540Because once assisted death becomes easier to access than many forms of treatment,
00:08:48.520while the pressure to expand it grows,
00:08:50.440and the boundaries that once seemed clear begin to shift.
00:08:54.540That's the line Alberta says it's trying to draw.
00:08:58.280The province's legislation attempts to re-establish limits around assisted suicide
00:09:03.160and slow the expansion that has taken place over the last several years.
00:09:06.700The broader national debate over MAID is often framed as a question of personal autonomy,
00:09:13.140but it also raises a larger question about the role of a health care system when people are suffering.
00:09:17.740Should the priority be expanding access to assisted suicide or finding better ways to help people live through illness, disability, hardship, and loneliness?
00:09:29.940Given how quickly MAID has risen to become one of the leading causes of death in Canada, it's a question this country may have to confront sooner rather than later.
00:09:40.020Stay with us. The Alberta government's press conference on their new legislation is up after the break.
00:09:47.740Well, good morning and thank you all for coming today.
00:09:56.960I'm pleased to be here with Minister of Justice Mickey Amory and Dr. Ramona Coelho,
00:10:01.340who's a family physician and a member of Ontario's main death review committee,
00:10:04.620to announce legislative measures our government will introduce to protect vulnerable Albertans.
00:10:09.400Providing health care and looking after the well-being of Albertans is one of our most important responsibilities as a provincial government.
00:10:15.620And we take that responsibility seriously.
00:10:18.300Medical assistance in dying is a serious and sensitive subject.
00:10:21.860This is a deeply personal decision, a decision that affects patients, their families, and their loved ones.
00:10:27.100The consequences of the decision are permanent and irrevocable.
00:10:31.380And because of this, we have an obligation to consider made with the utmost care and caution.
00:10:36.540Alberta believes that patient safety is and must always be our first concern.
00:10:41.340and our government has been highly skeptical of federal moves to widen eligibility to
00:10:46.200those whose only medical condition is mental illness. This possibility was first announced
00:10:51.600in 2023, and we've been studying the issue carefully to ensure that we're acting in the
00:10:56.120best interest of Albertans. During this time, we had a two-year consultation period where we sought
00:11:02.280feedback from across the province and spoke to a wide range of experts in the field of mental health
00:11:07.020and other areas of healthcare. After extensive consideration of Ottawa's potential MAID
00:11:11.920eligibility expansion, our government still has profound misgivings about it. If federal
00:11:17.280eligibility is extended to include mental illness, like we expect it to be in 2027,
00:11:22.660there is a serious risk that vulnerable individuals living with a mental illness
00:11:27.480may choose this most final of actions when other treatment options are available to them.
00:11:32.960In other words, for individuals whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, there are often other care and treatment options available.
00:11:40.480Mental health and wellness are things many people manage throughout their entire lives, and periods of severe illness can feel dark, hopeless, and overwhelming.
00:11:49.920But with the right support, many people regain stability and go on to live full and meaningful lives.
00:11:55.700MAID should not become a permanent response to a moment of crisis or despair that can change with care and time.
00:12:01.440We know Albertans are concerned about this. Since 2021, total maid deaths in Alberta have risen from 594 in 2021 to 1,242 in 2025, an increase of 109%. And even though rates are lower in Alberta than the national average, maid is now one of the leading causes of death in Canada.
00:12:24.480In just the 10 years it's been legal in Canada, the rate of MAID in our country has come to exceed that of other jurisdictions where it's been legal for far longer.
00:12:34.320Across the country, total MAID deaths have risen from 10,066 in 2021 to 16,499 in 2024, an increase of 64%.
00:12:46.420Given the permanence of the decision, these trends should give anyone pause.
00:12:51.800Under federal policy, eligibility is widening, while the guardrails and oversight are weakening.
00:12:57.420The way Alberta sees it, these escalating factors put the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals at far too grave a risk.
00:13:03.840So our government is acting now before the federal government weakens the guardrails any further.
00:13:08.100We believe MAID must be a compassionate option reserved only for those who will not recover from terminal illness.
00:13:14.900That's why, as part of our spring legislative session, we'll be introducing the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act.
00:13:23.600If passed, it will make sure that here in Alberta, medical assistance in dying has robust and appropriate safeguards in place.
00:13:31.000It will limit MAID eligibility to circumstances where natural death is reasonably foreseeable and recovery is not.
00:13:37.800It will prohibit MAID in Alberta for those under age 18 and for those whose sole condition is a mental illness.
00:13:44.260It will set out clear regulations for how Alberta provides MAID, and it will provide much-needed clarity for patients, families, and health care providers alike.
00:13:53.900Ultimately, this is about protecting vulnerable Albertans and establishing strong safeguards for a health care practice of great consequence and finality.
00:14:02.320And that's exactly what this legislation will deliver.
00:14:04.860Thank you, and I'd now like to pass it over to Minister Mickey Amory to share details on this important work.
00:14:14.260Well, thank you very much, Premier. Good morning, and thank you for joining us.
00:14:23.700As the Premier said, we are ensuring that there are strong protections in place for medical assistance in dying.
00:14:30.900Now, this is one of the most serious decisions that someone can make, and it demands careful safeguards and humility.
00:14:37.520Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act, will address obvious gaps in the current federal system, and it will set strong, consistent standards to better protect vulnerable Albertans.
00:14:52.660At its core, Bill 18 places important eligibility limits on MAID in Alberta.
00:14:58.520MAID will be prohibited for those whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable.
00:15:05.100MAID should never be a substitute for other health care options or services.
00:15:11.520Advanced requests for MAID raise serious ethical and practical concerns.
00:15:16.160That is why under Bill 18, advanced requests will not be permitted,
00:15:20.380along with MAID for individuals without capacity to make their own health care decisions.
00:15:25.360Physicians and nurse practitioners will also be prohibited from making referrals for individuals to receive MAID outside of Alberta.
00:15:33.060Given the seriousness and the finality of MAID, Alberta's legislation will require assessors and providers to meet training and educational requirements.
00:15:43.260And that's why I'll also be introducing mandatory sanctions when a regulatory college finds that a physician has violated Alberta's MAID legislation.
00:15:51.800To reduce any coercion and to ensure MAID decisions are initiated and driven by patients, physicians will be restricted from giving MAID information to their patients when they are providing other health services to them, unless the patient brings it up.
00:16:08.580The public display of MAID information, such as posters, will also be restricted within health care facilities.
00:16:15.940Finally, Bill 18 will make it clear that physicians have the right to refuse to conduct
00:16:22.500MAID assessments or to provide MAID, and that healthcare facilities will have the right to
00:16:27.540refuse to allow MAID services on their premises. Along with this, an exclusion zone of 150 meters
00:16:35.060around a healthcare facility will provide a sense of safety for people facing serious health
00:16:39.700challenges, along with vulnerable palliative care patients who don't wish to be exposed to MAID.
00:16:46.000Now, we know that MAID is a sensitive and complex issue for many Albertans,
00:16:49.980but we also believe that the compassionate approach is one that allows people to live
00:16:56.580with dignity, not defaulting to doctor-assisted death. I'd like to now introduce Dr. Ramona Coelho
00:17:04.600to say a few words. Dr. Coelho is a family physician, a member of Ontario's Maid Death
00:17:11.000Review Committee, and was recognized by the Ontario College of Family Physicians for Patient
00:17:16.720Care. She is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a recipient of the King Charles III
00:17:24.360medal. She has also co-edited the book, Unraveling Maid in Canada, that was recognized as a Hill
00:17:32.180Times' 100 Best Book of 2025. I'd like to invite Dr. Coelho to say a few words. Thank you.
00:17:45.720Thank you very much, Minister Amory, and thank you, Premier Smith, for having me today.
00:17:50.680I will skip my intro because Minister Amory introduced me so well. I have contributed to
00:17:58.140academic, and public discourse on MAID for many years, examining the intersection of MAID and
00:18:05.180patient safety. For about 20 years, I've practiced medicine, caring for people with complex
00:18:11.640issues such as disabilities, mental health issues, chronic pain, and especially social
00:18:19.160vulnerabilities. I take care of a lot of people who've had incarceration histories or refugees,
00:18:24.760people who find themselves at the margins of society.
00:18:28.480And through this work, before the time of MAID,
00:18:31.240I came to understand that physical illness is often greatly impacted by psychosocial suffering,
00:18:37.060by the psychological distress and social circumstances we find ourselves in.
00:18:42.040This is a concept in medicine that we call total pain.
00:18:46.080Properly addressing and mitigating total pain or suffering requires careful assessment, time, and support.
00:18:54.520A patient's suffering can be addressed, and their lives can greatly improve if we take that time.
00:19:02.560Since MAID has been legalized, I have witnessed patients being approved for MAID very quickly,
00:19:08.880without a deep dive of their suffering, or without offering evidence-based medicine that could offer them solutions to live well.
00:19:16.040I've also been told by my patients that they've been offered MAID several times repeatedly by different people,
00:19:22.800and some have felt pressured to book MAID assessments.
00:19:27.260While this does not reflect the majority of my colleagues' MAID practice,
00:21:54.280a reminder that this press conference is under embargo
00:21:56.360until the legislation is tabled later today,
00:21:58.720and that applies to remarks and any Q&A related to the legislation.
00:22:02.380We'll take one question, one follow-up,
00:22:04.200and a reminder to state your name and outlet for asking your question.
00:22:06.800We'll start off with Julia, then we'll go to Jack.
00:22:08.740Hi, Julia Long, CC National. This is a question for the Premier. You know, you're touting this as safeguards to protect Albertans. Others might see this and call them obstacles or barriers. So why is the province putting so many, and I'll call them things, in the way for those who legitimately want to access Maine?
00:22:26.800Well, I can tell you that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms does say that government can put limits that are reasonable as long as they're prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
00:22:42.140So that is one of the obligations we have as a government is to make sure that we're putting in limits that are reasonable and can be justified.
00:22:49.020And I remember when these cases first began, the court had ruled that death should be reasonably foreseeable.
00:22:58.760And I know that the critics at the time were worried that it would continue going down a pathway where ultimately other conditions would be included.
00:23:07.060And I know that that was criticized at the time, saying, oh, there's no such thing as a slippery slope.
00:23:12.100And if we allow for children and we allow for those with mental illness to be given the advice to take this approach, then I think that we're failing in our duty to give people hope.
00:23:25.080So we have taken a very different approach in Alberta, where we believe recovery is possible, not only for addiction, but also mental illness.
00:23:32.640And that is why we think that the federal government is going in the wrong direction with its intention to put this in place in 2027.
00:23:39.020And as the doctor mentioned, having reasonable guardrails should allow for those who do have a terminal illness to continue down the pathway, as this legislation was always intended, but not make sure that it gets, and make sure that it doesn't get broadened to a way that was not originally intended when the changes were made in law.
00:23:56.960And my follow-up, you know, this legislation includes things such as practitioners can't bring MAID up unless a patient does themselves, there's the ban on the public display of MAID information in healthcare settings.
00:24:08.060Do you not trust that Albertans and practitioners can make the right decision for themselves?
00:24:13.440Well, you know, I'm watching as the international community is looking at what's happening in Alberta.
00:24:19.060And I would just, you know, encourage you to look at some of the stories that have been written in The Spectator and The Guardian,
00:24:23.800where they're pretty appalled that those who are living in poverty,
00:24:28.260those whose only circumstances seem to be managing mental challenges of dealing with a chronic condition,
00:24:34.620are being advised that maids an option.
00:24:37.140And when we see that kind of international criticism, saying this is really outside the norm, we have to take that seriously.
00:24:43.060I think, as the doctor said, that is not, certainly not all practitioners who are doing that.
00:24:47.960But when we read stories about a young man repeatedly refused MAID for his mental health condition in Ontario, able to fly across the country to BC and find an amenable doctor for it, we're concerned about that.
00:25:00.820When we hear of Veterans Affairs officials
00:25:04.060counselling and encouraging people with PTSD
00:25:07.700to consider MAID, these are things we want to stop.