The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) has announced the appointment of the Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying. This panel is chaired by the Honourable Marie Deschamps, C.C., Ad. E., former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and Adjunct Professor at McGill University and Université de Sherbrooke.
Wellesley Institute CEO Dr. Kwame McKenzie will chair the Working Group on requests where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition. In addition to his role at Wellesley Institute, Dr. McKenzie is Director Health Equity, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
From the press release:
In December 2016, the CCA was asked by Minister of Health Jane Philpott and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould to undertake independent reviews related to medical assistance in dying. Specifically, the CCA is tasked with examining three particularly complex types of requests for medical assistance in dying that were identified for further review and study in the legislation passed by Parliament in 2016. These cases are: requests by mature minors, advance requests, and requests where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition.
The CCA Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying is comprised of 43 individuals, from Canada and abroad, who have expertise, knowledge, and leadership experience in a range of disciplines including law, medicine, ethics, social sciences, and health sciences, among others. The Expert Panel will be chaired by Madame Deschamps, but in order to effectively address the three topics, the Expert Panel will be organized into three Working Groups, each with a Chair.
It is expected that three separate reports will be finalized and released publicly in late 2018.
For more information visit the Council for Canadian Academics.