Human Rights

First of all, let’s learn about Human Rights — what they are and where they come from. Watch this excellent 10-minute video:

https://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/

Here is a plain-language list of the 30 human rights, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/articles-1-15.html

Canada is a signatory to the UN Declaration on Human Rights of 1948. That declaration has been ratified by the federal government and every provincial and territorial government in Canada. It has two parts: the ICCPR, and the ICESCR. The first has to do with Civil and Political Rights; and the second has to do with social, economic and cultural rights. Canada considers the first part mandatory, but the second part merely “aspirational”. However, the expectation of the UN is that signatories will work diligently to recognize these rights universally, that is, to consider the poorest, most disadvantaged citizen equal in every way to the wealthiest, most powerful citizen. “Protection of economic, social and cultural rights has been deemed necessary as the right to live a dignified life can never be attained unless all basic necessities of life – work, food, housing, health care, education and culture – are adequately and equitably available to everyone.” The Chief Commissioner of Canada’s Federal Human Rights Commission, Marie-Claude Landry, says: “MAiD cannot be an answer to systemic inequality“.

Canada became a State party to the ICESCR in 1976. (ICESCR = International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). The enforcement mechanisms are voluntary, but the obligations are real. To learn more, check out this document from the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Canada is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

In June 2022, for the first time, a Canadian was elected to sit on the committee that oversees the work related to the CRPD. Our representative, Laverne Jacobs, is a law professor whose interests include opposing MAID for people with disabilities who are not dying. She presented her views to a Senate committee back in 2020.

In 2025, in a major review of Canada’s compliance with its treaty obligations under the CRPD, Canada has been found wanting, and among other actions, has been directed to repeal Track 2 MAiD. This is huge news! To learn more, visit my blog on this review.

To learn more about the history of assisted suicide law in Canada, please visit The Library. Meanwhile here is a short list of cases and Bills to know about:

• Latimer, 2001
• Rodrigues, 1993
• Carter, 2015
• MAiD Law for people who are dying, Bill C-14, 2015
• Truchon and Gladu, 2019
• MAID Law expansion to non-dying people, Bill C-7, 2021
• Delay of implementation of MAID for non-dying people with mental illness as sole underlying cause.
• Quebec passed a law permitting Advanced Requests for MAID, which remains illegal under Canada’s Criminal Code. Canada is not challenging this law, and may move to allow another exception to the Criminal Code.

In Canada, people who want to challenge laws affecting their human rights have access to human rights commissions in each province and territory. For matters under federal jurisdiction, there is the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Court action can be very expensive. The Court Challenges Program, independent of the government, and administered by the University of Ottawa, can help organizations with the costs of pursuing “cases of national systemic significance”. Funding for the CCP has been unreliable since its inception in 1978, was cancelled altogether in 2006 under the Conservative government, partially restored (language rights only) in 2008, then reinstated to include human rights in 2017, under a Liberal government.

Not all legal fights are at the Federal level. Jurisdictional separations hamper effective policy, practice, monitoring and reporting. The Criminal Code is under Federal jurisdiction, whereas, health law, income supports, disability supports, home care, etc., are all managed provincially; some housing and other issues are managed municipally. The United Nations has international powers as well. See below for a list of documents relating to the UN and questions it has raised about Canada’s medical assistance in dying law and practice.

One important resource to know about is CELA – the Canadian Environmental Law Association – which deals with cases involving disablement and exacerbation of disability due to the effects of pollution and climate change.

For general (Ontario-centred) legal information, visit CLEO – https://cleoconnect.ca/resources/libraries/
For disability-specific information about the human rights system in Ontario, check out https://cleoconnect.ca/tcodownloads/human-rights-and-disability-powerpoint/

For Canada’s Indigenous peoples with disabilities, the legal picture is even more complex and problematic. Jurisdictional disputes and levels of colonial irresponsibility are incredibly damaging to indigenous folks, disabled or not, but adding in the complications of disability compounds the problems exponentially. Colonialism itself is a source of much intergenerational disability, including but not limited to complex post-traumatic stress, the effects of which are felt throughout both indigenous and colonial societies. IDC/BCANDS, and the Wabanaki Council on Disability are two of the organizations representing and serving indigenous folks with disabilities. The Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), and the Métis National Council (MNC) strive to be inclusive, but are not disability-focussed.
November has been declared Indigenous Disability Awareness Month.

United Nations documents related to MAiD

1. April 12, 2017: “Concluding observations on the initial report of Canada” by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Link

2. April 12, 2019: End of Mission Statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms. Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, on her visit to Canada. Link

3. August 7, 2019: Joint Urgent Appeal by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health concerning Mr. Roger Philip Foley. Link

4. March 11, 2020: Canada’s response to the Joint Urgent Appeal concerning Mr. Roger Philip Foley. Link

5. February 1, 2021: Remarks by Gerard Quinn, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities to the Senate of Canada during the discussion of Bill C-7. Link

6. February 24 – March 20, 2020: Human Rights Council Forty-third session, Agenda item 3 – Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development. Visit to Canada – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar. Link

7. January 25, 2021: UN Experts alarmed by the trend in enabling medical assistance in dying for people with disabilities. Link

8. February 3, 2021: Joint communication from Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council expressing concerns about Canada’s new policy on medical assistance in dying, enshrined in Bill C-7. Link

9. May 17, 2021: Canada’s response to the Joint Communication from Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council about Bill C-7. Link
   
10. March 2025. The UN Committee on the CRPD stated that MAiD Track 2 violates the right to life of people with disabilities. It undermines their social inclusion and increases, rather than decreases, the social stigma that they face. They recommend that to remedy this situation, Track 2 MAID should be repealed, ALL further expansion should be stopped, necessary investments in the social determinants of health should be prioritized, and a federal independent oversight mechanism must be established to monitor, regulate and handle complaints in relation to MAiD.

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Opposition to the expansion of MAiD to non-dying people with disabilities

There were several good speeches opposing Bill C7 from the floor of the Senate at third reading. Notable among these:

• Senator Marilou McPhedran – https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/mcphedran-marilou/interventions/553872/26 (you can access the transcript here and there is also a link to the video recording)
• Senator Kim Pate –  https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/pate-kim/interventions/554572/26
  Also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYuKRjooJfU 
  
• Senator Mary Jane McCallum – https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/mccallum-mary-jane/interventions/555393/19?context=1#hid (you can access the transcript here and there is also a link to the video recording)
• Senator Denise Batters – https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/batters-denise/interventions/552173/27 (you can access the transcript here and there is also a link to the video recording)
• Senator Donald Plett – https://www.donplett.ca/en/my-work/in-the-red-chamber/speeches/bill-c-7-will-be-offering-patients-with-mental-illness-the-most-readily-available-lethal-means-instead-of-increased-suicide-prevention/

There were a few others, but these were the big five.

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