Ten years ago, MAID became law.
Now access is being restricted.
Fighting back on two fronts.
On June 17, 2016, Bill C-14 made medical assistance in dying (MAID) legally available, and for the first time, people across Canada facing intolerable suffering could be assessed for MAID. It took decades of work by patients, families, clinicians, and advocates to make this end-of-life choice a reality.
Stand with Dying With Dignity Canada
We are seeing ground being lost.
When we should be focusing on pushing for better access, instead we are fighting on two major fronts:
1.) On May 14, 2026, the Alberta parliament passed Bill 18, limiting access where effective safeguards already exist.
Once it takes effect, it will:
- Limit MAID access for eligible Albertans
- Violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Restrict access to public health information
- Force clinicians to breach their professional obligations
- Mandate family involvement, even against patients’ wishes
- Override what Albertans support – 79% back the access Bill 18 removes
If it can happen in Alberta, it can happen in any province or territory. Dying With Dignity Canada is fighting back.
Every person — be it your mother, father, grandparent, neighbour, or you — deserves to live and die with dignity and compassion.
2.) In publicly funded healthcare facilities across the country, patients who have been approved for MAID under Canadian law are still being forced into grueling transfers in their final hours. People just like Sam:
At just 34 years old, Sam O’Neill had end stage 4 cervical cancer. She wanted a peaceful death with her family beside her.
The publicly funded hospital where she was being cared for refused to allow her choice on its premises. So Sam was forced to transfer in an ambulance to another facility. Sam spent some of her final moments in an ambulance, where her mom said she ‘moaned and writhed in pain with every bump during the ride.’
She had to be sedated because of the brutal pain of moving. Her family followed behind. Sam would never wake up again to have the goodbye she had wished for.
Dying With Dignity Canada is in the BC Supreme Court fighting back, alongside Sam’s mom, Gaye O’Neill, and Dr. Jyothi Jayaraman.
Sam and her family deserved better.
Add your voice to the fight.
When you add your name, your voice becomes part of the fight to protect what we’ve gained. You’ll receive updates on the BC court case, Alberta’s Bill 18, and what access to MAID actually looks like across the country. You’ll see how Dying With Dignity Canada is responding through legal action and government relations. And you’ll have concrete ways to join us in making your voice heard.