The latest findings from UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) deliver a damning indictment of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) regime.

At the heart of the Committee’s critique is Track 2 MAiD, which permits assisted death for disabled people not nearing natural death. This policy is characterized as being structurally ableist, perpetuating the dangerous myth that disability inherently justifies death, rather than addressing the systemic discrimination, poverty, and lack of support that drive despair.

Women and marginalized disabled individuals disproportionately seek Track 2 MAiD, exposing how Canada's policies intensify inequality. The Committee also soundly rejects Canada’s planned 2027 expansion to mental illness as sole eligibility, along with proposals for mature minors or advance requests.

Instead, the CRPD suggests that Canada:

• Divert resources from MAiD to life-affirming supports (housing, healthcare, poverty reduction);
• Center Indigenous and marginalized communities in policy redesign.

These observations are powerful advocacy tools for shifting Canada's policies toward meaningful support for persons with disabilities.