Medical assistance in dying

You could be eligible for assisted dying if you feel you meet all of the below criteria:

• Are at least 18 years of age.
• Have a valid B.C. CareCard or B.C. Services Card (are eligible for publicly funded health coverage in Canada).
• Are able to make your own decisions about your health.
• Have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability ("a grievous and irremediable medical condition").
• Suffer unbearably from a medical condition.
• Have a medical condition that has advanced or declined to the point where it cannot be reversed.
• Have been informed of any available ways to relieve your suffering, including palliative care.
• Are not being pressured or influenced into choosing an assisted death.

If you feel the above list applies to you and you want to find out more, you are encouraged to talk to your family practitioner or a specialist who may be involved in your care.

If your family practitioner does not personally agree with assisted dying, they do not have to participate in the process. However, it is their professional responsibility to give your request to another care provider who can help you. You can also contact the Fraser Health MAiD Care Coordination Centre directly for assistance at 604-587-7878 or mccc@fraserhealth.ca.

If after careful consideration that you would like to formally initiate the MAiD request process, you will need to complete the following steps, in accordance with federal and provincial law.

1. Fill in a form

Download a Request for MAiD form.

You can also call Fraser Health at 604-587-7878 or email mccc@fraserhealth.ca for a Request for MAiD form to complete.

One person must witness you signing the form. This person cannot benefit from your death (i.e. be named in your will). This can be a friend, a neighbour or someone already involved in your care. Contact the Medical Assistance in Dying Care Coordination Centre if you need help finding a witness at 604-587-7878 or email mccc@fraserhealth.ca.

2. Be assessed

The Fraser Health MAiD Care Coordination Centre is a specialized consult team to ensure you fully understand the steps involved to make an informed decision. The MAiD Care Coordination Centre team will ensure you are assessed by two different medical professionals (doctors or nurse practitioners) who will assess you separately to ensure you are eligible for an assisted death. Both must agree you meet all the criteria. If they determine that you meet all of the requirements for MAiD eligibility, and that you are capable of making the decision for an assisted death, they will then assess if your natural death is expected in the near future or not.

Whether or not you choose to be assessed, the decision is only yours to make.

If they agree your natural death is expected soon, there is no waiting period before the procedure can happen. If they agree that your natural death is not expected soon, you must wait 90 days from the beginning of the first eligible assessment before MAiD can happen. During this time you will have a consultation with an expert in your illness, disease, disability or medical condition.

3. Your choice

The decision whether or not to proceed with an assisted death is a decision only you can make. Whatever your decision, know that it will be supported in the best ways possible by the MAiD Care Coorindation Centre and/or your care providers.

The MAiD process is entirely driven by the patient. When discussing end-of-life care with a patient, staff will outline possible options that are in line with the patient’s goals and values. These conversations can include options such as palliative care, symptom management and other means to relieve suffering, hospice, as well as MAiD.

Yes, you can change your mind at any time during the process - even right before the procedure.

Assisted dying can take place in your own home, the hospital, a hospice, a long-term care facility or another place that is meaningful to you. You may also choose to have family or friends with you. A small number of care settings do not permit MAiD activities to occur on site. We will work with you and others involved in your care to arrange for you to move to another location, if needed.

If you have MSP, you will have full coverage for medications used in assisted dying.

Medical assistance in dying cannot be provided based on an advanced directive or living will, and can only be considered after a current written request is received. Only you can request and consent to MAiD – not someone on your behalf.

If you meet all of the eligibility criteria for MAiD and your natural death is considered to be soon, as of March of 2021, there is now an option to complete a Waiver of Final Consent (form 1645). This is an agreement that can only be formally made between you and one of your assessors.

In addition to the resources below, you can also call Fraser Health's MAiD Care Coordination Centre at 604-587-7878 or email mccc@fraserhealth.ca. We are available Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

For further information, review the About Medical Assistance in Dying brochure.

The Ministry of Health MAiD website has all of the most up to date information and forms available.

You can also talk with a healthcare provider who is currently known to you.

• Medical Assistance in Dying fact sheet - English, French, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Punjabi
• Request for MAiD form
• The Medical Assistance in Dying process  - English, French, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Punjabi
• A Guide to Support People Requesting MAiD
• Talking to Children about Medical Assistance in Dying - English, French, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Punjabi
• Managing Grief and Loss: When someone dies - English, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Farsi, and Tagalog

• Bridge C-14
• MAiD Family Support
• Virtual hospice

Information on other services for people nearing the end of life is available in our hospice palliative care section.

For more information and background on medical assistance in dying in Canada, see:

• Ministry of Health, B.C., Medical Assistance in Dying
• Government of Canada information on medical assistance in dying
• Guidance from the College of Physician and Surgeons of B.C.
• College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. - Medical Assistance in Dying FAQs
• Guidance from the College of Registered Nurses of B.C. 
• Guidance from the College of Pharmacists of B.C.
• Federal Bill C-14: Medical Assistance in Dying
• B.C's Guidelines for Prosecutors
• The Supreme Court ruling Carter v. Carter