--- description: Canada introduced an assisted death bill on Thursday, aiming to ease end-of-life treatment for terminally ill patients title: Canada Introduces Assisted Death Bill image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd35d83b26c414ca1/69888f492dce0138de9e8ab6/gettyimages-5186022021.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Canada Introduces Assisted Death Bill, Which Will Exclude U.S. Citizens  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 15, 2016 12:46 PM CUT  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confers with British Prime Minister David Cameron (out of frame) during the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, April 1. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confers with British Prime Minister David Cameron (out of frame) during the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, April 1.Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 15, 2016 12:46 PM CUT Canada [introduced an assisted death bill](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/14/canadians-assisted-suicide-law/83018864/ "undefined") on Thursday, aiming to ease end-of-life treatment for terminally ill patients while preventing “suicide tourism” to the country. The bill excludes people with psychiatric problems and requires that patients be eligible for Canada’s national health care, an effort to stop foreigners from traveling to Canada to end their lives, [_USA Today_ reported](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/14/canadians-assisted-suicide-law/83018864/ "undefined"). The law also requires a minimum age of 18 and a 15-day reflection period. “This is a historic day for our country,” Health Minister Jane Philpott said, _USA Today_ reported. “It’s an enormous responsibility to address the needs and suffering of Canadians as they reach the end of life.” The bill will now go to Parliament. If approved, Canada would join countries including Germany, Japan and Colombia in allowing assisted deaths, a controversial topic in Canada as well as the U.S. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has voiced his support for the bill. “This is a difficult & deeply personal issue, and our government has carefully studied how best to support those in great suffering,” he posted on Twitter. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4295691/canada-assisted-death-bill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4295691/canada-assisted-death-bill/"},"headline":"Canada Introduces Assisted Death Bill, Which Will Exclude U.S. Citizens","datePublished":"2016-04-15T12:46:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:47:03.231Z","description":"The bill will exclude foreigners in an effort to prevent \"suicide tourism\"","url":"https://time.com/4295691/canada-assisted-death-bill/","keywords":["Canada"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd35d83b26c414ca1/69888f492dce0138de9e8ab6/gettyimages-5186022021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd35d83b26c414ca1/69888f492dce0138de9e8ab6/gettyimages-5186022021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-NUCLEAR-CANADA-BRITAIN","caption":"US-NUCLEAR-CANADA-BRITAIN","creditText":"Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4295691/canada-assisted-death-bill/","name":"Canada Introduces Assisted Death Bill, Which Will Exclude U.S. Citizens"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside One Doctor's Fight for the Right to Die","description":"Daniel Swangard, an anesthesiologist, wants the option to end his life on his own terms","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/F9KxiYwY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-29T17:59:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/F9KxiYwY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4295691/canada-assisted-death-bill/","duration":"PT3M27S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4295691/canada-assisted-death-bill/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```