The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has issued a call for Canada to roll back its expansion of euthanasia, or “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD).

The Committee says Track 2 MAiD, which is for people with disabilities whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable, is “based on negative, ableist perceptions of the quality and value of the life of persons with disabilities,” and warns it is having disproportionate effects on marginalised Canadians.

The news has been welcomed by Canadian groups.

Rebecca Vachon, Program Director for Cardus Health, said the committee rightly noted that MAiD lacks federal oversight and that it been expanded in Canada without enough consultation with Indigenous communities or adequate protections and supports for people living with disabilities.

Krista Carr, CEO of Inclusion Canada, said the UN “is clear that our country must do better in upholding the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities”.