Monitoring of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Program PIA Update (June 2023)

Description of Program

Monitoring and reporting are critical components in building transparency and public trust in MAID. They also help to reflect the seriousness of MAID as an exception to the criminal laws that prohibit ending a human life.

The Regulations for the Monitoring of Medical Assistance in Dying allow for the collection of data related to gender, race, Indigenous identity, and disability of persons requesting MAID, if the person consents to providing this information. This information is used by the Monitoring of MAID Program to help assess whether there are inequities (systemic or otherwise) present in the MAID process among certain groups of individuals.

Why was a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) completed?

It was determined in consultation with the Health Canada official responsible for section 10 of the Privacy Act that the 2023 amendments to Regulations for the Monitoring of Medical Assistance in Dying is a substantial modification to an existing activity in which no decisions are made about individuals but will have an impact on privacy and warrant the conduct of a PIA.

More Information

This updated PIA focused on Health Canada's collection, use, disclosure and retention and disposition of personal information related to gender, race, Indigenous identity, and disability of persons requesting MAID. It did not assess the collection of information from persons requesting MAID by medical practitioners or the provincial/territorial (PT) processes for receiving and handling personal information, where the PT designated recipient is responsible for collecting MAID information directly from practitioners, preliminary assessor, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.

The updated PIA recommended mitigation actions in the following risk areas: updating the program's Personal Information Bank (PIB), reviewing the existing retention and disposal schedule, and re-assessing safeguards of collection systems in use.

If you would like more information about this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) please contact:

Program E-mail:
Health Canada's End-of-Life Care Unit at: eolc-sfv@hc-sc.gc.ca