For Immediate Release — April 22, 2026 

Inclusion Alberta welcomes the passage of Bill 18, recognizing it as a vital provincial measure to safeguard the rights and lives of persons with disabilities. We commend the Government of Alberta for bringing forward this legislation and we note the bipartisan consensus. The Official Opposition went on the public record affirming their support for ending the provision of Track 2 Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) within Alberta’s healthcare system. 

This cross‑party acknowledgment reflects an important shared understanding: Track 2 is discriminatory in that it offers assisted suicide to those not dying and it applies only to persons with disabilities. If a person who is not dying and does not have a disability is suffering, our healthcare system and society respond by working to prevent suicide and provide care and support. It is profoundly harmful and dehumanizing that the lives of people with disabilities are not recognized and treated as equally valued. 

“Inclusion Alberta applauds the commitment shown by MLAs who recognized the urgent need to protect persons with disabilities from the discrimination inherent in Track 2 MAID and from its irreversible consequences,” said Trish Bowman, CEO of Inclusion Alberta. 

“As a parent, I need to know that when my adult daughter faces hardship or suffering, the response from our society and healthcare system will always be to support her to live and not harm her,” said Tina Trigg, President of Inclusion Alberta and parent of a young adult with an intellectual disability. “Bill 18 matters because it reflects a shared affirmation across party lines that people with disabilities deserve support, dignity, and equal care—not a separate path to death simply because they have a disability.” 

Canadians with disabilities have repeatedly and publicly documented they are being offered assisted death while being denied essential disability, healthcare, housing, and income supports. National disability rights organizations that have long raised these concerns, have publicly endorsed Bill 18, including the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Disability Without Poverty,Indigenous Disability Canada, Inclusion Canada, and the Disabled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada. 

While provincial measures like Bill 18 can reduce immediate risks by regulating how MAID is delivered within provincial healthcare systems, they cannot fully resolve the underlying legal inequity.  True and lasting protection requires Parliament to amend the Criminal Code to permanently end Track 2. 

There is broad and growing recognition—provincially, nationally, and from United Nations human rights bodies—that Track 2 is incompatible with the rights and security of persons with disabilities. Inclusion Alberta stands with national disability organizations urging the federal government to act without delay to end Track 2 and to ensure Canadians with disabilities have the same Criminal Code protections prohibiting assistance in committing suicide that all other Canadians already expect and rely upon. 

“Bill 18 is an important step,” said Bowman. “The next steps must address the systemic barriers, poverty, social isolation, and gaps in essential services, funding, and supports that cause suffering. These are challenges we must confront together. Government investment matters, and so does the willingness of communities to act to include, support, and value people with disabilities.” 

-30-

Inclusion Alberta Chief Executive Officer Trish Bowman is available for interviews. Please contact Sara Protasow to arrange an interview at sprotasow@inclusionalberta.org or 780-906-4693. 

About Inclusion Alberta: Inclusion Alberta is a family-based, non-profit federation that advocates on behalf of children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families. Together, we share a dream of meaningful family life and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities. As an advocacy organization we support families and individuals in their desire to be fully included in community life.