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TORONTO — One of the most contentious issues sparked by Canada’s upcoming right-to-die legislation is whether people with mental illness should be eligible to seek a doctor’s help to end their lives, along with those suffering from a “grievous and irremediable” physical disease like terminal cancer.

Last week, a parliamentary committee recommended that Canadians with psychiatric disorders that cause intolerable suffering should be included in any regulations governing physician-assisted death, which becomes legal June 6 under the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark ruling a year ago.

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The court made no specific pronouncement about medically assisted dying for those with a psychiatric illness, and that has left mental health experts wondering how its decision might be interpreted — and what that could mean for such a vulnerable segment of the population.

“We know that society would not accept that people should be treated differently just because they have a different illness,” said Dr. Sonu Gaind, president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.