PsyCan Welcomes Bill C-286, Thomas’ Bill, to Create a Clearer Regulated Pathway for Medical Psilocybin Access

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TORONTO, June 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PsyCan, the trade association representing Canada’s legally operating medical psychedelics sector, welcomes the introduction of Bill C-286, a private member’s bill that would create a clearer regulated pathway for medical access to psilocybin and psilocin while preserving Health Canada’s drug-approval process.

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“At a time when communities across the country continue to face unprecedented rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and overdose, Thomas’ Bill is an important and overdue step toward modernizing Canada’s approach to medical psilocybin access while preserving evidence-based drug review,” said Austin Miller, President of Bluestem and Chair of PsyCan’s Board of Directors.

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“Canadians living with serious mental health, addiction, trauma, and end-of-life distress deserve policies grounded in evidence, compassion, and public health,” Miller added.

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This bill bears the name of Thomas Hartle—not just as a tribute, but as a reminder of a profound human tragedy. A devoted Saskatchewan father who fought stage IV colon cancer, Thomas became the face of Canada’s broken psilocybin system. In 2020, he made history as the first Canadian to receive a legal exemption for psilocybin therapy, finally finding relief from suffocating end-of-life challenges. But the system failed him. As his cancer progressed, his renewal requests sat unanswered for months, forcing a dying man to spend his final, precious days fighting bureaucratic silence just to maintain his peace of mind.

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Bill C-286 would amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Food and Drugs Act to remove psilocybin and psilocin from the restricted-drug category and place them within an existing controlled-drug medical framework. The bill would also require priority review status for new drug submissions involving psilocybin, psilocin, their salts, or substantially similar compounds. In practical terms, the bill would not bypass Health Canada’s drug-review process; it would create a clearer, faster, and more predictable regulated pathway for medical access.

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PsyCan commends Saskatoon—University MP Corey Tochor for introducing this landmark bill. By championing the cause of his late constituent, Thomas Hartle, MP Tochor has elevated the national dialogue around medical psilocybin. His leadership moves Canada one step closer to a safe, regulated framework that helps ensure vulnerable patients are not left dependent on slow, uncertain, case-by-case access alone.

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Health Canada’s Special Access Program has allowed case-by-case, practitioner-led requests for psilocybin and MDMA since 2022, but approvals are slow, unpredictable, and unsuited to meet growing need.

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A release of SAP records requested by PsyCan under the Access to Information Act last year shows psilocybin and MDMA approvals dropping dramatically, with only half as many SAP requests for psychedelic therapy being approved compared to 2024. Timelines on decisions have also been growing dramatically. [1]

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Meanwhile, peer jurisdictions are building clearer regulated pathways. The United States has taken steps to accelerate research, review, and potential access pathways for psychedelic therapies targeting serious mental illness, while Australia has created a regulated framework allowing authorized psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin and MDMA for specific mental health conditions.