Has killing become the new way of life in Canada? Another look at medical assisted suicide

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

In 2021, Canada had more than 10,000 cases of euthanasia, and the country was set to expand access to what it calls medical aid in dying in 2022. Even then activists warned that the laws on the books regulating euthanasia and assisted suicide were already too loose.

The law had already expanded access since it was first enacted in 2016, in response to a Canadian Supreme Court decision. At first, euthanasia and assisted suicide were legalized for persons aged 18 and over if they had a serious condition, disease, or disability that was in an advanced, irreversible state of decline and they were enduring “Unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be relieved under conditions that patients consider acceptable.” A person’s death had to be “Reasonably foreseeable,” and the request for euthanasia had to be approved by at least two physicians.

A later amendment allowed the procedures for persons who were not terminally ill, and the question here is why? This significantly broadened the number of people eligible, and 2021’s figure of 10,000 euthanasia deaths represented a 33% increase over the prior year’s statistics.

Human rights advocates began to take notice; they said that the country’s regulations lacked necessary safeguards, devalued the lives of disabled people, and was prompting doctors and health workers to suggest the procedure to those who might not otherwise consider it.

It was also reported that the Human Rights, the Criminal Code of Canada and numerous other codes and Acts in Quebec were modified in a surprisingly short period of time to make this process appear legal and legitimate. The rapid expansion of eligible participants seems to know no limits and little oversight, or effective remediation is included.

This is why the Natural and Common Law Tribunal For Public Health And Justice is making Canada’s MAiD – Medical Assistance in Dying program a priority and issuing an immediate Cease and Desist Order before it is too late.

Following an evidentiary hearing led by Tribunal Judge Gina Goad, a former British Columbia law enforcement Officer, the Natural and Common Law Tribunal for Public Health and Justice in its official findings held, inter alia, that:

“Equally troubling, advocates say, are instances in which people have sought to be killed [under MAiD] because they weren’t getting adequate government support to live. Canada is set to expand euthanasia access next year, but these advocates say the system warrants further scrutiny now. Euthanasia “cannot be a default for Canada’s failure to fulfill its human rights obligations,” said Marie-Claude Landry, the head of its Human Rights Commission.

Marie-Claude Landry said she shares the “grave concern” voiced last year by three U.N. human rights experts, who wrote that Canada’s euthanasia law appeared to violate the agency’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They said the law had a “discriminatory impact” on disabled people and was inconsistent with Canada’s obligations to uphold international human rights standards.

Tim Stainton, Director of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship at the University of British Columbia, described Canada’s law as “Probably the biggest existential threat to disabled people since the Nazis’ program in Germany in the 1930s.” That is a HUGE statement to make.

More people, per capita, are dying with medical assistance (MAiD) in Quebec than anywhere else in the world, according to Quebec’s commission on end-of-life care. Since the start of the pandemic, requests for the procedure have more than doubled— from 1,774 in 2019-2020 to 3,663 in 2021-22. The increase means the percentage of people who chose MAiD in Quebec is greater than in Belgium and the Netherlands, where it has been legal for decades. It has been legal in Quebec since 2015.

Military Veterans seeking help for depression, anxiety, PTSD via VA help phone line were offered MAiD by apparently one possibly 2 VA case workers. “Four — perhaps even five — Canadian military veterans were given the option of medically-assisted death (MAID) by a now-suspended Veterans Affairs Canada caseworker,” the country’s Veterans Minister told a House of Commons committee. “We remain confident that this is all related to one single employee, and it’s not a widespread or a systemic issue.”

A veteran and former Paralympian told a parliamentary committee that a caseworker from the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) offered her medical assistance in dying (MAID), a week after the Veteran’s Affairs minister confirmed that at least four other veterans were offered the same thing.

Retired Cpl. Christine Gauthier, who has been trying to get a wheelchair ramp installed at her home for the past five years, testified that a caseworker told her that they could give her assisted dying, even offering to supply the MAiD equipment for her. “I was completely shocked and in despair,” she told CTV’s Power Play. “It is remotely just what they’re doing: exhausting us to the point of no return.”  She was told, “Well, you know that we can assist you with assisted dying now if you’d like.”  Retired Cpl. Christine Gauthier was shocked, “Are you serious?’ Like that easy, you’re going to be helping me to die but you won’t help me to live?” she said.

A spokesperson for MacAulay said Veterans Affairs is taking the issue ‘very seriously,’ while adding that providing advice on MAID is “Not a VAC service. Our employees have no role, or mandate to recommend or raise it. Considerations for MAiD are the subject of discussions between a patient and their primary care providers to determine appropriateness in each individual context.”

Has killing become the new way of life in Canada? It seems so.