Category: medical assistance in dying

Federal Department Funded Children’s ‘Activity Book’ on Medically Assisted Suicide

A federal department helped fund the publication of a children’s “activity book” meant to inform young people about medical assistance in dying, or MAiD. Titled “Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Activity Book” and published by the Canadian Virtual Hospice (CVH), the book is split into eight chapters, the first seven of which answer questions like, “What…


Veterans Affairs Minister Responds to New Allegations of Veterans Being Offered Unsolicited Assisted Suicide

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay today responded to several new allegations of veterans being offered unsolicited medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, by at least one of his department’s caseworkers. MacAulay told MPs on the House of Commons Veterans Affairs Committee that his department is aware of only four cases in which veterans have been offered…


MPs Hear of Sixth Allegation of Federal Department Offering Unsolicited Assisted Suicide to Veteran

A sixth veteran has alleged that she was offered unprompted medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, by a federal department responsible for providing medical care and rehabilitation to those who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Christine Gauthier, a retired CAF corporal and a former team-Canada Paralympian at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, told the…


Psychiatry Association Expresses Concerns Ahead of Government’s Expansion of MAiD for Mentally Ill

Canada’s top psychiatrists are calling on the federal government to delay its planned eligibility expansion of medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, to include patients whose sole medical condition is mental illness, which is set to come into effect in March 2023. The Canadian Association of Chairs of Psychiatry (CPA), which represents the leading psychiatrists at…


The Slippery Slope of Medical Assistance in Dying

Commentary In 2017, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons published a document concerning a procedure now known universally in Canada as MAID, Medical Assistance in Dying, though its acronym could just as well have been the slightly less cuddly MAD. This year the college has suggested (pdf) that under no circumstances should doctors put…


‘Not Enough Supports’: Manitoba Woman Chose Assisted Suicide Due to Lack of Home Care

A Manitoba woman received medical assistance in dying on Oct. 3 because she was unable to receive adequate medical care at home and did not want to move into a health-care facility as an alternative. Sathya Dhara Kovac, a resident of Winnipeg, suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nervous system disease that progressively affects nerve cells…


Canada’s Liberalized Assisted Death Laws: Manitoba Woman Chose Assisted Suicide Due to Lack of Home Care

A Manitoba woman received medical assistance in dying on Oct. 3 because she was unable to receive adequate medical care at home and did not want to move into a health-care facility as an alternative. Canada has the most permissive assisted death law in the world, and will be expanding eligibility criteria further next year….


House Votes Down Conscience Rights Bill for Health-Care Workers

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, MPs voted down a Conservative member’s bill that would have protected the conscience rights of health-care workers unwilling to participate “directly or indirectly” in medical assistance in dying, or MAiD. Bill C-230, introduced in February by Saskatchewan Conservative MP Kelly Block, aimed to amend the Criminal Code to “make it an offence…


Critics Relieved Saskatchewan’s Health Phone Line Drops Assisted Suicide Information

SASKATOON—Until recently, if you dialed the 811 health line in Saskatchewan looking for help with everything from COVID-19 to mental health and addictions, one of the options was contacting the medical assistance in dying (MAID) program. “Press 5 if you wish to leave a message with the Medical Assistance in Dying Program,” said the recorded…


Tories Call for Investigation After Veteran Allegedly Offered Medically Assisted Death

The Conservatives are calling for an investigation into allegations that a Veteran Affairs (VAC) worker recommended medical assistance in dying, or MAID, to a veteran seeking treatment for his injuries. “It has come to my attention that a Veteran seeking access to treatment from Veterans Affairs Canada for PTSD and a traumatic brain injury related…