The legislation, misleadingly called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), which permits a physician to kill a patient (euthanasia) under certain circumstances, is constantly being expanded.

It is reasonable to say now that the MAiD legislation has become a national disaster. It is a relentless tool to cut down lives. The physician’s lethal injection used in MAiD is as deadly as a machete, but less bloody. Vulnerable people, such as the poor, the disabled, the aged have entered within its circle of death, available on request.

This euthanasia legislation, passed in 2016 by the Trudeau government did initially have a few limitations on its use, but in the ensuing seven years, these limitations have been erased one by one. Loneliness and a supposed meaningless of life serve as the context or excuse to kill inconvenient people, instead of providing them with proper medical treatment, medical support benefits, and palliative care. Simply put, MAiD is being used for social, economic reasons. The lack of housing, lack of benefits for the needy/disabled, lack of access to or delay in medical treatment and a lack of hospital beds are remedied by the expedient process of MAiD to “treat” patients.

On Oct 21, 2023 Health Canada released the most recent statistics on euthanasia deaths in Canada.

  • In 2022, 13,241 people died under Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) provision, bringing the total number of MAiD deaths in Canada since 2016 to 44,958.
  • The total number of such deaths rose by 31.2 per cent in 2022 over 2021.
  • MAiD deaths accounted for 4.1 per cent of all deaths in Canada in 2022.

Mental illness, such as schizophrenia, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and depression are now being targeted as a reason for a person to qualify for MAiD. Will mental illness also include anorexia, bulimia and drug addicts? Probably. Many individuals with a mental illness are unable to make a rational decision on MAiD so they do not have the capacity to provide a valid consent. This fact is ignored and, instead, it is argued by MAiD enthusiasts that it is “unconstitutional” to deny individuals with mental health difficulties the “benefit” of MAiD on the basis that it would be discriminatory to do so.

Conservative MP Ed Fast (Abbotsford) saw this danger hurtling down the highway and introduced a private member’s Bill C-314 to stop MAiD from applying to the mentally ill.

On October 18, 2023, a vote was held in the House of Commons on Bill C-314 at second reading. The bill was narrowly defeated, 167 to 150.

However, it is significant that this vote disclosed that the MPs are in disarray over this issue. The vote, according to each political party, was as follows:

  • Every Conservative (CPC) MP present voted YES to C-314 (115 MPs)
  • NDP MPs present voted YES to C-314 (24 MPs)
  • Green MPs voted YES to C-314 (2 MPs)
  • Eight Liberal MPs present voted YES to C-314 (with 136 Liberal MPs voting NO)
  • 1 Independent MP voted YES to C-314 (with one Independent MP voting NO)
  • 30 Bloc Quebecois present voted NO (of 30 Bloc Quebecois MPs)

The above vote evidenced the concerns of many MPs regarding mental illness being included in MAiD legislation. Only the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois seemed to consider mental illness as an acceptable reason to apply the MAiD legislation.

A major concern about this expansion is that it will be a disaster for Aboriginal youth. Already those between ages 15 and 24 are more than six times likely to die by suicide than those who are not Indigenous. Adding mental illness to MAiD will likely only increase this disaster.

As a result of the apparent disunity in the House of Commons, it was decided to refer the issue back for review to the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, which is comprised of MPs and Senators. The majority on the committee are Liberals (the Senators appointed by Trudeau). With a majority vote, the committee will make a grand show of reviewing the MAiD legislation in regard to mental health, but it will have no intention of objectively following any evidence put before it. This same committee had previously reviewed the MAiD legislation and had recommended the expansion of MAiD to include mental illness.

In its previous review, this committee also recommended that the MAiD legislation be expanded to include mature minors and advance requests for MAiD for patients should they have dementia in the future. That committee did recommend that MAiD not be used for socioeconomic reasons. This latter recommendation was promptly ignored.

A lot of people do not agree with the committee report. A public letter, signed by 44 witnesses, was released on March 7, 2023, before the committee’s report was released, complaining of its bias. The letter was written by experts who had testified before the committee.

In their scathing letter, which was sent to the government, to medical officials, and to the committee itself, the witnesses stated that, during their testimony, they were routinely talked over, ignored, argued with, and, at times, openly disparaged by committee members who were in favour of amplifying and expanding the ideology of MAiD. It is not likely, therefore, that this proposed further review of the MAiD legislation will recommend that mental illness not be included. It is also highly likely that the committee will again piously recommend MAiD not be used for socioeconomic reasons and, again, this will be promptly ignored.

Action Required

Canada is already known as the euthanasia capital of the world. There is no need to confirm this further by including mental illness in this obnoxious, deadly legislation. Therefore, it is of critical importance that Canadians raise objections to this amendment.

According to an Agnus Reid poll, released on September 23, 2023, only 28% agreed to include mental illness as a reason for the killing of patients. On the other hand, significantly, 50% do not agree with this amendment. Further, a full 65% of Canadians believe that people, who already have trouble with mental health, will be even more vulnerable because of MAiD expansion. A large majority, 82%, believe that there should be an improvement in access to mental health support before we expand MAiD legislation to include mental illness. This is the clear voice of the public. Failure to listen to the public by the Trudeau government is unacceptable. The views of Canadians on this controversial issue must be followed. Trudeau has no right to apply his own progressive, woke ideology to this issue.

It is absolutely critical that everyone write to their MP regardless of his/her political party to insist that mental illness be rejected as a reason for MAiD.

Please also put this issue on social media, as well as in a letter to your local newspaper. Even if the letter is not published, it does serve the important purpose of indicating the public’s objection to any attempt to expand the already devastating MAiD legislation to include mental illness.