Euthanasia

A deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending the life of another person, where that act is the cause of death.

Full legal history of Euthanasia in Canada: The Canadian Encyclopedia

EUTHANASIA (MAID) IS CONSIDERED PART OF CANADA’S HEALTH CARE

CANADA IS 1 OF 7 COUNTRIES THAT HAVE LEGALIZED EUTHANASIA FOR HUMANS

PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE IS LEGAL IN AN ADDITIONAL 2 COUNTRIES, 1 STATE IN AUSTRALIA, AND 9 STATES IN THE USA

THE AVERAGE AGE OF THOSE OBTAINING EUTHANASIA IN CANADA IS 73

EUTHANASIA DEATHS ARE 57% MORE LIKELY TO TAKE PLACE IN LARGE URBAN AREAS

SLIGHTLY MORE MEN (51%) THAN WOMEN (49%) HAVE Recieved EUTHANASIA

CANCER (64%) IS THE MOST COMMON UNDERLYING CONDITION.

QUEBEC'S EUTHANASIA LAW DOES NOT REQUIRE PHYSICIANS TO REPORT EUTHANASIA ON DEATH CERTIFICATES

A brief history of euthanasia legalization in Canada

In February 2015, the Supreme Court voted unanimously (9–0) to allow physician-assisted suicide under specific conditions and instructed Parliament to craft a new law within 12 months. Both Conservative and Liberal governments failed to do this, so in June 2016, euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, became legal with no new law to govern it.

Bill C-14, The Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Act, was approved later that month and became law in June 2016. It outlined eligibility criteria and provided safeguards to protect vulnerable people from abuse of the law, as well as a commitment to review in 5 years.

MAID requires a doctor or nurse practitioner to confirm an applicant meets the eligibility criteria. Some key criteria:

• the request is voluntary and not the result of external pressure

• informed consent: information on options to relieve suffering is shared

• must have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” that causes “enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable” to them

• must be in an “advanced state of irreversible decline,” in which their “natural death has become reasonably foreseeable.”

By the end of 2019 there were 13,946 reported deaths by euthanasia across Canada (see chart below).

Before the 5 year review of the law was held, Bill C-7 was introduced.

Bill C-7 aimed at expanding access to MAID and reducing some of the eligibility and procedural safeguards:

• natural death no longer needs to be “reasonably foreseeable.” This includes people with disabilities or chronic but not fatal illnesses. 

• the 10 day waiting period was removed for those whose death is “reasonably foreseeable.” This makes it possible to apply and receive euthanasia on the same day. For those whose death is not reasonably foreseeable, the waiting period is 90 days.

• allows for advanced directives, making it possible for a medical practitioner to proceed with euthanasia after a patient is no longer able to give consent.

• permits euthanasia for reasons of mental illness alone, beginning in 2023.

  • MAiD legislation related to mental illness has been postponed to March 2024.

How MAID is done

Bill C-14 allows for MAID through 2 specific procedures:

1. Where a physician or nurse practitioner directly administers a substance that causes death to the person who as requested it.

2. Where a physician or nurse practitioner gives or prescribes a substance to a patient that they self-administer to cause their own death.

Reporting & Data

The latest Government produced report on MAID in Canada was released in 2020.

The latest Ontario data comes from the Office of the Chief Coroner MAiD Stats Report as of Dec. 2022. It states that since MAiD began in 2016, there have been 679 MAiD deaths in Halton Region.

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition provides further breakdown of the numbers with a focus on Ontario in their blog here.

Hover over the graph elements below to see exact numbers.

“The MAID expansion makes death a troubling, easily-accessible 'treatment option' for a large segment of disabled people in Canada.”

- CTV News March 10, 2021

“There is no protocol in place to demonstrate that persons with disabilities have been provided with viable alternatives when eligible for assisted dying. I have further received worrisome claims about persons with disabilities in institutions being pressured to seek medical assistance in dying, and practitioners not formally reporting cases involving persons with disabilities.”

- UN Report 2019 Ms. Devandas-Aguilar

"International evidence shows that one of the top five reasons that people request euthanasia or assisted dying is precisely because they feel like a burden on their families.”

- Paula Tesoriero, NZ Disability Commissioner

“In under five years, Canada has reneged on the compromise reached to limit MAID to those at the end of life. It will now extend MAID to those with mental illness with almost no legislative study or debate. All this has happened during a global pandemic, when people with disabilities are fighting to stay alive.”

- Toronto Star, March 11, 2021