Check It Out: Is Canada going off course?

By Joan Janzen

Luke Skywalker said, “Yoda, we’ve been walking for hours! Are you sure that we’re going the right way?”

Yoda answered in his typical backwards way of speaking, “For the tenth time, told you, I have! Off course, we are!”

That’s a bit of Star Wars humour to begin a topic that is devoid of humour and difficult to discuss. My question today is - where is Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) headed? You may point out that MAID is all about the terminally ill, a foreseeable death and compassion, which is a contentious subject for many. But there’s more that needs to be discussed.

An article in the National Post stated that beginning in March 2023, Canada will become one of the few nations in the world allowing MAID for people whose sole underlying condition is depression, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, PTSD, or any other mental affliction.

Bill C7 repealed the requirement of terminal illness or reasonably foreseeable death, expanding MAID for competent adults whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. The wording used is: applicants would be people suffering from an illness that cannot be relieved under conditions that you would see as acceptable.

Dignity and compassion are the key words utilized by both government and media when discussing MAID. From a financial perspective, the government also discussed the fiscal advantages; removing this barrier could save the government $62 million/year.

The law also allows the poor to die with dignity, and there have been people who applied because they could no longer financially afford to keep on living. However, they could afford MAID, since the government covers the cost.

The National Post article quoted the past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Assoc., Dr. Sonu Gaind, who said the most fundamental safeguard has already been bypassed because there is no scientific evidence that doctors can predict when a mental illness cannot be remedied. “We try to target treatments as best we can. But the reality is, we don’t understand what’s going on - on a fundamental biological level, unlike with the vast majority of these other predictable conditions,” he said.

Gaind continued to explain that experience in the Netherlands and other countries shows that twice as many women seek and receive MAID for mental illness. This concerned him because it parallels the ratio of suicide attempts.

“Most who attempt suicide once don’t try again and don’t subsequently actually take their lives. So, the concern is, are we then shifting this transient suicide into a permanent death?” Gaind asked.

Most recently, a 23-year-old who has had Type 1 Diabetes since he was four and recently lost eyesight in his left eye, applied for MAID and was accepted. His mother said no help or intervention of any kind was offered to her son. He was given an application that lasted 90 days, and he was approved.

Coincidentally, beginning in March 2023, the creation of a three digit national suicide prevention number will be implemented, which was previously approved by parliament. According to the Canadian Medical Assoc. Journal, suicide is one of the top ten causes of death in Canada. Will the March 2023 changes to MAID amplify that situation?

In the journal, an example was given of a Saskatoon man who had attempted to take his life numerous times. The man said that easy access to suicide prevention services could make the difference between life and death for many Canadians. So does it follow that easy access to MAID could also make the difference between life and death for many Canadians? And let’s not forget, the Canadian government is simultaneously providing both of these services.

The Canadian Medical Association says, “We envision a world in which people enjoy an optimal quality of life, are long living, socially responsible and optimistic about the future.”

The mother of the 23-year-old, I mentioned earlier said, “This action has long-reaching consequences for all young adults and teens. It will affect them and their parents going through the journey, knowing that when the going gets tough, that they can make a decision to have help in dying. This system that allows troubled young adults to make a life-altering decision is wrong.” She echoes the sentiments of many who have loved ones who suffer from a mental illness.

The past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association observed, “With depression, you see nothing, and there’s that hopelessness.” So what’s the remedy for hopelessness?

An inspirational quote states, “Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.”

Hope is the solution for hopelessness. But won’t it be more challenging for suicide prevention workers to provide hope when the government is simultaneously offering them MAID?

A community care worker from British Columbia said, “I grew up in Ethiopia. Everybody has trauma. You remember as it is: sad, but it doesn’t mean you need to die. Suffering is natural. We can’t live without challenge; that’s life. We can overcome it. That’s human nature.”

Do you think Yoda got it right when he said, “For the tenth time, told you, I have! Off course, we are!”