Send an urgent message to Canadian legislators urging them to stop expanding assisted suicide
OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — The Trudeau government still intends to provide euthanasia to mentally ill Canadians, but provincial health ministers are asking for the measure to be “indefinitely” postponed.
On January 30, health ministers from Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut appealed to Liberal Health Minister Mark Holland to “indefinitely pause” expanding MAiD eligibility to the mentally ill.
Health ministers from ON, AB, NB, NS, SK, PEI, BC, Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut are calling on Ottawa to “indefinitely pause” expanding MAID eligibility to mental illness.
Concerns about a consistent and safe approach, time for training, and an expected jump in patients#CdnPoli pic.twitter.com/1Hh4oJfsER
— Colton Praill (@ColtonPraill) January 30, 2024
On January 29, Holland told Canadians that the Liberal government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is still seeking to expand MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) to those suffering from mental health issues; it just needs more time to prepare the “system.”
“We agree with the conclusion that the committee has come to that the system is not ready, and more time is required,” Holland told reporters, referring to a report that “fundamental issues” regarding the expansion have yet to be resolved.
Trudeau’s health minister says “the system is at this time not ready and more time is required” to expand MAiD to those for whom mental illness is “the sole underlying condition” pic.twitter.com/Z4hYcduaWh
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 29, 2024
The new provision, which was to take effect in March, would have relaxed legislation around so-called MAiD to include those suffering solely from mental illness. This is a result of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which also allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for so-called doctor-assisted death.
On Monday, following pushback from Canadians, Holland announced that Canada is not ready for the expansion and has determined to delay it. However, Holland stressed that this is not an abandonment of the new policy but merely a postponement.
“There are people who have, for decades, been trapped in mental torture, being in a horrific situation where they have tried everything and exhausted all avenues and under their own recognisance are saying that they want access to MAiD,” he claimed.
“What we’re saying is that… someone in that intractable situation… should have that right, but the system needs to be ready, and the system needs to get it right,” he added, not explaining how being killed would help their situation.
Holland did not reveal when the expansion is expected to take effect but disclosed that “those individuals are gonna have to wait a little longer” to end their lives by lethal injection.
Reporter: “Is your intention to still move ahead with MAiD for mental illness, just within a longer timeframe?”
Trudeau’s health minister: “That’s correct.” pic.twitter.com/XzGs7QoexU
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 29, 2024
The Liberal government’s desire to expand MAiD to those suffering with mental health issues comes despite several experts, and provincial health ministers, warning against the move.
READ: Canada’s top pro-life group urges Trudeau gov’t to drop euthanasia expansion entirely
The provincial health ministers’ appeal echoes that of leading Canadian psychiatrist Dr. K. Sonu Gaind, who testified that the expansion of MAiD “is not so much a slippery slope as a runaway train.”
Similarly, in November, several Canadian psychiatrists warned that the country is “not ready” for the coming expansion of euthanasia to those who are mentally ill. They said that further liberalizing the procedure is not something that “society should be doing” as it could lead to deaths under a “false pretence.”
The expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness even has the far-left New Democratic Party (NDP) concerned. Dismissing these concerns, a Trudeau Foundation fellow actually said Trudeau’s current euthanasia regime is marked by “privilege,” assuring the Canadian people that most of those being put to death are “white,” “well off,” and “highly educated.”
The most recent reports show that MAiD is the sixth highest cause of death. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’stop 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022. When asked why MAiD was left off the list, the agency explained that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.
READ: The rapid expansion of Canada’s euthanasia regime should be a warning to the world
According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year,a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.
While the numbers for 2023 have yet to be released, all indications point to a situation even more grim than 2022.
Meanwhile, the pro-life Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC)has launched a campaign to have the expansion thrown out. The campaign includes a rally and media conference on Parliament Hill on February 6 at 11 a.m. local time.
The movement also features a parliamentary postcard campaign, encouraging Canadians to send letters stating: “I demand that the government reverse its decision to permit ‘MAiD’ for mental illness alone.”
The cards can be ordered for free by contacting EPC at: 1-877-439-3348 or email: [email protected].
EPC also launched a petition to urge the Justice Minister to offer real care to those suffering from mental illness and not death by lethal injection.
Send an urgent message to Canadian legislators urging them to stop expanding assisted suicide