Canada’s Government-Assisted Suicide Program Hits Road Block

This article originally appeared on The American Spectator and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Elyse Apel

Canada has taken step after step to expand citizens’ access to euthanasia ever since 2016, when it first legalized the practice it euphemistically labeled “medical assistance in death,” or MAID.    

Officials recently announced that the Canadian government will be delaying a further expansion of the program, which would have allowed those suffering from mental illness to commit suicide. The expansion, which was slated to take effect on March 17, will not be considered again until March 2027.

The announcement was made by Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland after a special parliamentary committee determined that “the medical system in Canada is not prepared for medical assistance in dying where mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition,” according to a report from the committee on MAID and Mental Disorders: The Road Ahead.

Ya’ara Saks, the minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health, also gave a statement, which he ironically ended by sharing the suicide hotline number.

“We know that mental illness can cause real suffering,” Saks said. “That’s why supporting the mental health and well-being of people in Canada remains a priority for our government.”

Killing Thousands

In 2022, 13,102 people killed themselves using MAID, according to a report from Health Canada. The majority decided to die because they experienced a “loss of ability to engage in meaningful life activities.”

The surge of euthanasia in Canada outpaces all other nations in the world, with 4.1 percent of deaths in the nation now attributed to the program. The health minister said Canada will work quickly to ensure the “future readiness” of MAID’s expansion.

Media Response

The media’s response to the announcement has been mixed. 

On March 5, the U.S. News & World Report detailed the story of a 44-year-old Canadian woman struggling with “anorexia, clinical depression and PTSD” who hoped to commit suicide after the MAID expansion, saying its delay left her and “others like her reeling and isolated.”

Health Canada claims it “recognizes that mental illness can cause the same level of suffering as that of physical illnesses…. However, in its consultations with the provinces, territories, medical professionals, people with lived experience and other stakeholders, the Government of Canada has heard — and agrees — that the health system is not yet ready for this expansion.”

Many have been concerned about the apparent equivocation being made by the Canadian government. Marie-Claude Landry, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, said that MAID “cannot be a default for Canada’s failure to fulfill its human rights obligations,” while others point out its targeting of disabled people as very concerning.

Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Cooper, a member of the committee that released the report, hopes the program will never go into effect.

“Kicking the can down the road … is completely insufficient,” he said. “I don’t see any indication that the fundamental issues that are at the heart — or should be at the heart — of putting a pause on this expansion will be resolved.”

A Failing Health Care System

Many have looked toward Canada’s socialized and failing health system as the reason advocates are successful in popularizing MAID.

“Canada does not have ‘free health care.’ We have rationed death, which can be accelerated by MAID, which is government assisted suicide,” Jordan Peterson posted on X.

He’s not the only one to point this out.

“This is what free healthcare looks like in Canada,” one user posted to X, along with a video showing a line of people allegedly waiting to register for a doctor. “When they aren’t telling you to MAID yourself, of course.”

It’s likely MAID advocates will continue to push for further expansion of euthanasia in Canada. 

Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC), which receives funding from Pfizer, has advocated for children as young as 12 to have access to MAID.

“It’s your life. It’s your choice,” DWDC claims, which is a slogan that demonstrates the ultimate culmination of a culture totally radicalized by secularism.

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