Disability groups files legal challenge against Canada’s euthanasia regime

‘Instead of providing the support and resources we need to live, our government is offering death,’ a coalition of disability advocacy groups said in a press release about its legal challenge to Canada’s euthanasia regime.

A coalition of Canadian disability advocacy groups have banded together to file a “Charter Challenge” against the federal government for allowing the euthanasia of people who are not terminally ill but suffer from chronic illness or disability.

The coalition said its legal challenge, which is before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, “is about protecting the equality and human rights of all people with disabilities in Canada,” as set out in the nation’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Instead of providing the support and resources we need to live, our government is offering death. It’s unacceptable, and we won’t stand for it,” noted National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) Heather Walkus in a press release for the coalition released on September 27.

The coalition is made up of the CCD, Inclusion Canada, Indigenous Disability Canada (IDC/BCANDS), DAWN Canada, and two people who were harmed by Canada’s so-called “Track 2 MAiD” allowances.

The group said it “opposes” Track 2 of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law, “which provides assisted suicide to people with a disability who are not dying, or whose death is not ‘reasonably foreseeable.’”

The group is claiming in its court challenge that making MAiD available to people who are not dying but may have a serious medical condition is a violation of their “fundamental rights” to liberty and security of the person.

According to Inclusion Canada’s Executive Vice-President Krista Carr, people in Canada “are dying” as a consequence of the current law.

“We are witnessing an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted suicide due to social deprivation, poverty, and lack of essential supports,” noted Carr.

When MAiD was first legalized by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016 it was restricted to those whose death was considered “reasonably foreseeable.” While euthanasia is tantamount to murder and thus gravely immoral even in cases of terminal illness, as taught by the Catholic Church, the law was loosened further in 2021 with the allowance of “Track 2” cases.

In its press release, the coalition noted that “Track 2 MAiD” has resulted in “premature deaths and an increase in discrimination and stigma towards people with disabilities across the country.”

“While they are not challenging MAiD Track 1 in this case, they recognize that it too can pose significant problems for people with disabilities. Track 2 MAiD has had a direct negative impact on the lives of people with disabilities.”

The coalition, which supports “Track 1” cases, is “urging the court” to “strike down Track 2 of Canada’s MAiD law, arguing that providing assisted death solely on the basis of disability is unconstitutional.”

Despite the immorality of euthanasia in general, and the extra threat posed by Canada’s additional allowance of “Track 2” cases, euthanasia advocates continue to insist the laws be further expanded.

LifeSiteNews recently reported how the Quebec government said it will soon allow early “advance” requests for euthanasia despite it being disallowed by current federal law. If such a practice were allowed, it would mean a person in Quebec could “agree” to be killed at some point in the future, and thus would not have to give consent at the time of their actual death.

Beyond current “Track 2” cases, Trudeau’s Liberal government has even tried to expand euthanasia to those suffering solely from mental illness.

In February, after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027.

Overall, the number of Canadians killed by lethal injection under the nation’s MAiD program since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.

Don't Miss

Federal government should listen to Canadians and trim the bureaucracy

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Disability groups files legal challenge against Canada’s euthanasia regime

Censorship Industrial Complex / 5 hours ago

TikTok partners with WHO to train influencers, ‘combat misinformation’

Economy / 6 hours ago

Federal government should listen to Canadians and trim the bureaucracy

MAiD

Quebec to allow ‘advance’ requests for euthanasia in apparent violation of federal law

Published on September 15, 2024

Todayville

Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The province has the highest rate of MAiD in Canada, with a 17 percent increase in 2023 alone and 5,686 deaths reported. This represents a staggering 7.3 percent of all deaths in the province that year and means that Quebec has the highest euthanasia rates in the world.

The Quebec government said it will soon allow early “advance” requests for euthanasia even though it is still not allowed by federal law.

Starting October 30, Quebec residents will be able to request Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in advance. The provincial law to allow MAiD in advance was passed in June 2023 and came with a timeline stating that it had to be put into force within 24 months.

On September 7, provincial Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette of the Coalition Avenir Québec government said in a statement to the media that all residents in the province will soon be able to ask for advance MAiD requests. In August, senior ministers from the provincial government said they would not “wait any longer” for Canada’s federal Criminal Code to be amended to allow the change.

As it stands, the federal government has not approved MAiD by advance request, meaning it is not legal.

When it comes to criminal law, this falls under federal jurisdiction, which promoted Jolin-Barrette, as reported by CBC, going as far as to ask the Crown’s Prosecution Office to not lay any charges when medical personnel terminate the life of a person who has asked for an advance request.

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland, recently asked about Quebec going ahead with its new MAiD rules, said the government is “still evaluating it because we’ve just received it, and it’s important that we have a conversation as a society about the implications of this.”

In Canada, there are two euthanasia laws, those passed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government and those in Quebec, which passed Bill 11 in 2023. The bill expands MAiD to those with a serious physical disability and mandates hospices offer the procedure in addition to allowing euthanasia by advance request.

As it stands today, Quebec has the highest rate of MAiD in Canada, with a 17 percent increase in 2023 alone and 5,686 deaths reported. This represents a staggering 7.3 percent of all deaths in the province that year and means that Quebec has the highest euthanasia rates in the world.

When it comes to MAiD, Trudeau’s Liberal government sought to expand it from the chronically and terminally ill to those suffering solely from mental illness.

Overall, the number of Canadians killed by lethal injection since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.

armed forces

Veteran Affairs Canada took steps to conceal its promotion of euthanasia: report

Published on September 1, 2024

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

In 2,220 pages of documents obtained via an access to information request by Rebel News, records show that Veterans Affairs Canada took steps to avoid a paper trail after suffering service members accused the department of promoting euthanasia.

The federal department in charge of helping Canadian veterans appears to have purposefully prevented the existence of a paper after scandalous reports surfaced alleging that caseworkers had recommended euthanasia to suffering service members.

In 2,220 pages of documents obtained via an access to information request by Rebel News, records show that Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) chose to use verbal updates, as opposed to written updates, when speaking to senior staff, seemingly to prevent the creation of a paper trail related to allegations that department caseworkers were recommending Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to veterans instead of offering them full treatment.

The documents and their contents come after a number of veterans, who were dealing with acute post-traumatic stress disorder, came forward saying that their caseworkers told them they should apply for MAiD.

Indeed, the original delay in expanding MAiD for those suffering solely from mental illness came after numerous public scandals surrounding the deadly program, including the surfacing of reports that Canadian veterans were being offered the fatal procedure by workers at VAC.

VAC Minister Lawrence MacAulay claimed at the time that there was only one caseworker who was responsible for the MAiD scandal, however, this appears not to be the case.

According to Rebel News’ reporting of the documents, “On page 21, we can see in the media lines that Veterans Affairs officials were planning to claim there were no other incidents of Veterans Affairs staff telling veterans to kill themselves. They had to remove that from their talking points because other veterans came forward.”

It appears that staff claimed the other cases were only incidents in which veterans were inquiring about whether MAiD would prevent them from getting benefits after their death, as is the case in suicide.

A quote from page 31 reads, “Veterans may approach VAC following their decision to pursue medical assistance in dying. In those cases, Veterans Affairs helps the veteran and the family understand their benefits as well as other sports services that may be relevant to the veteran’s unique circumstances.”

On page 679, real evidence of a “cover up” begins to show itself, reported Rebel News, with records showing VAC media staff saying that only verbal updates should be issued: “recommendation to keep the updates verbally to a limited distribution but will follow DMO 0SD’s preferred format and frequency.”

Page 2,125 reads, “Hello all, it’s interesting to follow the thrice-daily media report emails to see how far the main story is traveling. Yesterday, it was reported by a couple of US news outlets, and today, it is in the UK Daily Mail.”

“It is interesting to see how much coverage it’s getting,” the VAC staff added, also noting, “I had wondered if there would be anyone else to come out of the woodwork to say it had happened to them too but so far nothing (thankfully).”

LifeSiteNews recently published a report noting how a Canadian combat veteran and artillery gunner revealed, while speaking on a podcast with Dr. Jordan Peterson, that the drugs used in MAiD essentially waterboard a person to death.

Euthanasia first became legal in Canada in 2016 for those with terminal illness. Since then, the eligibly criteria has been loosened to allow the chronically ill, not just the terminally ill, to qualify for death. 

Desiring to expand the procedure to even more Canadians, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government sought to expand from just the chronically and terminally ill, to those suffering solely from mental illness.

However, in February, after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027.

The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher. 