(L–R) Disability Inclusion Minister Carla Qualtrough, Justice Minister David Lametti, and Health Minister Patty Hajdu make an announcement about medical assistance in dying legislation at a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 24, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)
by Lee Harding
November 15, 2021
Recently released statistics and anecdotal accounts have caused anti-euthanasia activists increased concern, as they believe medically assisted death is not only permitted, but encouraged.
Medically assisted deaths in Quebec rose to 2,426 in the year ending March 31, an increase of 37 percent over the year before, and represented 3.3 percent of all deaths. The statistics were made public by the province’s commission on end-of-life care, which submitted its report to the Quebec parliament on Oct. 20.
Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said the increase is only slightly higher than rates in the rest of Canada. Since medical assistance in dying (MAiD) became legal in 2016, the number of Canadians who opted for the procedure rose from just over 1,000 in 2016 to 7,595 in 2020, according to Health Canada.
Schadenberg said MAiD has gained momentum since the Liberal government introduced and passed legislation to expand the scope as to who can receive the procedure.
“In the discussion leading up to Bill C-7, all of the cultural taboos about killing people with disabilities or extending this to people with mental health issues and things like that, it was breaking down the negativity or the concept of maybe it’s not a good idea to do this to anyone for any reason,” he told The Epoch Times.
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