Too many too fast? Number of assisted deaths in Canada up 32% from 2020

The fast-rising number of medically assisted deaths across the country has some Canadians worried about the potential for abuse while others are expressing approval at what they see as the growing awareness and acceptance of a compassionate way to end life. Last year saw 10,064 assisted deaths in Canada, an increase of 32.4% from 2020, according to a report in the Calgary Sun, which also noted a 6.5% increase from the previous year in the number of Albertans who received MAID in 2021. More than 80% of requests for MAID were granted last year. Among those whose requests were refused in 2021, a large majority had already died, according to Health Canada. “The increase in the overall percentage of people who die by MAID has come very quickly, it's very high even when compared to even the most liberal regimes in the world: Belgium and the Netherlands," said Trudo Lemmens, chair of health law and policy at the University of Toronto. "We've already passed them after just six years." Read: Non-profit aiming to provide homey atmosphere for MAiD patients seeks permanent location MAID currently accounts for 3.3% of total deaths across the country. Certain provinces take up a higher share of the national figure. In Quebec and B.C., medically assisted deaths represent close to 5% of province-wide fatalities. By comparison, MAID accounts for just under 2% of deaths in Alberta. The percentage of MAID in Canada is higher than in Belgium, where euthanasia and assisted suicide accounted for 2% of total deaths. But Canada ranks lower compared to the Netherlands, where assisted deaths accounted for 4.4% of total fatalities. Lemmens said Canada’s fast-rising MAID numbers may be driven by a growing acceptance of assisted death in the healthcare system, along with expanded criteria that goes beyond people in an irreversible state of decline who face a foreseeable death. "We need to know more—I'm concerned because MAID is not what was originally put forward ... it's clearly no longer an exceptional procedure," he said. Read: Why is access to medically assisted death a legislated right, but access to palliative care isn’t? Lemman is also worried about plans to further expand the criteria for MAID next year to include patients suffering solely from grievous or irredeemable mental illness. In passing this proposal, Canada’s Health Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, said the government will create an expert panel to advise on protocol and safeguards. But that provided little reassurance for Lehman. "We've already had cases of mental illness being the reason people asked for it," he said. "Should we accept it becoming some kind of therapy for all kinds of suffering?" Richard Dur, executive director of Prolife Alberta, said in an email that Canadians in the past year have seen the "slippery slope of euthanasia turn into a cliff." "Life is sacred, and every life should be treated with equal value, dignity and respect," he wrote. Read: Experts see Canada's euthanasia laws as threat to disabled Not everyone shares Lemmens and Dur's concerns about MAID. A 2020 Leger poll found 74% of Canadians support MAID, even when death isn’t foreseeable for patients requesting it. Helen Long, CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada, said that while it’s important to monitor MAID to help prevent abuse of the program, maintaining the status quo for criteria is not the answer. She agreed that Canada needs to address concerns that people with disabilities or struggling with inadequate social supports may be vulnerable to inappropriate applications of MAID. “From a human rights perspective, every Canadian who meets the criteria should be afforded MAID," said Long. Read: Facing the end of life cannot be easy

Too many too fast? Number of assisted deaths in Canada up 32% from 2020

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