Right to Die Society of Canada founder Hofsess admitted in an article published after taking his own life in Switzerland that he killed eight Canadians including the poet Al Purdy. Canadian right-to-die activist John Hofsess, who was euthanized in a Swiss clinic on Feb. 29 at age 78, confessed posthumously in an article published by Toronto Life that he killed [...]
We are a newspaper so mostly we offer news and commentary on current events. Predicting the future is obviously speculative, but for those who wonder what euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide might be like in a decade-and-a-half, look no further than the Report of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hand-chosen panel of MPs and senators spent much [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell I get the impression that the phrase “doctor-assisted dying” is becoming a media favourite. Don’t journalists know that we’ve been dying unassisted since time immemorial? We don’t need help dying. It comes natural to us. If anything, we need help living. I thought that’s what doctors were for. Doctor-assisted living, I understand. Doctors routinely help us [...]
The Canadian Association of Retired Persons, Canada’s largest organization for seniors, dismissed Susan Eng, executive vice-president of advocacy at CARP Canada for the past eight years, apparently because she was “insubordinate,” but more likely because she did not toe the now officially pro-euthanasia position of the organization. CARP is run by media magnate Moses Znaimer, a founding patron of Dying with Dignity [...]
Cardinal Thomas Collins Editor’s Note: On Feb. 3, Cardinal Thomas Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto, made the following presentation to Special Joint Committee on Physician-assisted Dying on behalf of Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience. We were brought together by a common mission: to respect the sanctity of human life, which is a gift of God; to protect the vulnerable; [...]
House leader Dominic LeBlanc is rethinking whipping assisted suicide. One week after saying the government would whip the vote on the forthcoming bill on physician-assisted suicide, the Liberal House leader said it is too early to tell if the government’s bill will be whipped. On Feb. 11, Liberal House Leader Dominic LeBlanc told the Globe and Mail that the government [...]
Senator Denise Batters says psychological suffering should not be reason for assisted suicide. A Cree MP and a senator who is the widow of a suicide victim have spoken out against permitting physician-assisted suicide for psychiatric reasons. Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette (Winnipeg Centre) told the Globe and Mail he is concerned with what signals doctor-assisted suicide will send to those [...]
Catherine Ferrier of Living with Dignity condemns assisted-suicide being treated "an additional option' for patients. A Quebec regional health agency has blandly announced what is believed to be the province’s first officially approved euthanization of a patient, but the news came in a manner that critics warn both trivializes homicide and bodes ill for the safety of vulnerable patients. “There [...]
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition executive director Alex Schadenberg says it is not possible to develop an effective law on assisted-suicide in four months. On Jan. 15, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the federal government a four-month extension to pass a law on the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. On Feb. 6, 2015, the Supreme Court struck down Canada’s assisted [...]
The Liberal government has asked the Supreme Court of Canada for an extension beyond the Feb. 6 deadline to come up with a new federal law on euthanasia and assisted-suicide.When the Court threw out the Criminal Code prohibitions on aiding and abetting a suicide, it stayed the decision for one year so the government could create a new law regulating assisted-suicide. With [...]
On Dec. 1, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that the province’s euthanasia law was inoperable until February because it was in conflict with the existing Criminal Code of Canada prohibitions on homicide. On Dec. 9, the Quebec Court of Appeal granted permission for the province to appeal the decision, but did not indicate whether it was staying the Superior Court’s decision. On [...]
On Oct. 31, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition held its annual symposium at downtown Montreal’s Best Western Ville Marie Hotel. Attendees spanned a wide range of ages and hometowns, including medical students from Calgary and veteran pro-life activists from the Maritimes. Talks were delivered in both official languages with simultaneous translation. Though there was no official theme, Quebec’s Bill 52 and the Supreme [...]
Following the Supreme Court’s Carter decision throwing out Canada’s prohibition on assisted-suicide, the Conservative government established an External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada. Just ten days after being sworn in, the Liberal government ordered a new mandate for the panel, one day before it was scheduled to report. On Nov. 14, Health Minister Jane Philpott and [...]
Since the federal election campaign began in early August, a variety of issues are being presented to the Canadian public in an effort to influence their vote. Assisted suicide is one topic that has not yet received the attention it deserves according to Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. Schadenberg told The Interim that his organization is “in a [...]
The Ontario Government is spearheading its own “expert panel” on euthanasia and assisted suicide in conjunction with many provinces and territories. The panel has set-up an online survey with skewed questions, nonetheless EPC is urging people to complete the survey. The Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group features a stacked deck with: co-chair, Maureen Taylor, (the widow of Dr Donald Low who demanded the [...]