'Captain of their own ship': debate over MAID deepens as numbers climb
Despite a growing number of people who are opting for a doctor's help in ending their own lives, the practice remains controversial, and very much up for debate.
The latest statistics on MAID show a rapidly rising curve, including hundreds of Maritimers.
"Obviously, issues like this do tend to be polarizing," Dr. Gord Gubitz, Nova Scotia's MAID Access and Resource Team Medical Lead told CTV News on Tuesday.
"There are all sorts of factions in the country both 'for' and 'against' medically-assisted dying,"
"The truth of the matter for us is that it's the Canadian law, and so we have to be available to allow people who are applying for a medically-assisted death to be assessed, and if they're found eligible to have a medically-assisted death, this is then something they could choose to do or not to do," said Gubitz.
In the end, he says, MAID is an option for those who feel they have none left.
"I think, to use a Maritime analogy, they would like to be the captain of their own ship," said Gubitz. "They want to be in charge, and that whole sense of having personal autonomy for decisions about your health and your health care is really strong in these people."
With eligibility for MAID expanding next year, critics insist the country is on a slippery-slope.
"At this point, it includes people who have a disability. They might be perfectly healthy and capable in every other way except for their disability, but they can request euthanasia, they can be killed," said David Cooke, National Campaign Manager for the Campaign Life Coalition.
"And next year, in March, people with depression, anxiety disorders, different mental illnesses, they can be killed. This is turning our suicide prevention initiatives on their head," he said in an interview from Edmundston.
"The increase is very disturbing as more and more Canadians are being murdered by euthanasia," said Cooke.
"That's an idiotic argument and it shouldn't be given time of day, to be honest," said Eric MacDonald, a retired Anglican Minister who spoke to CTV News in February of 2018.
At the time, he shared the story of his late wife, Elizabeth, who was around 40 when they left Canada for Switzerland so she could seek a doctor's help in ending her life -- and her long battle with Multiple Sclerosis.
Now, some four-and-a-half years later, his belief in the necessity of the program has only deepened.
"We should stop paying attention to religious arguments, which continue to misrepresent the whole practice of assisted dying," he told CTV News Wednesday.
"There are people who are concerned that (the expanded eligibility) opens up the door for medically-assisted dying for people with mental health problems or disabilities who can't access resources they need, but that's something that, as a society, we will have to work with and find solutions for," said Dr. Gubitz.
According to an extensive report from Health Canada, some 792 Nova Scotians have used the service, 655 New Brunswickers and 111 Prince Edward Islanders, for a total of 1,558 over the five years.
As a percentage of the total deaths in Canada, the latest number is a little more than 3 per cent, but it, too, has been rising.
While Gubitz stopped short of suggesting MAID is short-staffed, he did acknowledge the team could always use some help.
"The vast majority of people who are doing this are doing it along with the other jobs they do. I work as a full-time neurologist, and I end up seeing patients on my lunch hours and evenings and weekends, and the provisions happen in the same way. And pretty much everyone else in the province who is seeing patients is doing the same thing," he said.
"The pandemic, and the changes in the health-care system, and the stressors that are going on right now, really are challenging for health-care professionals. And when we ask some people, they're interested, but often, there's not enough gas left in the tank."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.