BCCLA executive director Liza Hughes says the organization is not referring to two recent B.C. Supreme Court filings related to MAID, but is concerned by reports that people are receiving MAID because of suffering caused by social conditions.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Canada’s oldest civil liberties organization, which led the push for legal medical assistance in dying a decade ago, is calling on Ottawa and the provincial governments to review and enforce appropriate safeguards.
Liza Hughes, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), issued a statement on Thursday that said it is aware of “concerning reports” of individuals being offered MAID in circumstances where they may not legally qualify or when individuals face “intolerable social circumstances.”
“This is unacceptable,” she said.
Medical assistance in dying has long been contentious, prompting debates on whether the procedure should be legal and who should qualify. Some current legal cases have underscored concerns raised by family members who say their loved ones should not qualify for MAID because they suffer from mental illness.
Ottawa has delayed a decision on whether people whose sole condition is mental illness can qualify for the procedure until 2027.
Ms. Hughes said BCCLA is not referring to two recent B.C. Supreme Court filings related to a high-profile Vancouver doctor Ellen Wiebe. Rather, Ms. Hughes said her organization is concerned by reports that people are receiving MAID because of suffering caused by social conditions and is trying to understand the extent of this practice.
Ms. Hughes said her organization, which was a plaintiff in the case that led to the Supreme Court striking down the ban on doctor-assisted deaths in February, 2015, recognizes the role of MAID to reduce intolerable suffering. She also said it believes in the importance of an individual’s right to bodily autonomy.
A delay is not enough: Ottawa should withdraw its MAID law for the mentally ill
BCCLA issued its statement to hold governments accountable, she said.
“Governments must put in place, actively review, and enforce appropriate safeguards to ensure that people are making this decision freely and provide adequate social supports so that people are able to lead dignified lives,” she said.
Family files lawsuit after man received MAID while out on psychiatric ward day pass
Health Minister Mark Holland has yet to respond directly to BCCLA’s concerns. B.C.’s Ministry of Health did not immediately respond either on Thursday, but sent a separate response about the recent lawsuit filed by the family of the man who received MAID two years ago while on a day pass from a Vancouver hospital psychiatric ward.
The ministry defended its processes, saying people with any concerns can contact the patient care department of their local health authority or complain directly to the relevant professional college if they suspect malpractice on the part of the nurse or doctor involved in the MAID case.
Tammy Jarbeau, a spokesperson for Health Canada, said on Wednesday that MAID is only available for those who are assessed as eligible.
To qualify, she said, a person must have a serious and incurable medical condition, be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability, and be experiencing enduring and intolerable suffering.
To provide MAID in circumstances where any of the eligibility criteria or procedural safeguards have not been met is a criminal offence, she said.
Jocelyn Downie, a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University’s faculties of law and medicine who has long studied MAID, said the BCCLA should base its positions on valid evidence. She said the organization’s reference to concerning reports must be substantiated and she disagreed there is evidence that it has become too easy to obtain MAID.
Health Canada’s Fifth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada reported last week that MAID accounted for 4.7 per cent of deaths in Canada in 2023.
On Friday, the family of the 52-year-old man who received MAID while out on a day pass from a Vancouver psychiatric ward launched a legal challenge alleging Canada’s current laws are unconstitutional because they fail to protect suicidal and mentally ill people.
It accused Dr. Wiebe, who the suit claims helped him end his life, of alleged malpractice. Dr. Wiebe declined to comment when contacted on Wednesday.
At the end of October, Dr. Wiebe was forced by a B.C. Supreme Court judge to abstain from giving MAID to a 53-year-old woman who had travelled to Vancouver from Alberta so she could die.
Justice Simon R. Coval said there was an “arguable case” about whether MAID criteria had been appropriately applied in the woman’s case. The injunction application said she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.