Roundup: The false binary in MAiD coverage

Posted on by

The stories about the hearings on expanding the Medical Assistance in Dying regime continue apace, complete with lurid tales of people threatening to access MAiD for reasons of poverty rather than because they want to die at this particular moment of whatever condition they suffer that makes them eligible, and almost all of them frame it as the federal government forcing people to die. Althia Raj’s latest column was literally titled “Why does the Trudeau government leave people no option but to take their own lives?” before it was changed several hours later, which may or may not have been because I pointed out the fact that disability supports and housing are provincial responsibilities and not the responsibility of the federal government, who are concerned only with the Criminal Code prohibitions against providing MAiD.

Once again, provinces are being let off the hook for their own responsibilities to care for these vulnerable people. In all of the cases going to the media, it’s over areas that the province should have been responsive to, but we also know that they have been in the business of legislating poverty for those who require disability supports, so it’s not a surprise, but it’s not something the federal government can just swoop down and fix. Yes, they have committed to their disability benefit, which is still in still at committee and will take time to implement because of the complexity of dealing with provincial programmes and most especially ensuring that any federal benefits don’t mean that provincial ones are clawed back (like several provinces did with CERB payments, because again, they are legislating poverty), but even this federal support does not make it a federal responsibility, nor should it impact the considerations for the Criminal Code provisions around providing MAiD to those who request it. That road leads to “perfect world” thinking, where people will be made to suffer needlessly because premiers can’t do their jobs. (Full disclosure: My mother accessed MAiD when she had terminal cancer, and was afforded a good and dignified death).

I also think that there is a growing media ethics problem where we are seeing an increasing number of these stories with either unverified accounts of people who accessed MAiD for seemingly illegitimate purposes (though they obviously had a qualifying condition), or those who are taking to the media to threaten to access MAiD if they can’t get supports they need, as is the case cited in Raj’s column. The framing of these stories is often badly flawed, the facts usually unclear, and frankly, it is emboldening people to use the lurid threats of suicide (albeit medically assisted) in order to draw attention to their plight. Media outlets need to start reconsidering how this is being covered, because the number of these stories appears to be on the rise, and it doesn’t help anyone when things are covered in such a way.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 272:

The damage to the electrical system in the country has president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urging Ukrainians to conserve electricity where possible and to think about options that will help them wait out long outages. He also said that people from liberated Kherson can apply to relocate to places where security and heating issues are less acute, considering how much of Kherson’s civilian infrastructure was destroyed. Here is more about how Kyiv is dealing with the blackouts.

Good reads:

  • The federal government announced $250 million in grants to help people, primarily in Atlantic Canada, switch their homes from heating oil to heat pumps.
  • The recent number of supply chain announcements on EVs and batteries puts Canada in one of the top positions globally, just behind China.
  • The CRA has come to an agreement with Ontario and Nunavut about putting organ donor information on tax forms.
  • The public inquiry heard that the CSIS director recommended invoking the Act, and Bill Blair said the border blockades were an attack on critical infrastructure.
  • Also at the public inquiry was evidence from the RCMP about their concern that occupiers would try to pinpoint Trudeau’s location, particularly when he had COVID.
  • Belarus’ opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, is in Ottawa to ask for more help in opposing Alexander Lukashenko (who is Putin’s ally).
  • Concerns have been raised about the proposed “red flag” provisions in the gun control bill as it would allow police to offload responsibility.
  • More documentary evidence has been found that disputes the ancestry claims of famed “Indigenous” legal scholar Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond.
  • There was a purge of senior leadership at the National Gallery.
  • Three new Senators were appointed to represent Ontario, but it isn’t clear if one of them is still serving in the military or not (which is bad civilian oversight if she is).
  • Debate on Michelle Rempel Garner’s bill on “encouraging development of the crypto-asset sector” devolved into accusations about Poilievre’s Bitcoin comments.
  • At the veterans affairs committee, case workers worried that veterans will fall through the cracks with the plan to contract external health care providers.
  • Susan Delacourt cues up the final week of testimony at the public inquiry, which will see the prime minister on the stand for its grand finale.
  • Paul Wells gives a recounting of what he saw and heard at the Halifax Security Forum over the weekend.

Odds and ends:

The details for the new “Ukraine Sovereignty Bonds” have been released, including which financial institutions carry them.

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.