Opinion Althia Raj: Why does the Trudeau government leave people no option but to take their own lives?
A month ago, a St. Catharines man named Amir Farsoud sought help to end his life. He didn’t want to die, the now 55-year-old told CityNews. But the rooming house where he lived was up for sale and he couldn’t find affordable housing. Farsoud, who has a debilitating back problem, lived off his meagre disability payments and feared his only option was homelessness. So, he applied for medical assistance in dying, or MAiD.
The doctor tried to talk him out of it, Farsoud told me on the phone Monday. “But eventually I convinced him … I was going to die, one way or another. It was just a question of, ‘Do I have to take a bus to Toronto and jump in front of the subway, or will you be kind enough to do it?’” The federal government knows this. It has plans to address some of the gaps in the system, through a new Canada Disability Benefit and data collection that may shed light on systemic inequalities. But instead of waiting for those measures to be in place in 2024, it is pressing ahead with MAiD’s expansion.
Ontario psychiatrist Dr. John Maher told a joint Senate/House of Commons committee studying MAiD that some of his patients are now refusing treatment to make themselves eligible for MAiD.Canada is now No. 1 in the world in terms of MAiD, and with cases set to rise, it is worth asking if the state is encouraging people to choose a dignified death by failing to provide them with the means for a dignified life.
Governments are not living up to their moral obligation — and whether they are living up to their legal obligation is questionable.that while “we need to solve these other issues,” hitting pause would mean “people are suffering” and it isn’t something the government is contemplating. Lametti is right that people who suffer should not be made to wait longer than necessary. But we shouldn’t rush it either.
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