By Nicholas Elbers, The B.C. Catholic

[Vancouver – Canadian Catholic News] – The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Delta Hospice Society of Vancouver are calling for a comprehensive review of Canada’s medically-provided death legislation (known as “MAiD”), citing increasing cases of coercion, confusion with palliative care, and a lack of protections for those who want nothing to do with the practice.

Speaking at a joint press conference on May 7, EPC Executive Director Alex Schadenberg said that although medically-provided euthanasia has expanded rapidly since its introduction, a full review of the law has never taken place.

“We are calling on the federal and provincial governments to provide a complete review of Canada’s medical assistance in dying law. The reason is simple: it’s never been done,” said Schadenberg.

The coalition fears the increasing integration of medically-provided death into Canadian health care is eroding trust in hospices and hospitals, especially for vulnerable populations. Both organizations say euthanasia is incompatible with traditional palliative care, which aims to neither hasten nor postpone death.

“We support the World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care, which intends neither to hasten nor to postpone death,” Schadenberg said.

Canada’s euthanasia / assisted suicide law was expanded in March 2021 through Bill C-7, which removed the requirement that a patient’s death be reasonably foreseeable, eliminated the 10-day reflection period for those deemed terminally ill, and introduced a two-tiered system where non-terminal patients must wait 90 days, while the waiting period for terminally ill patients was removed.

The petition comes in the wake of increasing international scrutiny of Canada’s medically-provided euthanasia programs and laws. On March 21, 2025, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities urged Canada to repeal the provision allowing euthanasia for those who are not terminally ill (known as “Track 2”). The committee also rejected proposals to expand access to medically-provided death to mature minors, to allow advance directives for euthanasia, and to include mental illness as the sole underlying condition.

Schadenberg emphasized that a genuine review of medically-provided euthanasia must include all perspectives and take into account the personal stories that have emerged.

“I’m not saying [the review] should be focused on limiting the law or not,” he said. “Let the stories come out, and let people see without judgment how this law is working—and how it needs to change.”

He pointed to findings from Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner, which reported that poverty, homelessness, fear, and isolation were driving some people to request death. Between 2018 and 2023, the province recorded 428 euthanasia deaths that did not comply with legal safeguards.

“These 428 non-compliant deaths prove that the Carter decision [on which the legalization of assisted dying was based] is not being followed. There is no scrupulosity,” said Schadenberg. “This needs further investigation.”

Angelina Ireland, Executive Director of the Delta Hospice Society, echoed the call for euthanasia-free no-kill spaces and legal protections for Canadians who want traditional care at the end of life.

“There are people who don’t want anything to do with MAiD,” Ireland said. “They should have the right to receive health care and go on an end-of-life journey with an authentic and historically accurate palliative care model.”

Ireland said patients and families are increasingly reporting pressure to consider euthanasia even when they have explicitly refused.

Ireland recounted how one woman asked her, “How do we get the doctors to stop asking my husband if he wants MAiD? He’s been asked five times and said no each time, and he continues to be asked. At what point does it become harassment?”

Both Ireland and Schadenberg warn that the erosion of trust in health care is driving fear and uncertainty, particularly among those facing difficult diagnoses or end-of-life circumstances.

“We have a MAiD system that has gotten completely out of control,” Ireland said. “It needs to be clawed back. People are frightened to go to hospitals and hospices, and that needs to end.”

Schadenberg shared the case of a woman in Ontario with multiple chemical sensitivities who chose medically-provided death after being unable to find adequate housing. “She had no irremediable health condition. What she needed was proper housing and supports,” he said. “Instead, she got euthanasia.”

The coalition and the hospice society are calling for legislative reform that includes legal protections for euthanasia-free hospices, proper consent procedures, and a renewed commitment to authentic palliative care that affirms the dignity and worth of each human life to its natural end.

-30-

Canadian Catholic News (CCN) is a national news service, with members including Catholic newspapers, organizations, and individuals: CanadianCatholicNews.ca

Communications and Catholic Saskatoon News is supported by gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal: dscf.ca/baa.