Ontario premier, Kathleen Wynne, appears to be considering Quebec euthanasia proposal

Kathleen Wynne, the Liberal premier of Ontario, appears to be considering similar proposals as Quebec did last week when it introduced Bill 52, to legalize euthanasia in Quebec.

Last week, CBC news reported Wynne making overtures of support to Bill 52, to legalize euthanasia in Quebec, and now the Toronto Sun has published an interview with Wynne, who uses careful but supportive language.

Kathleen Wynne

The article published in the Toronto Sun quotes Wynne as stating:

we need to have a chat about “end-of-life” decisions — such as the euthanasia debate Quebec Premier Pauline Marois ignited in her province recently.

Wynne was then quoted to have said:

In a frank, wide-ranging interview Tuesday, Wynne told the Toronto Sun she considers the debate about euthanasia and end-of-life decisions, “the great health-care issue of our time.” 

The Silver Tsunami — the huge number of baby boomers poised to retire and who’ll require greater medical care as they age and die — will prompt debate about when to end life, as governments across the country struggle to cope with this ticking time bomb and as seniors seek to take control of their own lives and destinies. 

“It’s a huge ethical debate, so I think it’s something that every person in this country is going to have to confront and discuss and obviously the people of Ontario are not going to be exempt from that. It’s going to be thrust upon us.” Wynne added individuals and groups are pushing governments to allow terminally ill patients to take control of the way they die through assisted suicide. 

“I don’t think it’s something we’re going to be able to choose to talk about or not,” she said. It’s part of a larger discussion around palliative care and hospices, she said.

The article then quoted from the Ontario government report issued by Don Drummond on government cost savings that stated:

In his report last year on how to rein in provincial spending, economist Don Drummond said that doctors need to engage middle-aged people on end-of-life decisions. 

“Primary care physicians need to open the dialogue about a living will that lays out how individuals wish to be cared for when they are unable to do so, including the need to discuss the living will with family beforehand to mitigate any possible conflicts later,” Drummond said in his report. 

It’s not a cheerful thought, but in bald economic terms, the older you get, the more you cost the health-care system. Don’t forget, Drummond’s report was about saving money — not lives.

Euthanasia is not the same as "living wills" or Power of Attorney for Personal Care documents. 

Alex Schadenberg

I have always stated that when the economic gurus get involved with the euthanasia lobby, then watch out. I fear the economic mismanagement that has occurred in Ontario, Quebec and other provinces, will lead to the promotion of euthanasia.

Euthanasia is sold to the public under the false premise that it will be based on personal autonomy and to eliminate suffering.

When analyzing the outcome of legal euthanasia it becomes apparent that it is often done with request and it is rarely done to eliminate physical suffering.