At least 622 non compliant Canadian euthanasia deaths in 2023.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

On December 11, 2024, Canada's Ministry of Health released the Fifth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying which indicated that there were 15,343 reported euthanasia (MAiD) deaths representing 4.7% of all deaths in 2023. According to the data there were 60,301 euthanasia deaths from legalization (June 2016) to December 31, 2023. By now Canada will have surpassed 75,000 euthanasia deaths since legalization.

Kamil Karamali reported for CTV National news on December 15, 2024 that at least 622 of the reported euthanasia deaths, in 2023, may have been non-compliant with the law. Dr Sonu Gaind, a psychiatry professor at the University of Toronto, said that how the system operates is troubling. Karamali reports Gaind as stating:

"It's particularly concerning for the path to MAID for disabled people who are not otherwise dying, because in that path, the nature of suffering parallels the traditional markers of suicide," he told CTV News in an interview Saturday. "That includes things like feeling a burden and a strong sense of loneliness."

The StatCan report found that, in the 622 MAID cases where natural death was not "reasonably foreseeable," 47 per cent suffered from isolation or loneliness and 49 per cent perceived themselves to be a burden to family, friends and caregivers.

"The only reason they died last year was because they were provided MAID," said Gaind. "We're talking about people, in some cases, that had more than 10 years to live. That should raise some red flags."

It must be noted that the report was released by Health Canada and not Statistics Canada.

Karamali then interviewed Isabel Grant, a UBC law professor who commented on the legal challenge to Track 2 euthanasia deaths that was launched by four national disability groups. Karamali reports:

...In September, a coalition of disability rights groups launched a Charter challenge in Ontario over a section of Canada's MAID law.

"It's discriminatory because when other people express loneliness or a loss of dignity or a desire with die, we usually respond with support or prevention -- but with people with disabilities, we respond with an offer for MAID," said UBC law professor Isabel Grant in a Saturday interview with CTV News.

Gaind commented further on the 622 concerning deaths. Karamali reports:

"For those situations, I don't think we're providing death under honest pretenses; it's false pretenses," said Gaind. "We're pretending we're providing it for illness suffering, when in reality those MAID provisions are being fuelled by very different sort of suffering -- so that's actually white-washing what we're providing death for, and medicalizing something that's actually a social situation.

In my article, Canada: 15,343 reported euthanasia deaths in 2023, I pointed out some other concerning data in the report:

• Of the 15,343 reported euthanasia deaths: 95.9% were Track 1 deaths (the person was deemed to have a terminal condition); 4.1% were Track 2 deaths (the person was deemed to not having a terminal condition).
• People with disabilities accounted for 33.5% of the Track 1 euthanasia deaths and 58.3% of the Track 2 euthanasia deaths. In 2022, 27% of Canadians were people with one or more disabilities. People with disabilities are over-represented in Canada's euthanasia statistics.
• 95.8% of those who died by euthanasia were Caucasian (White) while fewer than 1% were First Nations people. In 2022, 69.8% of Canadians euthanized were Caucasian and 5% were First Nations people.

I was also concerned that:

• Euthanasia for frailty was listed as a reason in 1,392 deaths, representing more than 9% of all euthanasia deaths. In 92 euthanasia deaths, frailty was listed as the only reason.
• Euthanasia for chronic pain was listed as a reason in 933 deaths, with 23 of the deaths listing chronic pain as the only reason.
• Euthanasia for dementia was listed as a reason in 241 deaths, with 106 of those deaths listing dementia as the only reason.

It is important to note that loneliness and isolation was listed in more than 21% of all euthanasia deaths representing more than 3200 people.

People with disabilities should be concerned that "other conditions" was the highest identified condition for euthanasia. For people with disabilities, 46.2% of the Track 1 deaths were based on "other conditions" and 62.9% of the Track 2 deaths were based on "other conditions." Other conditions is not further defined and indicates a serious concern with discrimination of people with disabilities.

There is also a difference in income levels for Track 1 and Track 2 euthanasia deaths. People who died by Track 2 euthanasia were more likely to have a lower income than the Track 1 deaths.

More analysis of The Fifth Annual Report needs to be done. The report includes more information than the previous years reports but it does not examine why people are asking for euthanasia nor does it uncover deaths that may be outside of the parameters of the law.