North Bay Ontario Hospice is being pressured to do euthanasia

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

For the past several months the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has been writing about the plight of the Delta Hospice Society. The British Columbia Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, ordered the Delta Hospice to do euthanasia or lose government funding.

Sign the petition: Hospice Organizations Must NOT be Forced to do Euthanasia (Link).

A similar situation exists in North Bay Ontario where the Nipissing Serenity Hospice is being pressured by four local euthanasia doctors to allow lethal injections on the premises. The Hospice, which only opened its doors on January 11 does not permit euthanasia on its premises. According to the North Bay Nugget:

The four medical providers of MAiD say they “absolutely disagree” with the hospice’s position that MAiD “is not one of the tools in the palliative care basket.”

Doctors Renee Gauthier, Mike Leckie, Paul Preston and John Seguin say in the letter MAiD “is, in fact, a tool, a very special, humane tool that thousands of Canadians have accessed and the Canadian government, under law, has permitted.”

The latest data indicates that there have been 4318 assisted deaths in Ontario (June 17, 2016 - December 31, 2019) with 95 assisted deaths reported in the Nipissing region.

Vivian Papaiz

Vivian Papaiz, chair of the Nipissing Serenity Hospice, does not provide euthanasia. Papaiz told the North Bay Nuggett that the Hospice has discussed the issue but supports the position of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians. 

The North Bay Nuggett reported:

In a joint statement, the CHPC and the CSPCP say MAiD and palliative care “substantially differ in multiple areas, including in philosophy, intention and approach.

Hospice palliative care focuses on improving quality of life and symptom management through holistic person-centred care for those living with life-threatening conditions. It sees dying as a normal part of life and helps people to live and die well.

Hospice palliative care does not seek to hasten death or intentionally end life.

Hospice organizations should not be coerced into providing euthanasia. Hospice and palliative care are different than MAiD and coercing hospice organizations to do euthanasia, changes hospice.

Why do people support assisted suicide?

A recent Angus Reid poll found that 80% of Canadians support legalizing assisted suicide.

My first response is related to the way the poll was done. This is an online poll.

The Angus Reid poll leads me to ask the question, why do people support doctor-assisted suicide?

Previous polling that the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) did found that most people support assisted suicide because they fear dying in pain or experiencing uncontrolled symptoms. Susan Eng, a spokesperson for CARP stated: 

 "What they're actually telling (us) is they're afraid of a bad death. They're afraid that when the end comes and it gets ugly, that they're in terrible pain or lose all their dignity, that they don't have a way out. More emphasis needs to be put on palliative care" 

Previous polls also showed that many people somewhat supported assisted suicide, but very few people strongly supported assisted suicide.

People are responding to the fear of experiencing uncontrolled pain by stating they support assisted suicide.

A recent Environics poll asked a different question. They were asked: Should Canadian governments put a higher priority on improving access to palliative care. 71% of Canadians thought that governments should place a greater priority on providing access to good palliative care rather than legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide.

PCPCC Press Conference.

Further to that, the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care (PCPCC) released their report - Not to be Forgotten - in November 2011. That report identified areas within end-of-life care, elder abuse and suicide prevention, that would enable a greater level of care and support for all Canadians.

Some of the recommendations from the PCPCC report are being implemented, but there is much more that can be done to support Canadians.

The real answer is to care for the needs of Canadians who are living with terminal conditions, chronic pain or disabilities; rather than legalizing physician assisted suicide, that ends the life of the person rather than helping a person live until they die.

Improving palliative care in Canada

Improving Palliative Care in Canada

Palliative Care

Two recently released reports emphasize the need for a continued spotlight on palliative care
By Derek Miedema, Researcher, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada


Two recently released reports pay attention to the need for palliative care in Canada. The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada released Achieving Quality Palliative Care in Canada this week. The paper tells the story of palliative care in Canada, through the voices of palliative care heavyweights, Senator Sharon Carstairs (retired) and Dr. Balfour Mount, a Montreal-area oncologist. In a ten-page, easy-to-read format, the report highlights the five Ws of palliative care, stressing that this specialty is in dire need of attention because we have an ageing population. If current levels of palliative care remain the same, we are going to experience decreased access, simply because more people need it.

Similarly, on November 17, 2011, the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate care released a 200-page report. Not to be Forgotten: Care of Vulnerable Canadians examines three aspects of care: Palliative care, suicide prevention, and the prevention of elder abuse. With respect to palliative care, the report thoroughly examines the current situation in our country and makes recommendations for future developments in expertise and delivery. Most importantly, the report states that “palliative care is not only the best model for caring for vulnerable and dying Canadians; it also embodies truths that could be transformative for our whole health care culture.” [1] In other words, current palliative care practice should be adapted to animate disciplines across the entire medical system for the benefit of vulnerable Canadians across the country.

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide - Ugly issue back again.

Jean Echlin is a nurse consultant and adjunct associate professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing and the founding VP of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition 

Jean wrote an article on the current euthanasia and assisted suicide debate in Canada that was published in the Windsor Star today under the title: Ugly issue back again.

The following is an edited version of the article by Jean Echlin.

Ugly issue back again.

With the advent of Carter versus the Attorney General of Canada, Canada's laws prohibiting euthanasia and assisted suicide are being challenged again. This despite the fact that our federal Parliament vetoed Bill C-384 that sought to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia by an overwhelming vote of 228 to 59 in 2010.

Included in the British Columbia appeal is an effort to legalize these practices as "medical treatment," meaning that a medical doctor or "a person operating under the general supervision of a medical practitioner" will be allowed to assist a patient's suicide. This could be a family member and could be done at home.

If the pro-killing side gets its way, five people on the Supreme Court can overrule Parliament and demand change in the Criminal Code that forbids euthanasia and assisted suicide. What would this scenario do to our democratic process and the rights of a majority of Canadians?

Who would be at risk? You are. So is everyone in this country.

To paraphrase many knowledgeable authorities within the Euthanasia Prevention Coalitions worldwide, the request for a change in our Criminal Code is an invitation to elder abuse.

Many of our elderly population feel abandoned and burdensome to our society and healthcare system. If assisted suicide is legalized, it will empower the health-care system and family members to pressure older people to shorten their lives.

Persons with disabilities are equally at risk. The elderly and those with disabilities are groups that society often discriminates against and fails to respect or protect. Rather, these groups are looked upon as costly burdens.

Another significant health issue is suicide prevention. A change in the criminal code would foster the idea of suicide for those with depression and anxiety. It's called: "suicide contagion." In other words, one suicide encourages others. Persons with mental health is-sues are at increased risk and can be easily manipulated.

My own list of those at high risk includes partners in scenarios of domestic violence, especially when there is a power imbalance. It would be exceptionally easy for the powerful partner to quietly kill the "offensive partner" and just claim he or she "was so depressed and pleaded for assistance in dying."

Children must be included in the risk groups since the Netherlands has developed a protocol for killing children with even minor disabilities up to the age of 12.

The "Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care" will be releasing its research and recommendations regarding pain management, palliative care, elder abuse and suicide prevention. 

It is imperative that Parliament and all Canadians follow and adhere to the profoundly important message from this non-partisan committee.

Elder Abuse a Hidden Crime

Bruce Campion-Smith, wrote an article that was published in the Toronto Star on November 17 concerning the release of the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care report in Ottawa Canada last week. The article titled: Elder Abuse: A 'Hidden Crime': MP says - looked at the recommendations in the Parliamentary committee report and the comments made by Frank Valeriote (Lib) MP Guelph.

The article states:

A criminal crackdown and greater public awareness are needed to combat the growing problem of elder abuse in Canada, which leaves thousands of seniors “wounded and frightened” every year, a new study says.

Just as society turned a blind eye to child and spousal abuse decades ago, abused seniors are suffering from the same neglect today, warns an all-party committee of MPs.

Their report issued Thursday calls for a “cultural transformation” to ensure that elder abuse is seen as “absolutely unacceptable.”


The report estimates that 400,000 seniors have been abused in Canada, often by someone they know — a family member, caregiver, neighbour or landlord.

Canadian Cancer Society Welcomes Caregiver Support and Palliative Care Recommendations in Report Released by Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care

Canadian Cancer Society Welcomes Caregiver Support and Palliative Care Recommendations in Report Released by Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care

TORONTO, Nov. 17, 2011 /CNW/ - The Canadian Cancer Society applauds recommendations about family caregiver support and palliative care in a report released today by the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care (PCPCC) and urges the federal government to take action.

The report - Not to be forgotten: care of vulnerable Canadians - focuses on elderly, dying and vulnerable Canadians and provides recommendations for improving palliative care, family caregiver support, elder abuse and suicide prevention. The PCPCC is an ad-hoc, all party group of federal MPs who formed the committee on their own initiative. The report reflects testimony from hundreds of people at 24 hearings and local round tables across Canada.

"The spirit of non-partisan collaboration shown by the MPs on this committee is a great example of Parliament working at its best - MPs working across party lines on issues of concern to Canadians," says Dan Demers, Director, Public Issues, Canadian Cancer Society.

Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care offers great hope to Canadians.

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition 

A great gift was given to Canada yesterday. The Report of the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care was released yesterday in Ottawa. The report titled: Not to be Forgotten: Care of Vulnerable Canadians, focusses on improving palliative care for all Canadians, suicide prevention strategies and protecting people from elder abuse.

The Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care is an all-party committee that grew out of a common goal of identifying concrete ways to improve the care and protection for all Canadians when they are experiencing difficult circumstances.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) stated in our media release that we endorsed the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care. Our legal counsel, Hugh Scher, stated:

"Implementation of the recommendations of this Parliamentary report should eliminate any further call for legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia in Canada by vastly improving care for every Canadian, especially those who are vulnerable."

At the press conference, in Ottawa, for the release of the report, Joe Comartin (NDP) - Windsor Riverside, Harold Albrecht (CPC) - Kitchener Conestoga, and Frank Valeriote (Lib) - Guelph, spoke on the different areas within the report.

Joe Comartin

Joe Comartin spoke on the palliative care recommendations in the report. He stated that only 16 - 30% of Canadians have access to palliative care. Palliative care services are a patch-work quilt with varying levels of care within every region. Even within Toronto there are regional disparities of access to palliative care.

Joe Comartin emphasized the need for: 
* a new palliative care secretariet, 
* the need to improve chronic care for people who live with pain and 
* he emphasized the need for greater flexibility in the provision of compassionate care benefits,
* the importance of building a greater infrastructure of local palliative care services to enable people to receive care and support in their own communities.

Harold Albrecht

Harold Albrecht spoke about the suicide prevention section within the report. He explained how suicide is almost always preventable but that the resources, information and support is simply not available in Canada. Canada does not have a national suicide prevention strategy, even though the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention has developed a national strategy for suicide prevention, the resources to implement the strategy have not been provided.

Harold Albrecht emphasized that * a coordinating body would be required to implement a National Suicide Prevention Strategy.


Frank Valeriote spoke on the recommendations related to elder abuse. He spoke about the fact that 4 - 10% of elders experience abuse and some recent studies are suggesting that the rate of elder abuse may be as high as 20%. Most elder abuse is carried out by care-givers, family members and friends. The reason elder abuse remains under-reported is the fact that the person is often dependent on the abuser.

Frank Valeriote

Frank Valeriote emphasized the need for * an elder abuse awareness and prevention office, * an elder abuse prevention strategy that would focus on prevention and intervention.

Rene Ouimet from the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) spoke next about the progress that is being made towards implementing a  suicide prevention blueprint. She stated that CASP supports the recommendations in the report.

Dan Demers from the Canadian Cancer Society stated that they supported the recommendations within the report. He spoke about how some patients are still suffering needlessly. He emphasized that people, at the end of life, are vulnerable and must not be abandoned. He decried the fact that less than 30% of Canadians have access to excellent palliative care.

Jean Guy St. Gelais from the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse spoke next. He supported the need for an elder abuse prevention strategy and thanked the committee for the report.

Dr John Haggie

The final speaker was Dr John Haggie who is the current President of the Canadian Medical Association. He stated that the improvement in palliative care required urgent attention. He spoke in favour of the emphasis on patient centred care that the report promotes. He suggested that fixing palliative care can be used as a model for transforming health care in Canada.

The media then asked a series of questions.

The first question concerned the fact that many of the areas that the report was concerned with were within provincial jurisdiction. Joe Comartin answered the question by emphasizing the importance of the report being implemented by all levels of government. He then emphasized how some of the recommendations would lead to significant cost savings. He stated that too many people were dying in acute care hospital settings. If there were palliative care placements available, the cost would be significantly less. He also stated that excellent pain management will provide significant savings for the economy. Frank Valeriote then emphasized the need to share information especially to serve the needs of minority communities.

The second question concerned the decriminalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Dr Haggie, the President of the CMA stepped forward and stated that euthanasia is a complex issue but access to good palliative care would change the euthanasia debate. Dr Haggie then stated:

"requests for euthanasia usually reflect a failure to access adequate palliative care." 

Dr. Haggie then stated that Canada needs a national palliative care strategy. We need to transform the medical system with best practises and we need innovation funds to improve care.

The next question concerned the national suicide prevention stragegy. Harold Albrecht spoke about the fact that CASP has developed a blueprint strategy and he stated that government leadership is needed. He then mentioned his private suicide prevention members bill that is before parliament.

It was then stated that the blueprint strategy that was developed by CASP has been implemented in other countries resulting in the lowering of suicide rates in their countries.

Harold Albrecht then mentioned how progress is already occurring. The #10 recommendation in the palliative care section of the report has already been inserted in the current government budget.


EPC would like to thank the 55 MP's who supported the Palliative and Compassionate Care committee. We would like to thank Michele Simson, who was the Liberal co-chair of the committee but was defeated in the last election. We would like to thank George for writing the report.

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Endorses Recommendations of Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee

TORONTO, Nov. 17, 2011 - CanadaNewsWire

The Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care released its report entitled: NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN: CARE OF VULNERABLE CANADIANS.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition endorses the recommendations made by the committee in respect of improved palliative and end-of-life care, suicide prevention strategies, and the prevention of elder abuse.  EPC executive director Alex Schadenberg states:

The Parliamentary report represents a blueprint of proactive positive steps that will improve end-of-life care for all Canadians.

EPC-BC chair Dr. Will Johnston states:

I see elder abuse in my family medical practice.  There is a clear need for action and the Parliamentary report sets out a blueprint for action.

EPC legal counsel, Hugh Scher states:

Implementation of the recommendations of this Parliamentary report should eliminate any further call for legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia in Canada by vastly improving care for every Canadian, especially those who are vulnerable.

For further information:
Alex Schadenberg, EPC Executive Director: 519-439-3348, info@epcc.ca
Dr. Will Johnston, EPC-BC Chair: 604-220-2042, willjohnston@shaw.ca
Hugh Scher, EPC Legal Counsel: 416-816-6115, hugh@sdlaw.ca

Link to the report.

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) requests intervener status in BCCLA Carter case.

EPC legal counsel, Hugh Scher, indicated that the EPC application to be granted intervener standing by the BC Court has been filed. EPC is awaiting the response from the court.

On April 21, 2010, Bill C-384, a bill that would have legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada, was defeated in parliament by a resounding vote of 228 to 59. The suicide lobby has now taken their case to the BC courts because they were unable to convince their elected representatives to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The BCCLA - Carter case seeks to legalize assisted suicide, whereby doctors prescribe suicide, and physician directed euthanasia, where physicians approve the administration of a lethal injection.

We consider the BCCLA Carter case to be dangerous to public safety and a recipe for elder abuse and the abuse of people with disabilities and people with chronic conditions.

The language used by the BCCLA in the Carter case, if accepted, would not limit euthanasia or assisted suicide to people who are terminally ill, and it would not restrict the acts of euthanasia or assisted suicide to physicians. People with disabilities and those with chronic conditions could be offered euthanasia or assisted suicide instead to the provision of systems and supports that enable these people to live with equality.

The scourge of elder abuse has become a national concern and the prevention of elder abuse has become a national priority. Elder abuse is significantly under-reported with research indicating that up to 70% of the abuse being done by family members or people to whom the victim is dependent upon.

The language used by the BCCLA case will open new avenues for elder abuse and abuse of people with disabilities because it would enable family members and care givers to subtly pressure or coerce a vulnerable people into "choosing" death by lethal dose. For many, the choice of euthanasia and assisted suicide will be an illusion in a life that is related to abuse and neglect.

The EPC rejects the idea that it is somehow necessary to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide to have a dignified death. A parliamentary committee that has investigated and is making recommendations for improvements in Palliative care, Elder Abuse prevention, Suicide prevention and the needs of Canadians with disabilities, is due to release its report in November 2011. The BC court needs to reject the legalization of "assisted death" and instead it needs to demand that the government improve the quality and availability of care that is provided to its citizens.

In Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal, the suicide rate has steadily climbed since 2000 with Oregon's suicide rate now being 35% higher than the national average. This corresponds with other trends that suggest that the social acceptance of assisted suicide creates a suicide contagion effect.

The EPC is particularly concerned with the language of the BCCLA - Notice of Application which indicates a particularly negative attitude to the lives of people with disabilities. Living with a disability is not a life not worth living but rather a challenge to society to enable people with disabilities to live with equality and acceptance.

For more information contact the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at:
Alex Schadenberg, executive director: (519) 851-1434 (cell) or (519) 439-3348 (office)
Dr. Will Johnston, President - EPC - BC: (604) 220-2042

BCCLA Carter case will include many sad experiences

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Associated Press wrote an article concerning the affidavit from Susan Bracken, a woman from Barrie ON submitted as evidence to the BCCLA Carter case that will begin to be heard on November 14, 2011.

The BCCLA Carter case is attempting to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide through the court. There have been several very upsetting stories that have been submitted to the court as evidence that euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legalized to allow people to die a dignified death.

I have read Susan Bracken's, story concerning the death of her husband, and my heart is torn by it, but I fail to understand how her story is a good reason to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide.

The question to me is why did her husband need to suffer in this manner? There are many things that are being done to enable a comfortable death, without intentionally causing that person's death. Excellent end-of-life and chronic care must be provided in Canada, and other countries before we consider legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide. Excellent end-of-life care exists, but it needs to be more readily available.

The concept of giving a physician or medical care-giver the right to lethally inject or provide a lethal dose to a person to supposedly eliminate suffering is confusing when we further learn how it is often a lack of training or the neglect of the medical care-giver that led to the uncontrolled suffering in the first place.

Bracken also writes about the concerns that she, and others have, related to the aging population.

I share her concern with how we care for people who live with chronic conditions, elderly dependent people and people with disabilities. There is a growing prevalence of elder abuse and abuse of the vulnerable within our society. Governments are taking action to mitigate the scourge of elder abuse but the abuse of the elderly and other vulnerable people is related to societal attitudes. These are the same societal attitudes that lead to the abuse that will occur if doctors, and others, are given the right to intentionally cause death.


The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition believes in the importance of societal change and improvement. We are looking forward to the November 2011 release of the report from the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassion Care. This all-party parliamentary report is written in response to consultations from leaders and people from across Canada. The report will reportedly, make recommendations concerning the effective changes that relate to the concerns that Susan Bracken is expressing with respect to the death of her husband and the type of deaths that we will all experience in the future.

We need to provide the necessary care. We do not need to give physicians, and possibly others, the right to cause our deaths.

End-of-life guide a risk, MPs told

Jim Derksen

The following story appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press today. Rhonda Wiebe and Jim Derksen made a presentation in Ottawa to the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care yesterday. The focus of the presentation was the direction Canada needs to go to ensure dignity and equality for people with disabilities in relation to medical treatment and end-of-life care.

Wiebe and Derksen focused on the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons policy that gives the physician the right to determine the level of medical treatment or when treatment will be withheld. This policy has significant ramifications for people with disabilities.

The article stated:

End-of-life guide a risk, MPs told

By Jen Skerritt - June 17, 2010

Giving Manitoba doctors the power to pull the plug on a patient discriminates against disabled people who may fall short of the minimum standards to remain on life-support, local advocates told a Parliamentary committee Wednesday.

Jim Derksen and Rhonda Wiebe, Winnipeg members of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said certain policies -- including Manitoba's end-of-life guidelines -- put disabled patients at risk of improper treatment because of common attitudes that "it's better to be dead than disabled." They spoke out in front of a federal palliative and compassionate care committee in Ottawa, and voiced their concerns about legalizing assisted suicide and other inequities in end-of-life care.

Manitoba's medical regulatory body is the first in Canada to introduce guidelines for physicians to follow when dealing with end-of-life issues. They say the minimum goal of life-sustaining treatment is for patients to recover to a level in which they can be aware of themselves, their environment and their existence.

In the event families and physicians don't agree life-support should be withdrawn, doctors have the final say.

Derksen said some patients with cognitive impairment or conditions such as dementia may not be able to articulate that awareness, forcing doctors to make a judgment call. He said there is no objective test or brain scan performed to determine whether a person meets the minimum standard to remain on life-support.

"In other words, if there's too much disability, the patient (does not) meet the minimum goal," Derksen said. "That, to me, is pretty wrong and probably unconstitutional."

His concerns over Manitoba's College of Physicians and Surgeons end-of-life guidelines come just shy of the second anniversary of Samuel Golubchuk's death. The 85-year-old man died in Grace Hospital on June 24, 2008, at the centre of a controversial debate over who should decide when a person is pulled off life-support. Golubchuk's eight-month battle to remain alive pitted a patient's right to continue treatment against Winnipeg physicians who argued continuing to care for the elderly man was "tantamount to torture." They said Golubchuk had no self-awareness and that their decision to terminate support is in no way biased against disabled persons.

The court injunction Golubchuk's children sought to keep him alive died with him, and the question of who gets to decide when someone dies hasn't been fully answered.

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority officials conducted a review of Golubchuk's case to shed light on how to better handle conflict between patients and physicians, but the report is still in draft stages.

A spokesman from the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Wiebe said she's concerned some medical professionals could be swayed by a common stereotype that living with a disability is "miserable." She said there should be more supports in place within the medical system to ensure disabled patients aren't treated differently. Wiebe said she wants the public to know a disabled person's quality of life is as good as anyone else's.

"We see that as a human rights violation because if you are a person with a cognitive disability you may not meet that standard," Wiebe said. "It shouldn't be a medical decision."

Link to the article in the Winnipeg Free Press: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/dont-give-mds-power-to-pull-plug-disabled-96545859.html