Sonu Gaind: Unravelling MAiD in Canada.

EPC has copies of the book Unravelling MAiD in Canada available for purchase.

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Previous article: Ramona Coelho: Unravelling MAiD in Canada (Link).

The following speech was presented by Dr Gaind for the April 15 launch of the book: Unravelling MAiD in Canada.

Dr. Sonu Gaind is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Chief of Psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He is an Executive Member and Medical Practice & Tariff Chair of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) Section on Psychiatry and Chair of the OMA Relativity Advisory Committee, and a Past-President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.

Sonu Gaind speaking at book launch.

Dr K. Sonu Gaind

You know, we often say it’s the journey and not the destination, but in this case I’m not so sure. It’s been a pretty rough journey for many advocating in this area, and it is pretty great to finally see this important work see the light of day. 

I’m so appreciative of the chance to be standing here with my co editors, Ramona Coelho and Trudo Lemmens, as we launch this book. I truly hope it contributes to our national discourse as we, as a society, continue navigating the challenging waters of how, and what, we should or should not be helping people die for. I also want to thank all of our authors, whose wisdom and compassion shine through both in this volume and through their own advocacy, and also our publisher McGill/Queen’s University Press for their support and guidance through this process.

And of course, thank all of you for being here today, both in person and online (we have another about 40 or 50 people online ). A particular shout out to my dad, who couldn’t be here for health reasons but is watching - Dada, I think by now you’ve probably read and re-read the book more carefully than me, Trudo and Ramona put together. And while I’m doing shout outs, the loudest has to be to my wife Lystra and my kids Dante and Sabine even when this work has taken me away from you, you’ve always still been there for me.

When I look around this room I’m amazed by the range of friends and colleagues who have come out to celebrate this occasion with us. Thank you all so much. We have university colleagues, hospital and workplace colleagues, old friends and new confreres we’ve met and made through this journey. The diversity is remarkable, and I think a testament to how important this issue is, and how deeply people want to think about and engage in it, if given a chance.

Why we might choose, as a society, to provide death to fellow Canadians is a hugely complex issue, and one that should engender robust and honest debate. It’s legitimate to debate when it might be compassionate to help relieve suffering, versus when it might be abandonment to facilitate suicide.

Unfortunately that honest debate is not what has driven our MAiD expansion so far. Instead, as outlined in my chapter, Fall of Duty: The Breach of Trust and Moral Failure of Canada’s Entrusted Experts, and other chapters in the book, we’ve had troubling processes that have led to Canada becoming the world’s canary in a coal mine on euthanasia expansion. As Trudo will mention, the United Nations has explicitly raised concerns that our own policy makers refuse to acknowledge, of the existential risks our current MAiD expansions pose to marginalized Canadians.

That’s why I think this book is so important. From lived experience, expertise, cultural considerations and lenses of diversity, the authors unflinchingly explore not only why our most privileged, who have lived well and want autonomy to die well, might seek MAiD; but also why our most marginalized, struggling with access to social care, who society never afforded a chance to live with dignity, might (and are) increasingly seeking available euthanasia to escape life's suffering.

What we provide death for is the flip side of how we help people live.

It’s not an easy message to hear, but it’s an essential one, since I can’t think of much that defines us more as a society is that we help people live with dignity before they need to "choose" death as their only option. And for bringing these perspectives forward with eloquence, clarity, humanity and humility, often in the face of privileged voices trying to stifle any cautions, I’m deeply grateful to all our authors and co-editors to have been part of this endeavour.

Book Launch on April 15, 2025 (Link to Video)

Ramona Coelho: Unravelling MAiD in Canada.

The following speech was written by Dr Ramona Coelho for the April 15 launch of the book: Unravelling MAiD in Canada.

EPC has copies of the book available for purchase. 

Order the book from EPC for $40 (after tax) + shipping (Order Link).

By Ramona Coelho

Dr Ramona Coelho speaking on April 15.

Thank you so much for being here. I’m deeply grateful to share this moment with all of you, and especially honoured to stand alongside Dr Harvey Schipper and my co-editors, Dr. Sonu Gaind and Professor Trudo Lemmens. The book we’re launching tonight is the result of years of lived experience, medical care, research, and a common concern — concern for Canadians, and for the future of medical care and societal culture in this country.

We release this book at a critical time. As Trudo has mentioned, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has recommended the repeal of Track 2 MAiD. Likewise, the Ontario Coroner’s MAiD Death Review Committee — of which both Trudo and I are members — has begun publishing reports that document serious public safety concerns in MAiD cases. What we see confirms what many of us in healthcare have long feared and have tried to bring to the attention of politicians: people are accessing MAiD through lax application of the law, often without a thorough or humane exploration of their suffering. In some cases, death is being offered more readily than medical care and supports.

As a family physician, I work every day with people who face enormous barriers: refugees, individuals living in poverty, those with disabilities, mental illness, or incarceration histories. Earlier in my career, I provided home care in Montreal for people with dementia, addiction, or severe physical disabilities. These patients — like all of us — need to know their lives are valued, but sadly often don’t. Canadians need support, not an easy exit when life becomes unbearable. They need care, not assisted death as a substitute for our societal collective failures.

MAiD was introduced to Canadians as an “exceptional measure for exceptional cases,” intended to relieve suffering at the end of life when nothing else could. It has rapidly shifted. Private MAiD provider forums leaked by AP journalists- like Maria Cheng – have revealed cases where people qualified because of loneliness, lack of housing, or feelings of being a burden. When death is given because systems failed to offer support — that is not autonomy. That is abandonment.

Our book aims to expose these troubling patterns with clarity, evidence, and compassion. We highlight not only the stories and legal pathways, but also the ethical crossroads we now face as a society.

This is not an abstract debate. These are real people — people whose deaths were approved despite untreated mental illness, poverty, social isolation, or perhaps even the pressure of caregiver burnout.

We must ask ourselves, as the human rights commissioner of Canada also asked last year: Are we building a society where everyone’s life is seen as equally worth living? Or are we creating a system that quietly accepts some lives as more expendable?

We hope this book serves as a resource for those asking these hard questions — and a call to action for those in healthcare, law, policy, and beyond. Because at the end of the day, our task is not just to offer choices — it is to ensure those choices are grounded in dignity, support, and the belief that every person deserves to live a life of meaning, regardless of their challenges.

Thank you.

Order the book from EPC for $40 (after tax) + shipping (Order Link).

Book: Unravelling MAiD in Canada

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director,
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

I was pleased to attend the launch of the book: Unravelling MAiD in Canada in Toronto on April 15. 

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition shares the hopes of the editors of the book - that this book will change the Canadian debate.

Unravelling MAiD in Canada is a thorough 530 page book that features chapters by: Ramona Coelho, K. Sonu Gaind, Trudo Lemmens, Mary Shariff, Leonie Herx, Alexander Simpson, Roland Jones, Gabrielle Peters, Hon Graydon Nicholas, Isabel Grant, Derek Ross, Mark Sinyor, Ayal Schaffer, Catherine Ferrier.

EPC has copies of this important book available for purchase. Order the book from EPC for $40 (after tax) + shipping (Order Link).

Unravelling MAiD in Canada was edited by:

• Dr. Ramona Coelho, family physician and Senior Fellow of domestic and health policy, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
• Dr. K. Sonu Gaind, Professor, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and Chief of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook
• Dr. Trudo Lemmens, Professor and Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Unravelling MAiD in Canada has chapters that focus on: general medicine, psychiatry, palliative care, Canadian law, health policy, disability rights and ethics.

With the number of (MAiD) euthanasia deaths in Canada and how the law expanded in 2021 (Bill C-7), Unravelling MAiD in Canada is an important book for Canadians and other people in countries that are debating the legalization of euthanasia and/or assisted suicide. 

EPC has copies of this important book available for purchase. Order the book from EPC for $40 (after tax) + shipping (Order Link).