On October 24, 2021, our mother, Donna Duncan, who had no terminal diagnosis, was approved for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and was scheduled to die in two days. We spent the next week fighting for my mom's life by any legal means, including having her sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Unfortunately, my mother's depression could not hold her in the Psychiatric Unit beyond 48 hours. On October 29th at 8:30 pm, we were notified that she died less than 4 hours after being released from the psychiatric unit.

While we have been advocating death by Medical Assistance in situations with a terminal diagnosis or death is imminent, we had no idea that Canada’s laws leave considerable room for interpretation by activist doctors. Our legislation leaves gaps that allow individuals who are not terminal to end their lives with little assessment or approval by their GP. It was explained to us by a lawyer representing a woman in Nova Scotia who appealed her husband’s MAID application, “There is no case law regarding MAID in Canada. It’s the Wild West right now”.

We are sharing our story because no family should experience this devastating loss. We hope to enlighten others about the shocking legislation that leaves Canada’s Euthanasia deaths among the highest in the world. These already lax laws will be relaxed even further in 2023. We should all be very concerned.

Changing Legislation is a long, complicated, extremely costly process, and we need all the help we can get. Please spread the word about all we are doing and help us gain the support we need.