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Two new Ontario reports revealed low-income residents with non-terminal illnesses are potentially accessing Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). A Canadian think tank earlier said Canada’s MAID program is the fastest growing in the world.

After MAID became legal, a Québec court expanded access after it ruled the “reasonably foreseeable” death clause unconstitutional.

Rather than appeal the ruling, the Trudeau government rewrote the law to create two MAID pathways. Track one refers to patients whose deaths are reasonably foreseeable, while track two is for those whose deaths are not.

Last year, 116 (2.5%) of Ontario’s 4,644 MAID deaths were identified as “track two.” That’s down from 121 the year before, reported the Globe and Mail.

In 2022, 3.5% of MAID recipients (463 individuals) nationwide accessed the procedure without having a reasonably foreseeable death — up from 223 individuals the previous year.

Track two has guardrails to protect the vulnerable, including a 90-day assessment period.

“MAID has uncovered and put a light on these vulnerable people,” said Konia Trouton, a member of the review committee who is also president of the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers (CAMAP). 

Among the recommendations is to connect community doctors who provide MAID and vulnerable requestors with social support, including housing and mental-health care during the 90-day assessment period. Hannah Jensen, a spokeswoman for Ontario Health, said the Ministry would review the recommendations.

“Vulnerable could mean many things,” said Ramona Coelho, a committee member and family physician, “but it should also include people [whose] society and policies have failed and they’re suffering from that, right?”

“That’s an important consideration. Are we allowing these people, because of lack of care, to die?”

A 16-member committee of medical professionals are tasked with identifying worrisome trends or shortcomings of the MAID program. They review about 400 cases a month after the fact, according to Dr. Dirk Huyer, the province’s chief coroner.

Since 2018, the coroner’s office has referred five MAID requests for review. None have been referred to the police.

On February 2, 2022, federal Health Minister Mark Holland introduced Bill C-39, delaying the expansion of MAID, to Canadians whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder.

Initially, eligible persons could have accessed MAID last March 17, but the feds extended the temporary exclusion period until March 17, 2024. That too has been delayed. It remains before the House of Commons as of writing.

Three in five (61%) Canadians support current legislation, according to an earlier Angus Reid poll conducted with Cardus, a think tank. That fell to 31% when offered to patients with irredeemable mental illness.

When MAID became legal in 2016, 1,018 Canadians accessed the procedure. It led to the deaths of 13,241 Canadians six years later, rapidly surpassing tallies from peer countries. 

MAID killed more Canadians in 2022 than all reasons except accidents, COVID-19, heart diseases, and cancer, revealed a Statistics Canada report last December. 

Approximately 31,664 Canadians accessed MAID between 2016 and 2021, with an average year-over-year growth rate of 66%. Between 2021 and 2022, the total number of assisted suicide deaths grew by 31.2% and is expected to rise further in the coming years.