Jan 28, 2026
Euthanasia Proponents Say the System Works. Reality Says Otherwise
With over 75,000 Canadians euthanized between 2016 and 2024, Canada is likely to hit 100,000 total euthanasia deaths in 2026. And while euthanasia is already legal for non-terminal illnesses and disabilities, euthanasia for those suffering from mental illness alone is scheduled to be implemented on March 17, 2027.
Specific euthanasia cases continue to raise questions about how the law already furthers a culture of death rather than protecting vulnerable Canadians. Consider one recent tragic example.
Euthanasia for Mental Illness
In 2022, then-23-year-old Kiano Vafaeian had been approved for euthanasia. He was diabetic and had lost vision in one eye. He had thought about euthanasia previously, but after learning his eyesight would get worse, he wanted to die. His mother, Margaret Marsilla, learned that he had applied and been approved for euthanasia. She advocated for her son and eventually caused the doctor who had approved his death to reconsider.
That was over three years ago. Although Vafaeian had no serious medical condition, and though many euthanasia doctors said he should not be eligible, he was euthanized in December 2025. Despite having no major medical condition and his own doctors describing him as “young and healthy,” Vafaeian died by MAID on December 30, 2025.
Below is a portion of his mother’s Facebook post mourning his death:
“With a broken heart, I am sharing that my baby boy Kiano passed away on December 30, 2025, after being euthanized.
Four years ago, here in Ontario, we were able to stop his euthanasia and get him some help. He was alive because people stepped in when he was vulnerable and not capable of making a final, irreversible decision.”
She continues regarding the euthanasia death:
“No compassion.
No protection.
No effort to save a life, only to end it.
This is not healthcare.
This is a failure of ethics, accountability, and humanity.”
Safeguards are Inadequate
Indeed, healthcare ought to be about protecting life and caring for the vulnerable. A healthcare system where doctors promise to “do no harm” should be a system where intentionally ending life is out of the question.
Canada’s euthanasia law requires that a person have a serious and incurable illness or disability, among other things, to be eligible for euthanasia. That illness or disability must cause them “enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable to them and that cannot be relieved under conditions that they consider acceptable.”
But the wording of the law is subjective and unclear. In Vafaeian’s case, it seems that depression was driving his decision to be euthanized. While many doctors may not have deemed him eligible because diabetes and vision loss are not serious enough, one doctor considered such conditions enough. The lack of clarity in the law is one reason we continue to see Canadians euthanized for nearly any reason.
In addition, there is little to no oversight of euthanasia across the country. Doctors are not held accountable if they blur the lines of Canada’s euthanasia law. And there is no mechanism for families to dispute euthanasia approvals or euthanasia deaths.
Provinces have documented cases where doctors failed to comply with the existing euthanasia law. Yet the provinces have done little about such noncompliance. For example, from 2018-2023, only four of 428 cases of possible criminal violations tracked in Ontario were reported to the regulatory college. None was referred to law enforcement. In 2023 alone, the coroner’s office identified 178 cases of noncompliance. Further, a quarter of all euthanasia providers that year heard from the provincial coroner’s office at least once about a compliance issue.
MAiD is unique as an exception to homicide in Canada’s Criminal Code. As such, there should also be very clear legislation and oversight to ensure that the law is followed and that there are repercussions when it is not.
Care Not Kill
Canadians continue to present a posture of caring for those suffering from mental illness. For example, the federal government recently increased funding for 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline. Health Minister Marjorie Michel noted that “protecting the mental health and well-being of Canadians is a priority for our government as there is no health without mental health and when Canadians are feeling good, our country is stronger.”
This is commendable. But offering euthanasia for mental illness alone flies in the face of such priorities. If euthanasia for mental illness alone becomes legal, Canadians will receive conflicting messages of “suicide prevention for some” rather than “suicide prevention for all.” That’s why we need to support Bill C-218, which would repeal the upcoming expansion of euthanasia for those with mental illness.
It’s tragic that young men like Vafaeian have been euthanized instead of receiving suicide prevention and real care. Allowing MAID for mental illness will only cause more such cases and make them more invisible.
Members of Parliament are considering Bill C-218 this Spring, with a vote likely in April. Send an email to your MP, set up a meeting with your MP, or deliver flyers in your community to encourage your neighbours and your government to care for those who are suffering, rather than ending their lives.
